Лейден обсерваториясы: 1633 жылдан бергі тарихы

Established 1633 in the Netherlands

Leiden Observatory (Sterrewacht Leiden) is an astronomical institute of Leiden University, in the Netherlands. Established in 1633 to house the quadrant of Rudolph Snellius, it is the oldest operating university observatory in the world, with the only older still existing observatory being the Vatican Observatory. It is not known whether Golius had any instrumentation other than Snellius' quadrant at the observatory. In 1682 Burchardus de Volder became professor of mathematics at the university and thus took over responsibility for the observatory. During his tenure, the observatory was enlarged, including a second turret to house a brass sextant which he purchased, and the rebuilding of the old turret. Both turrets had rotating roofs. Upon retiring in 1705, de Volder handed over a catalogue of instruments which showed that the observatory owned two other quadrants, a 12 inch telescope, two objectives, and several smaller telescopes. For the next two years, Lotharius Zumbach de Coesfeld ran the observatory until his appointment as professor of mathematics in Kassel in 1708. Between then and 1717 the observatory went without a director until Willem 's Gravesande was appointed director. During his time at the observatory, Gravesande purchased a number of new instruments including new telescopes and tools, before his death in 1742.

By 1860 the new observatory building was completed. The new building was constructed in a quiet side of the city inside the university's botanical gardens. It consisted of a number of offices, living quarters for astronomers, and a number of observing domes containing telescopes. In 1873 two new rooms were added to the building in order to house the tools required to verify nautical instruments; tools used to test compasses, sextants and other instruments. Two of the domes were rebuilt, one in 1875 and the other in 1889. The collaboration lasted until 1972. The old Observatory building of this period was restored from 2008 to 2012, and in the 2010s houses a visitor center and also has tours.

Einstein's Chair is an astronomical observing chair at the Leiden Observatory. This chair, made in 1861, is the only piece of furniture in the observatory that dates from that time. The chair gets its name from the fact that it was used by Albert Einstein on several occasions during his visits to the observatory. Einstein was a frequent visitor of the building during his professorship at Leiden university due to his good friendship with the director, Willem de Sitter. The chair can be found in the largest dome of the observatory, the so called 10 inch dome (named after the 10 inch telescope that is placed inside). The chair is still used by observers and a popular attraction at the observatory. On 21 October 2015, Einstein's Chair got a short segment on the Dutch astronomy program Heel Nederland Kijkt Sterren. During this segment the science populariser Govert Schilling and the science historian David Baneke talked about its origins. Einstein is noted for his visits to Leiden Observatory during World War I.

The old Observatory building facilities (from 1860s) was restored in the 2010s. While not longer the base for the modern Leiden Observatory academically, it does have the astronomical historical items at the facility. Also, a solar telescope was crowd funded to provide live optically transmitted images of the Sun to the Visitor center, which is also known to have offered tours.

The archives of the Leiden Observatory and its successive directors, 1829 1992 are held at Leiden University Libraries and are digitally available.

TermDirector1633–1667H. G. van de Sande Bakhuyzen1908–1918E. F. van de Sande Bakhuyzen1918–1934Ejnar Hertzsprung1945–1970George K. Miley 2004–2012Tim de Zeeuw2012–2022Huub Röttgering 2022–PresentIgnas Snellen