Bosscha Observatory is the oldest observatory

Observatory

An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...

 in Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. The observatory is located in Lembang

Lembang

Lembang is a town in the province of West Java in Java, Indonesia. The population is 183,300.Lembang is situated between 1,312 and 2,084 above sea level. Its highest point is on top of Tangkuban Perahu Mt...

, West Java

West Java

West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...

, approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Bandung

Bandung

Bandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, and the country's third largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 km southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler...

. It is situated on a hilly six hectares of land and is 1310 m (4,297.9 ft) above mean sea level

Above mean sea level

The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...

 plateau. The IAU observatory code for Bosscha is 299.

History

During the first meeting of the Nederlandsch-Indische Sterrekundige Vereeniging (Dutch-Indies Astronomical Society) in the 1920s, it was agreed that an observatory

Observatory

An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...

 was needed to study astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 in the Dutch East Indies

Dutch East Indies

The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

. Of all locations in the Indonesia archipelago, a tea plantation

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 in Malabar, a few kilometers north of Bandung

Bandung

Bandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, and the country's third largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 km southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler...

 in West Java

West Java

West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...

 was selected. It is on the hilly north side of the city with a non-obstructed view of the sky and with close access to the city that was planned to become the new capital of the Dutch colony, replacing Batavia (present-day Jakarta

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

). The observatory is named after the tea plantation owner Karel Albert Rudolf Bosscha

Karel Albert Rudolf Bosscha

Karel Albert Rudolf Bosscha, sometimes known as KAR Bosscha or Ru Bosscha was a planter, philanthropist and administrator of the Malabar Plantation in Bandung, Indonesia....

, son of the physicist Johannes Bosscha

Johannes Bosscha

Johannes Bosscha Jr. was a Dutch physicist.Bosscha came from a family long known for their academic achievements. His great-grandfather and grandfather were classical scholars. His father, Johannes Bosscha Sr...

 and a major force in the development of science and technology in the Dutch East Indies, who granted six hectares of his property for the new observatory.

Construction of the observatory began in 1923 and was completed in 1928. Since then a continuous observation of the sky were made. The first international publication from Bosscha was published in 1922. Observations from Bosscha were halted during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and after the war a major reconstruction was necessary. On 17 October 1951, the Dutch-Indies Astronomical Society handed over operation of the observatory to the government of Indonesia. In 1959 the observatory's operation was given to the Institut Teknologi Bandung and has been an integral part of the research and formal education of astronomy in Indonesia.

Facilities

Five large telescope

Telescope

A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...

s were installed in Bosscha:

1. The Zeiss double refractor

   This telescope is mainly used to observe visual binary star

   Binary star

   A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary...

   
   s, conduct photometric studies

   Photometry (astronomy)

   Photometry is a technique of astronomy concerned with measuring the flux, or intensity of an astronomical object's electromagnetic radiation...

   
    on eclipsing binaries, image lunar craters, observe planets (Mars

   Mars

   Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

   
   , Saturn

   Saturn

   Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...

   
    and Jupiter

   Jupiter

   Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...

   
   ) and to observe comet

   Comet

   A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...

   
    details and other heavy bodies. The telescope has two objective lenses with a diameter of 60 cm (23.6 in) each and a focal length

   Focal length

   The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light. For an optical system in air, it is the distance over which initially collimated rays are brought to a focus...

   
    of 10.7 m (35.1 ft).

2. The Schmidt telescope (nicknamed: Bima Sakti telescope)

   This telescope is used to study galactic structure

   Galaxy

   A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...

