Sternwarte Rümlang

Just outside Zurich, Switzerland, Sternwarte Rümlang occupies a former water reservoir that one amateur astronomer turned into an observatory in the late 1960s.

About Sternwarte Rümlang

Sternwarte Rümlang is a volunteer-run public observatory near Zurich, operated today by the Sternwarte Rotgrueb Rümlang association (VSRR). It sits inside a former water reservoir, topped with a 5.5-metre rotating steel-and-aluminium dome.

History

Mechanic and amateur astronomer Arnold Jost built the observatory in 1968, after receiving permission to use the reservoir site in 1966. It remained a private project for three decades before opening to the public on 26 August 1998.

Telescopes & research

The observatory's instruments include an Aurora Dall-Kirkham mirror telescope with a 3,572-millimetre focal length, a Zodiak refractor, and a Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector built by Strüby, backed by a WAM-850 tracking device used to keep targets centred during longer observing sessions.

Location & getting there

Rümlang lies just north of Zurich, Switzerland, making this one of the more easily reached observatories on this list for anyone visiting the city. Use the map and directions button on this page to find the way.

Visiting Sternwarte Rümlang

Public observation evenings run on Wednesdays: from April to October between 21:00 and 22:30, and from November to March between 19:30 and 21:00. Admission is free, and the group also offers sun-observation sessions and visits for school and other groups.

See your named star from here

Every star named through Star Register comes with exact right ascension and declination coordinates, which the volunteers at Sternwarte Rümlang can point their telescopes towards on a clear Wednesday evening. Browse the star catalogue or start a naming through our packages before you visit.