The scientific instrument collection of the Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Mr Marcus Granato and Claudia Penha dos Santos

The Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences (MAST) is one of the research institutes sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT) of Brazil. It is based in Rio de Janeiro and was opened to the public in 1985. The MAST collections, preserved by the Brazilian National Historical and Artistic Patrimony, basically consist of scientific instruments, which belonged to the old National Observatory, documents, which describe the beginning of work in astronomy and astrophysics in Brazil, and archives from some important old Brazilian scientists.

The scientific instrument collection comprises of about 1200 scientific instruments, which are organized and displayed in five rooms. Most of those instruments are in their original mahogany display cases with ‘information sheets’ attached, which identify and explain individual pieces. Those instruments were used in the service and research of great concern to the country, such as: the establishment of the Nation time service; the weather forecast; the astronomical ephemeris and the precise definition of the Brazilian boundaries. A classification was introduced, based on technical areas such as: Calculation and Drawing, Time, Weights and Measures, Geodesy and Topography, Geophysics and Oceanography, Cosmography, Astronomy, Navigation, Heat, Optics, Electricity and Magnetism, Meteorology and Chemistry.

The instruments, most of them acquired from European suppliers at the end of the last century and beginning of the current one, represent the early technological development of European countries, particularly France, Germany and the United Kingdom. They are registered in detail and receive preservation treatment, and are a rich source for studies and historical research.

The Hamburg Observatory and its instruments

Prof. Dr. Gudrun Wolfschmidt

The present ‘Hamburger Sternwarte’ (University Observatory) in Hamburg-Bergedorf was built between 1906 and 1912, replacing an earlier observatory - in the centre of Hamburg - which was founded in 1825 by Johann Georg Repsold (1770-1830), and taken over by the state in 1833. The main instrument of the old observatory, the 26-cm equatorial made in 1867 by Merz of Munich (mounting by Adolf Repsold & Söhne), was transferred to Bergedorf (with its dome) and still exists - in poor condition - with a very interesting wooden observing chair invented by Adolf Repsold. Many other laboratory instruments of the old observatory were dispersed.

Several 20th century telescopes are still in operating condition, including the 60-cm refractor (Steinheil/A. Repsold & Söhne, 1910-14) in a 13-m dome with a hydraulic elevating observing floor made by Zeiss, and the 1-m reflector made by Zeiss in Jena (in poor condition). One of the two 9.5° objective prisms of the Lippert astrograph made by Zeiss in 1903, used for the ‘Bergedorfer Spektraldurchmusterung’ in the 1920s, and the important AG double astrograph (8.5-cm objective, focal length 2.06 m), made in 1924-26 by Zeiss of Jena for compiling the AGK2 catalogue of the Astronomische Gesellschaft, are now in the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

The famous 19-cm meridian circle (focal length 2.3 m), made in 1907-1909 by Repsold, which was moved to Perth, Australia in 1967 and changed to electronic recording, was saved by the Deutsches Museum in Munich, but its abandoned building still exists at the Hamburg Observatory.

Some astrophysical instruments are on loan to the Deutsches Museum where they are integrated into the astronomy exhibition, in particular the large blink comparator. Some interesting photometers, spectral apparatus and smaller instruments from the 19th century can now be found in the ‘Museum für Astronomie und Technik’ in Kassel.

The Schmidt Museum in the Hamburg Observatory presents the work and the original instruments of Bernhard Schmidt, who invented his photographic wide field telescope in Bergedorf. Included is the first Schmidt telescope (diameter 36 cm). In the early 1950s a building for the 80-cm Hamburg Schmidt was added. This instrument was moved to Calar Alto, Spain in 1976, and the building now contains a 1.2-m Ritchey-Chrétien telescope. The whole ensemble of the Observatory, including the instruments, was put under ‘monument protection’ (Denkmalschutz) in June 1996.

Present plans for use, conservation and public access to these facilities, through an independent ‘Förderverein Hamburger Sternwarte’ (founded in January 1998) with a contractual relationship to the university, will be described. We are starting to compile an inventory of the existing instruments, and also of the earlier instrumentation, using archival material and printed documents.

Astronomical instruments heritage: the example of the Observatory of Nice

Dr Paolo Brenni, with Françoise le Guet-Tully and Anthony Turner

The Nice Astronomical Observatory was build in the 1880s thanks to the generous sponsoring of the banker, philanthropist and amateur astronomer Raphaël Bischoffsheim, whose desire was to build a ‘long-lasting monument to French science’. Thanks to the collaboration of G. Eiffel, one of the leading French engineers, of the famous architects C.Garnier, and of some of the best instrument makers (P.Gautier and the brothers Henry), Bischoffsheim’s dream came true. The Observatory, with its splendid buildings, was in fact equipped with a series of very important instruments such as the 76-cm refractor (which was in 1887 the largest in the world), a large Brunner meridian instrument and a Loevy’s ‘coudé equatorial’ of 40 cm. Other instruments were subsequently added in the course of the 20th century. A magnetic observatory, an impressive library, a workshop and several ancillary buildings completed the large complex situated at the top of Mont-Gros (overlooking Nice), which became one of the most important astronomical sites of the time. In the 1960s the Observatory was modernized and the instruments were restored and modified. In 1988, this institution was merged with the Centre d’Etude et de Recherches Géodynamique et Astronomiques (CERGA), and became part of the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur. Recently a survey by F. Le Guet-Tully, A. Turner and P. Brenni made it possible to compile a detailed inventory of all the historical instruments still preserved at the Observatory. The large archive constitutes an indispensable and complete source of information for reconstructing the history of this institution.

My paper is divided into two sections. In the first one I will briefly trace the history of the Observatory and describe its most characteristic instruments. In the second section I will present the work done for preserving this important scientific heritage and discuss some of the typical problems, which arise when historical artefacts have to be preserved in a still active scientific institution. The need of researchers, the expectations of the public of amateur astronomers, the constraints of the budget, and the indifference of the scientific community, rarely coincides with the interests of the historians of science.