   
   , stellar spectra, asteroid

   Asteroid

   Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

   
    studies, supernova

   Supernova

   A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...

   
   e, and to photograph heavy bodies. The main lens diameter is 71.12 cm (28 in), the correcting bi-concave and convex lens is 50 cm (19.7 in) with a focal length of 2.5 m (8.2 ft). It is also equipped with a spectral

   Spectrum

   A spectrum is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary infinitely within a continuum. The word saw its first scientific use within the field of optics to describe the rainbow of colors in visible light when separated using a prism; it has since been applied by...

   
    prism

   Prism (optics)

   In optics, a prism is a transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. The exact angles between the surfaces depend on the application. The traditional geometrical shape is that of a triangular prism with a triangular base and rectangular sides, and in colloquial use...

   
    with a prime angle of 6.10 degrees for stellar spectra, a wedge sensitometer and a film recorder

   Film recorder

   A Film Recorder is a graphical output device for transferring digital images to photographic film.All film recorders typically work in the same manner. The image is fed from a host computer as a raster stream over a digital interface...

   
   .

3. The Bamberg refractor

   This telescope is used to determine stellar magnitude, stellar distance, and photometric studies of eclipsing stars, solar imaging

   Sun

   The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

   
   , and others. It is equipped with a photoelectric photometer

   Photometer

   In its widest sense, a photometer is an instrument for measuring light intensity or optical properties of solutions or surfaces. Photometers are used to measure:*Illuminance*Irradiance*Light absorption*Scattering of light*Reflection of light*Fluorescence...

   
    a 37 cm (14.6 in) lens diameter and a 7 m (23 ft) meter focal length.

4. The Cassegrain GOTO

   This was a gift from the Japanese government

   Government of Japan

   The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the 1947 constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected...

   
   . This computer controlled telescope can automatically view objects from a database and this was the first digital telescope at Bosscha. The telescope is also equipped with a photometer

   Photometer

   In its widest sense, a photometer is an instrument for measuring light intensity or optical properties of solutions or surfaces. Photometers are used to measure:*Illuminance*Irradiance*Light absorption*Scattering of light*Reflection of light*Fluorescence...

   
    and spectrometer-spectrograph

   Spectrometer

   A spectrometer is an instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials. The variable measured is most often the light's intensity but could also, for instance, be the polarization...

   
   .

5. The Unitron refractor

   This telescope is used for observing hilal, lunar eclipse

   Lunar eclipse

   A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth so that the Earth blocks the Sun's rays from striking the Moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur the night of a...

   
   , solar eclipse

   Solar eclipse

   As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...

   
    and sunspot

   Sunspot

   Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the photosphere of the Sun that appear visibly as dark spots compared to surrounding regions. They are caused by intense magnetic activity, which inhibits convection by an effect comparable to the eddy current brake, forming areas of reduced surface temperature....

   
    photography, and also other objects. Lens diameter is 13 cm (5.1 in) and a focal length of 87 cm (34.3 in).

Directors

1923 - 1940 : Dr. J. Voûte

Joan Voûte

Joan George Erardus Gijsbertus Voûte was a Dutch astronomer.He was born in Madioen, Java to a Huguenot family. He studied civil engineering at Delft, but while a student he gained an interest in astronomy—studying variable stars. After graduating he joined the staff of the Leiden...

1940 - 1942 : Dr. Aernout de Sitter

1942 - 1946 : Prof. Dr. Masashi Miyaji

1946 - 1949 : Prof. Dr. J. Hins

1949 - 1958 : Prof. Dr. Gale Bruno van Albada

Gale Bruno van Albada

Gale Bruno van Albada was a Dutch astronomer.Van Albada obtained his Ph.D. with Antonie Pannekoek at the University of Amsterdam in 1945. He shared Pannekoek's communist ideologies and back in the 1930s his brother Piet van Albada had been an associate of Marinus van der Lubbe...

1958 - 1959 : Prof. Dr. Ping Hok Ong and Santoso Nitisastro (temporary officers)

1959 - 1968 : Prof. Dr. The Pik Sin

1968 - 1999 : Prof. Dr. Bambang Hidayat

1999 - 2004 : Dr. Moedji Raharto

2004 - 2006 : Dr. Dhani Herdiwijaya

2006 - 2009 : Dr. Taufiq Hidayat

2009 - now : Dr. Hakim L. Malasan