Solar Observatory Tower Meudon
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Rising 36.47 metres above the grounds of the Meudon Observatory near Paris, the Meudon Solar Tower is a striking piece of solar research architecture, purpose-built to study the Sun in fine detail.
About Solar Observatory Tower Meudon
Construction of the tower began in 1963, and it was commissioned in 1969. Its shaft has a diameter of 6.6 metres and is built from two concrete tubes separated by a 10-centimetre air gap, a design chosen specifically to damp wind-induced vibrations that could blur observations.
Telescopes & research
At the top, an observatory floor 18.4 metres in diameter sits 30.57 metres up the shaft, housing a 60-centimetre solar telescope and spectrograph used to observe the Sun.
Location & getting there
The tower stands at the Meudon Observatory in Meudon, on the outskirts of Paris, France.
Visiting Solar Observatory Tower Meudon
As part of the Meudon Observatory site, current visiting arrangements are best checked through the Paris Observatory's official channels before you travel.
See your named star from here
Though this tower's telescope is built to study our own Sun, the wider Meudon Observatory site is the kind of place where a named star's coordinates can also be traced with the right equipment. If you've named a star, its position is ready to find, or browse the star catalogue to see what's already been named.
Opening hours and public-visit programs vary by season. Check Google Maps for current times before you travel.
