Jena Observatory

Jena Observatory has watched the sky above this German university city since 1813, when it was founded with input from Johann Wolfgang Goethe himself.

About Jena Observatory

Formally the Astrophysikalisches Institut und Universitäts-Sternwarte Jena (AIU Jena), the observatory is owned and operated by Friedrich Schiller University of Jena. It maintains two sites: a historic building in the city centre and a modern observing station in the neighbouring village of Großschwabhausen.

History

The observatory was founded in 1813 by regent Karl August von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach, with the writer and polymath Johann Wolfgang Goethe involved in its design. A larger observatory building replaced the original in 1889, and in 1962 the university opened the Großschwabhausen site specifically to escape the growing light pollution of the city. Today the original city-centre building houses Volkssternwarte Urania, a society of amateur astronomers that keeps the historic site open to the public.

Telescopes & research

University astronomers at Jena have contributed to exoplanet research using Transit Timing Variation methods, including work on the discovery of the exoplanet WASP-3c through international collaboration.

Location & getting there

Jena Observatory's two locations sit within and just outside Jena, Germany, in the Europe region: one in the historic city centre and one in Großschwabhausen, chosen for darker skies away from urban lighting.

Visiting Jena Observatory

The city-centre building, home to the Volkssternwarte Urania amateur astronomy society, is open to the public. For current opening times, check the observatory's website before visiting.

See your named star from here

With more than two centuries of skywatching behind it, Jena Observatory is a fitting place to imagine your own named star: give its coordinates to an astronomer here, and a telescope can be pointed straight at it. Name a star, or browse the catalogue of stars already named.