Zweibrücken Observatory

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zweibrücken Observatory
Volkssternwarte Zweibrücken.jpg
Alternative namesVolkssternwarte Zweibrücken Edit this at Wikidata
LocationZweibrücken, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Coordinates49°15′41″N 7°21′34″E / 49.2614°N 7.3594°E / 49.2614; 7.3594Coordinates: 49°15′41″N 7°21′34″E / 49.2614°N 7.3594°E / 49.2614; 7.3594
Altitude321 m (1,053 ft) Edit this at Wikidata
Websitewww.sternwarte-zw.de Edit this at Wikidata
Zweibrücken Observatory is located in Germany
Zweibrücken Observatory
Location of Zweibrücken Observatory
Commons page Related media on Wikimedia Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

Zweibrücken Observatory (German: Volkssternwarte Zweibrücken), or the Zweibrück Observatory of the Natural Science Association, is a public observatory in Zweibrücken, Germany. Its dome was painted to resemble the Star Wars character R2-D2 in 2018.

Construction[]

The observatory is located on a hill in the Zweibrücken campus of the University of Applied Sciences, Kaiserslautern. In 1999, the Zweibrücken scientific association was founded, with plans to construct an observatory. In 2002 the 4.57 metres (15.0 ft) diameter dome was erected. The construction was an initiative of Professor .[1]

The dome houses a Celestron C14 optical telescope, with a diameter of 14 inches (36 cm), as well as a solar telescope with a diameter of 4 centimetres (1.6 in) and a focal length of 40 centimetres (16 in).[2]

R2-D2[]

In September 2018, the telescope dome was painted to resemble the R2-D2 robot from Star Wars by a team led by . It was the second observatory dome to be painted in such a way, following from Goodsell Observatory in 2010.[3][4] The repainting took 120 man-hours.[5] It gained internet fame after a post on Twitter by Star Wars actor Mark Hamill.[6][3][4]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Sternwarte Zweibrücken". www.sternwarte-zw.de (in German).
  2. ^ "Sternwarte Zweibrücken". www.sternwarte-zw.de (in German).
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "German Professor Who Is A Hardcore Star Wars Fan Has Just Repainted An Observatory Into R2-D2". Bored Panda.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "This German professor repainted his observatory into R2-D2". A Science Enthusiast. 25 March 2019.
  5. ^ Mack, Markus. "Wie ein Professor aus einem Observatorium einen gigantischen R2-D2 machte". ze.tt (in German).
  6. ^ Hamill, Mark (22 March 2019). "R2-D2 Observatory Transformed Germans Into Giant Nerds". @HamillHimself.
Retrieved from ""