| Helsinki University Observatory | |||||||||
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| Organization | University of Helsinki | ||||||||
| Code | 569 | ||||||||
| Location | Helsinki, Finland | ||||||||
| Altitude | 33.0 metres (108.3 ft) | ||||||||
| Established | 1834 | ||||||||
| Website www.gastro.physics.helsinki.fi |
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Helsinki University Observatory housed the Department of Astronomy at the University of Helsinki, south Finland until end of 2009.
The Helsinki astronomical observatory was designed in cooperation by professor Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander and architect Carl Ludvig Engel. The building was finished in 1834. The instruments and astronomical books that had escaped the great fire in Turku were transferred to Helsinki. The observatory was among the most modern astronomical observatories of its time, and served as an example for several European observatories that were built afterwards.
A separate tower was built in the observatory garden for the telescope designed for astrophotography. This building was finished in 1890.
The Metsähovi observatory of the University of Helsinki started in 1973. Metsähovi Radio Observatory has also become a centre for the radio astronomical research of the Helsinki University of Technology.