Abstract
THE chief observatory in the U.S.S.R., situated at Pulkovo, a few miles outside Leningrad, celebrates the hundredth anniversary of its foundation this year. To-day a number of buildings devoted to astronomy and related sciences surround the original central edifice, with its circular hall through the middle of which runs the Pulkovo meridian. This hall is now used as the observatory's museum, and it contains some extremely interesting exhibits, including a working model of the solar system, made by an unknown craftsman 150 years ago. Not only do the earth and planets revolve around the sun in this model, but also the glass shade which covers it is utilized for representation of the stars and constellations. The library, situated in a gallery around the main dome, contains some very valuable unique works, including Kepler manuscripts. The Pulkovo Fundamental Catalogues of Stars are widely known for the accuracy of the observations entered in them. Needless to say, the observatory is also rich in astronomical photographs and similar research materials. At the time of its foundation the refractor installed in the observatory, one with a lens of fifteen inches diameter, was the largest in the world. It was added to in 1885 by the installation of another refractor with a thirty-inch lens.
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Pulkovo Observatory. Nature 144, 67 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144067b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144067b0