Eschenberg Observatory

Perched on the wooded Eschenberg hill above Winterthur in northeastern Switzerland, the Eschenberg Observatory has been opening its dome to the public since 1979. Its unique claim to fame: it lent its name to a real object in the solar system.

About Eschenberg Observatory

The observatory is owned and run by the Astronomical Society of Winterthur (Astronomische Gesellschaft Winterthur), a volunteer organisation dedicated to public astronomy education and astrophotography. It also serves as a working observing station for tracking near-Earth asteroids and comets.

History

The society built the observatory in 1979, funded with a budget of around 65,000 Swiss francs and more than 2,000 hours of volunteer labour. In 1992, astronomer Freimut Börngen discovered a main-belt asteroid at the Karl Schwarzschild Observatory in Germany and named it 96206 Eschenberg in the observatory's honour; the naming citation was formally published by the Minor Planet Center in June 2017.

Location & getting there

The observatory sits on the Eschenberg, a forested hill on the northeastern edge of Winterthur, Switzerland - a short walk from the surrounding trails and popular with evening visitors heading up after work.

Visiting Eschenberg Observatory

Public evenings run every Wednesday: from April to October between 20:30 and 22:30, and from November to March between 19:30 and 21:30. Entry is free of charge. Details and any weather-related cancellations are posted on the observatory's official website.

See your named star from here

If you've named a star through Star Register, the volunteers on duty at Eschenberg can help you find its exact coordinates in the night sky. Check your star's position any time in the catalogue, then bring the details along on a Wednesday evening.