The Copenhagen University Observatory on
Østervold was erected in the years 1859-1861 to accomodate the
need for new buildings in which to place the University Observatory.
Round Tower (Rundetårn) which had hosted the old University
Observatory from 1642 to 1861, had become too small and partly also too
unstable due to heavy traffic in Købmagergade below.
A cut through the Building. South to the left, North to the right.
The Observatory had several astronomical instruments:
The westmost part of the building was the Professor's Residence and the
eastmost part was home to the Observer.
Today the 0.25m refractor is the only remaining part of the old instruments.
A new instrument has been purchased in order to serve as a tool for student exercises - the NeST telescope, a 0.25m reflector of modern design and a small CCD detector.
The department in Brorfelde was inaugurated in 1953 and consists of the
main building with offices and electro-optical workshops, a large
mechanical workshop and five guesthouses + several astronomical
instruments.
The astronomical instruments here are:
The future of NeST is uncertain.
Source: Gyldenkerne & Darnell: "Dansk Astronomi gennem FireHundrede År".
Brorfelde department
The joint future
The life of the University Observatory is now at a dividing line. The
Observatory departments will merge and move to the
Rockefeller Building
together with some of the other departments. This is done in order to
create a more cooperative and effective environment between the
different parts of physics and astronomy in Denmark.
This page is maintained by www.astro.ku.dk.