Volkssternwarte Radebeul

Description

On Jacobstein above the vineyards, the city of Radebeul operates the public observatory "Adolph Diesterweg" (Sternwarte Radebeul, Radebeul Observatory A72) with an attached planetarium. The facility is located on the border of the districts Niederlößnitz and Naundorf (Auf den Ebenbergen 10a, extension of Mohrenstraße), about 120 metres above the Elbe in the Ebenberge area.

The history of the observatory begins in the mid-1950s: after an astronomy course at the adult education centre, an interest group formed, from which in 1956 a specialist group within the Deutschen Kulturbund emerged. First public observations took place in a schoolyard in Niederlößnitz. Because of great interest, the group established a permanent observation station above the vineyards; in 1959 the observatory was officially opened. Development continued: in 1960/61 a classroom for thirty people was added. Owing to its growing regional importance, plans for a new building followed; in 1966 the institution received its present name in memory of the educator Adolph Diesterweg. Construction of the new building with an observation dome and a planetarium began in 1968 and was inaugurated in 1969.

Since 1971 the bronze sculpture "Die Sterngucker" has stood on the outdoor grounds. Later a southern-sky projector from the Dresdner Planetarium and an instrument garden were added; in 1984 a bust of Adolph Diesterweg was erected. Public sky observations and lectures are part of the observatory's regular programme.

The foyer displays historical and technical exhibits, including the Dresdner Planetarium's southern-sky projector from 1926 and a Foucault pendulum to demonstrate the Earth's rotation. Members of the resident Astroclub Radebeul discovered several minor planets at the observatory; by early 2011 eleven discoveries had been registered. Well known examples include (149884) Radebeul, (157491) Rüdigerkollar, (236111) Wolfgangbüttner, (319227) Erichbär and (400309) Ralfhofner.

The equipment includes a coudé refractor with a 16 cm aperture (2.40 m focal length) in a 3-m dome, a Maksutov-Newton telescope with a 35 cm aperture in an observing hut, and since 2015 a mobile 60 cm reflecting telescope of unusually large size for Saxony, which is also used outside the observatory. Other instruments are a 25 cm Newtonian for planetary observation, various smaller telescopes, a 3-m radio telescope, a heliostat that feeds a solar projection into the lecture room, and an H‑alpha filter for prominences. A spectroheliograph erected in 1978 was scheduled for complete renovation in 2011–2016; a new observing building was constructed in 2007/2008. Since 2011 the observatory has had a small planetarium of the type SKYMASTER ZKP 4, the first example worldwide of this model to be equipped with LED lighting.

Four sundials are arranged on the grounds, including the vertical wall sundial "CARPE DIEM", a ring-shaped equatorial sundial, a multi-part block sundial made of sandstone, and a noon indicator.