Glashütte Observatory
Encyclopedia
Glashütte Observatory is an observatory
located in Glashütte
, Saxony
, Germany
.
Hugo Müller led the way and supplied a plot of land in Dittersdorfer Weg for the construction of an observatory, which began construction when the foundation stone was set on 27 August 1906. When the observatory opened four years later in 1910, on 26 June, it cemented Glashütte as the hub of Germany’s watchmaking industry.
It was furnished with a refracting telescope
to precisely measure the Earth
’s place in the Milky Way galaxy. It had some of the most accurate timepieces made at that time: a marine chronometer
; and a donation from Glashütte’s leading industrialist, Ludwig Trapp, a precision pendulum clock
. Finally, German watchmakers had an exact reference to precisely quantify and further improve the accuracy of their craft.
As of early 2006, Wempe has established a Chronometer Observatory at Glashütte. Official Chronometer Certificates are now being issued under the auspices of the German standards (DIN) under government oversight and authority.
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...
located in Glashütte
Glashütte
Glashütte is a town in Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, Free State of Saxony, Germany, which was the birthplace of the German watchmaking industry. The city has a population of about 4,700. Historically it was first mentioned in a document around 1445...
, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Hugo Müller led the way and supplied a plot of land in Dittersdorfer Weg for the construction of an observatory, which began construction when the foundation stone was set on 27 August 1906. When the observatory opened four years later in 1910, on 26 June, it cemented Glashütte as the hub of Germany’s watchmaking industry.
It was furnished with a refracting telescope
Refracting telescope
A refracting or refractor telescope is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image . The refracting telescope design was originally used in spy glasses and astronomical telescopes but is also used for long focus camera lenses...
to precisely measure the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
’s place in the Milky Way galaxy. It had some of the most accurate timepieces made at that time: a marine chronometer
Marine chronometer
A marine chronometer is a clock that is precise and accurate enough to be used as a portable time standard; it can therefore be used to determine longitude by means of celestial navigation...
; and a donation from Glashütte’s leading industrialist, Ludwig Trapp, a precision pendulum clock
Pendulum clock
A pendulum clock is a clock that uses a pendulum, a swinging weight, as its timekeeping element. The advantage of a pendulum for timekeeping is that it is a resonant device; it swings back and forth in a precise time interval dependent on its length, and resists swinging at other rates...
. Finally, German watchmakers had an exact reference to precisely quantify and further improve the accuracy of their craft.
As of early 2006, Wempe has established a Chronometer Observatory at Glashütte. Official Chronometer Certificates are now being issued under the auspices of the German standards (DIN) under government oversight and authority.