Format: IAU - Outstanding Astronomical Heritage

Description

Geographical position 

• InfoTheme: Astronomy from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century
  Entity: 186
  Subentity: 1
  Version: 2
  Status: PUB
  Date: 2021-04-21 04:36:48
  Author(s): Gudrun Wolfschmidt

Istanbul University Observatory, Astronomy and Space Sciences Department, Istanbul, Turkey

 

Location 

• InfoTheme: Astronomy from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century
  Entity: 186
  Subentity: 1
  Version: 2
  Status: PUB
  Date: 2021-04-21 04:37:44
  Author(s): Gudrun Wolfschmidt

Latitude 41°00’45’’N, Longitude 28°57’56’’E, Elevation ...m above mean sea level.

 

IAU observatory code 

• InfoTheme: Astronomy from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century
  Entity: 186
  Subentity: 1
  Version: 1
  Status: PUB
  Date: 2021-04-21 02:04:29
  Author(s): Gudrun Wolfschmidt

080

 

Description of (scientific/cultural/natural) heritage 

• InfoTheme: Astronomy from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century
  Entity: 186
  Subentity: 1
  Version: 6
  Status: PUB
  Date: 2021-04-23 16:14:43
  Author(s): Gudrun Wolfschmidt

The Istanbul University Observatory is next to the historic Beyazıt Tower within the main campus of the university at Beyazıt Square in Fatih district of Istanbul.

The astronomer Erwin Finlay-Freundlich (1885--1964), who organized the Einstein Tower in Potsdam, was invited to become director of the Department of Astronomy and to erect an observatory. It was constructed by Ekrem Hakkı Ayverdi (1899--1984) (1935/36) -- influenced by Bauhaus style -- a very nice building.  

 

History 

• InfoTheme: Astronomy from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century
  Entity: 186
  Subentity: 1
  Version: 4
  Status: PUB
  Date: 2021-04-23 16:15:49
  Author(s): Gudrun Wolfschmidt

Instruments / Telescopes

• 30-cm-Astrograph (f=150cm, f/5), Carl Zeiss of Jena (1935)
  
• 13-cm-Photosphere telescope (f=200cm, f/15) for the observation of Sun spots and plage areas
  
• 12-cm-Chromosphere telescope (f=232cm, f/19) used with a monochromator (H-α Lyot filter) and a camera in the focal plane
  
• 7-cm-Pilot telescope (f=80cm, f/13)
  

 

State of preservation 

• InfoTheme: Astronomy from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century
  Entity: 186
  Subentity: 1
  Version: 3
  Status: PUB
  Date: 2021-04-23 16:16:35
  Author(s): Gudrun Wolfschmidt

The observatory is preserved well, impressive architecture -- Bauhaus style.
Also the telescopes are in good condition.

 

Comparison with related/similar sites 

• InfoTheme: Astronomy from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century
  Entity: 186
  Subentity: 1
  Version: 3
  Status: PUB
  Date: 2021-04-23 16:19:11
  Author(s): Gudrun Wolfschmidt

Cf. Dresden, Germany, and Belgrade, Serbia (also Bauhaus style).

 

Threats or potential threats 

• InfoTheme: Astronomy from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century
  Entity: 186
  Subentity: 1
  Version: 2
  Status: PUB
  Date: 2021-04-21 04:44:06
  Author(s): Gudrun Wolfschmidt

no threats

 

Present use 

• InfoTheme: Astronomy from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century
  Entity: 186
  Subentity: 1
  Version: 5
  Status: PUB
  Date: 2021-04-23 16:18:01
  Author(s): Gudrun Wolfschmidt

The Observatory is still used by astronomers, but observing in the city center is difficult.

 

Astronomical relevance today 

• InfoTheme: Astronomy from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century
  Entity: 186
  Subentity: 1
  Version: 4
  Status: PUB
  Date: 2021-04-23 17:00:51
  Author(s): Gudrun Wolfschmidt

An observatory at the Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University was built in 2002: the ÇOMÜ Ulupınar Observatory (UPO) -- in a height of 410m far away from the city, providing much better observing conditions.
 

 

 

References

Bibliography (books and published articles) 

• InfoTheme: Astronomy from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century
  Entity: 186
  Subentity: 1
  Version: 2
  Status: PUB
  Date: 2021-04-21 04:46:08
  Author(s): Gudrun Wolfschmidt

• Bolt, M.; Hockey, T.; Palmeri, J.A.; Trimble, V.; Williams, T.R.; Bracher, K.; Jarrell, R.; Marché, J.D.; Ragep, F.J.: Fatin Gökmen. In: Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. New York: Springer 2007, p. 427.
  
  
• Hockey, Thomas et al. (eds.): Salih Zeki. In: The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer Reference. New York: Springer 2007, pp. 1007--1008 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30400-7_1211).
  
  
• Ihsano&gcaron;lu, Ekmeleddin: Ottoman Educational and Scholarly-Scientific Institutions. In: History of the Ottoman State, Society and Civilisation, vol. 2. Ed. Ekmeleddin d{I}hsanov{g}lu. Istanbul: IRCICA 2002, p. 361--512.
  
  
• Ihsano&gcaron;lu, Ekmeleddin: The Introduction of Western Science to the Ottoman World: A Case Study of Modern Astronomy (1660--1860). In: Science, technology and learning in the Ottoman Empire: Western influence, local institutions, and the transfer of knowledge. Ed. by Ihsanoglu, E.; Aldershot, Hants, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company (Variorum Collected Studies) 2004.
  
  
• Sayili, Aydin: The Observatory in Islam. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu 1991, p. 289-305.  
  
  
• Sayili, Aydin: Alauddin Mansur’un Istanbul Rasathânesi Hakkindaki Siirleri. In: Belleten 20 (1956), no. 79, p. 414, 466.
  

 

Links to external sites 

• InfoTheme: Astronomy from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century
  Entity: 186
  Subentity: 1
  Version: 4
  Status: PUB
  Date: 2021-04-23 17:01:21
  Author(s): Gudrun Wolfschmidt

• Web - Istanbul University Observatory
  
• Istanbul Üniversitesi Fen Fakültesi Gözlemevi
  
• ÇOMÜ Ulupınar Observatory (UPO), Wikipedia