Astronomische Vereinigung Kärntens
Encyclopedia
The Carinthian Astronomical Association (CAA - German: Astronomische Vereinigung Kärntens, AVK) Is the second great astronomical association in Austria
. The CAA owns two observatories
and one planetarium
. One observatory is located near Klagenfurt
, on the Kreuzbergl, the other on the Gerlitze, near Villach
. The planetarium is situated a Klagenfurt near Minimundus
.
arranged a trip to the solar eclipse
in the Apennine Mountains
. Some of the practicipants became the core of the CAA.
Still in the same year on the 17th June the "Vereinigung der Sternfreunde" was founded. One of its objectives was to build a public observatory.
The city of Klagenfurt provided the old tower on the Kreuzbergl, which was built in 1895 for the visit of Kaiser Franz Josef I, to transform it in an observatory. Proximately it was revealed that another group of amateurastronomers from the Highschool of Klagenfurt has had also the idea to build an observatory. As a result these two groups were united.
To construct and fund the observatory the "Verein zu Errichtung einer Volkssternwarte am Kreuzbergl" was founded. This association was dissolved after the inauguration in September 1965 and the observatory became property of the "Vereinigung der Sternfreunde".
The university of Graz
lend the CAA a refracting telescope
with an aperture
of 134mm and a focal length
of 2000mm. This telescope
was replaced by another refracting telescope from the company Wachter.
Eight years later the CAA got the chance to make observations from the Gerlitze. In 1997 the observatory was modernized and the old telescope was replaced by an Ritchey-Chrétien telescope
. Today this telescope is also used for astrophotography
.
. Therefore the city of Klagenfurt provided an estate near the city at the Wörthersee
. The entire construction cost about 900.000€ (1.300.000 US$) and was supported by donators.
Nowadays the planetarium works together with Minimundus
and offers nearly 2.000 presentations a year with about 40.000 visitors.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The CAA owns two observatories
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...
and one planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
. One observatory is located near Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
, on the Kreuzbergl, the other on the Gerlitze, near Villach
Villach
Villach is the second largest city in the Carinthia state in the southern Austria, at the Drava River and represents an important traffic junction for Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 58,480.-History:...
. The planetarium is situated a Klagenfurt near Minimundus
Minimundus
The Minimundus is a miniature park on the Wörthersee at Klagenfurt in Carinthia, Austria. It displays over 150 miniature models of architecture from around the world, built at a ratio of 1:25....
.
History
In 1961 the maths teacher Helmut Lenhof from KlagenfurtKlagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
arranged a trip to the 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...
in the Apennine Mountains
Apennine mountains
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains or Greek oros but just as often used alone as a noun. The ancient Greeks and Romans typically but not always used "mountain" in the singular to mean one or a range; thus, "the Apennine mountain" refers to the entire chain and is translated "the Apennine...
. Some of the practicipants became the core of the CAA.
Still in the same year on the 17th June the "Vereinigung der Sternfreunde" was founded. One of its objectives was to build a public observatory.
The city of Klagenfurt provided the old tower on the Kreuzbergl, which was built in 1895 for the visit of Kaiser Franz Josef I, to transform it in an observatory. Proximately it was revealed that another group of amateurastronomers from the Highschool of Klagenfurt has had also the idea to build an observatory. As a result these two groups were united.
To construct and fund the observatory the "Verein zu Errichtung einer Volkssternwarte am Kreuzbergl" was founded. This association was dissolved after the inauguration in September 1965 and the observatory became property of the "Vereinigung der Sternfreunde".
The university of Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
lend the CAA 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...
with an aperture
Aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. The aperture determines how collimated the admitted rays are,...
of 134mm 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 2000mm. This 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...
was replaced by another refracting telescope from the company Wachter.
Eight years later the CAA got the chance to make observations from the Gerlitze. In 1997 the observatory was modernized and the old telescope was replaced by an Ritchey-Chrétien telescope
Ritchey-Chrétien telescope
A Ritchey–Chrétien telescope is a specialized Cassegrain telescope designed to eliminate coma, thus providing a large field of view compared to a more conventional configuration. An RCT has a hyperbolic primary and a hyperbolic secondary mirror. It was invented in the early 1910s by American...
. Today this telescope is also used for astrophotography
Astrophotography
Astrophotography is a specialized type of photography that entails recording images of astronomical objects and large areas of the night sky. The first photographs of an astronomical object were taken in the 1840s, but it was not until the late 19th century that advances in technology allowed for...
.
The planetarium
In the same year of the modernization of the Gerlitzen observatory, the planetarium was inaugurated too. Already after the construction of the Kreuzbergl observatory the CAA wanted to have a planetariumPlanetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
. Therefore the city of Klagenfurt provided an estate near the city at the Wörthersee
Wörthersee
The Wörthersee is an alpine lake in the southern Austrian state of Carinthia.-General facts:The lake is elongated, about 20 km long and 1–2 km wide. It stretches from the Carinthian capital Klagenfurt in the east to Velden in the west...
. The entire construction cost about 900.000€ (1.300.000 US$) and was supported by donators.
Nowadays the planetarium works together with Minimundus
Minimundus
The Minimundus is a miniature park on the Wörthersee at Klagenfurt in Carinthia, Austria. It displays over 150 miniature models of architecture from around the world, built at a ratio of 1:25....
and offers nearly 2.000 presentations a year with about 40.000 visitors.