astronomy

Royal Observatory of Belgium

Royal Observatory of Belgium is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Royal Observatory of Belgium rather than just read about it. In short: The Royal Observatory of Belgium (Dutch: Koninklijke Sterrenwacht van België; French: Observatoire royal de Belgique; German: Königliche Sternwarte von Belgien) has been situated in the Uccle municipality of Brussels since 1890. It is part of the institutions of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO).

Key takeaways

Royal Observatory of Belgium belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Royal Observatory of Belgium to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Royal Observatory of Belgium from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Royal Observatory of Belgium (Dutch: Koninklijke Sterrenwacht van België; French: Observatoire royal de Belgique; German: Königliche Sternwarte von Belgien) has been situated in the Uccle municipality of Brussels since 1890. It is part of the institutions of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO). The Royal Observatory was first established in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode in 1826 by King William I of the Netherlands under the impulse of the astronomer and mathematician Adolphe Quetelet. It was home to a 100 cm (39 in) diameter aperture Zeiss reflector in the first half of the 20th century, one of the largest telescopes in the world at the time. It now owns a variety of other astronomical instruments, such as astrographs, as well as a range of seismograph equipment. Its main activities are reference systems and geodynamics, astrometry and dynamics of celestial bodies, astrophysics, and Solar physics. The asteroid 1276 Ucclia is named in honour of the city and the observatory and 16908 Groeselenberg is named for the hill the observatory is located on.

History

19th century Adolphe Quetelet first petitioned the government of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands to establish an astronomical observatory in Brussels in 1823. King William I granted his request in 1826 and construction started in 1827 in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. Meteorological observations started early, but delivery and installation of astronomical equipment proceeded slowly. Quetelet was appointed astronomer in 1828. During the Belgian Revolution, fighting took place in and around the observatory. Quetelet kept his position under the new government and started scientific observations. By 1834, buildings and instruments were finally completed. Adolpe Quetelet was succeeded by his son Ernest upon his death in 1874. In 1876, Jean-Charles Houzeau became the new director. He called on François van Rysselberghe to attach him to the weather forecast service the same year. On 26 September 1876, the Observatory published the first Meteorological Bulletin in its history. Immediately after he became director, Houzeau started planning a move to Uccle. He managed to obtain better funding, enlarged the scientific staff and completely renewed the instruments. The first Belgian astronomical expedition was sent to Santiago and San Antonio to observe the transit of Venus in 1882. He tried to separate the meteorological and astronomical departments, but this was refused by the government. In 1883 construction of a new observatory in Uccle started, but Houzeau's resignation in 1883 delayed the move which was only completed in 1890–1891.

20th century Georges Lecointe was appointed as director in 1900, succeeding F. Folie and A. Lancaster. Under his leadership, seismological measurements (for detecting earthquakes) started in 1901 and the first weather balloons were launched in 1906. Belgium participated in the Carte du Ciel and the Astrographic Catalogue; observations lasted until 1964. In 1913 the meteorological department finally became an independent entity, the Royal Meteorological Institute. After World War I the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams was located in Uccle from 1920 to 1922 while it was headed by Lecointe. Illness forced Lecointe to resign in 1925 and he was succeeded by Paul Stroobant. Since 1981, the Sunspot Index Data center, the World data center for the Sunspot Index is harbored at the observatory. The Brussels Planetarium is located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Laeken (northern part of the City of Brussels). King Baudouin was an amateur astronomer and took a keen interest in the Royal Observatory. After his death, a statue in his honour was raised outside the entrance.

Instruments Examples only In 1914:

38 cm (15-inch) Cooke-Merz refractor 15 cm (6-inch) Cooke-Steinhell refractor 15 cm (6-inch) Repsold refractor with micrometer Carte du Ciel astrograph As of 1981:

Askania Meridian circle (19 cm) Danjon Astrolabe 45-cm aperture Cooke-Zeiss refractor on equatorial mount 38-cm aperture refractor Triple refractor (By Zeiss) 25, 10, and 15 cm aperture refractors (these are telescopes with a lens) 20 cm Zeiss Double Astrograph The Observatory also had a 100 cm aperture Zeiss reflector.

List of discovered minor planets

See also Belgian Federal Science Policy Office Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy List of astronomical observatories List of minor planet discoverers § Discovering dedicated institutions Planetarium Royal Meteorological Institute

References

Further reading Centennial of the Royal Observatory Belgium (The Observatory, Vol. 58, p. 208–209 (1935))

External links Official website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Royal Observatory of Belgium

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Royal Observatory of Belgium claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Royal Observatory of Belgium before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Royal Observatory of Belgium ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Royal Observatory of Belgium

In research: Royal Observatory of Belgium appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Royal Observatory of Belgium in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Royal Observatory of Belgium is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1834 establishments in Belgium, Astronomical observatories in Belgium, Buildings and structures in Brussels, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Royal Observatory of Belgium outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Royal Observatory of Belgium in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Royal Observatory of Belgium means in your own words.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Royal Observatory of Belgium in simple terms?

Why does Royal Observatory of Belgium matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Royal Observatory of Belgium?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Royal Observatory of Belgium.