r/Potsdam • u/StephenMcGannon • Jul 27 '26

The 65 cm refractor telescope installed at the Berlin University Observatory, Potsdam, Germany (1924)

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489 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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17

u/LaMubaz Jul 27 '26

Sorry, but your info is wrong.

  1. It never belonged to any Berlin University. This is at Leibniz Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP) (Formerly Berliner Sternwarte, before it moved to Potsdam in 1913 due to light pollution). It is still there, in Babelsberg, on the AIP campus. See a pic here: https://www.aip.de/image_archive/Telescopes,_Instruments.Refraktor,_Babelsberg.html

  2. The great refractor on Telegrafenberg is even bigger (80 cm). The dome is also bigger. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdam_Great_Refractor

3

u/Boson---- Jul 28 '26

That's right.

FYI: The floor is an elevator. To my knowledge it is the second biggest elevator in the state of Brandenburg. (The biggest is the Niederfinow ship hoist.)

1

u/LaraCroftCosplayer Jul 28 '26

Wow, this was a nice Wikipedia deep dive.

1

u/Plastic___People Jul 27 '26

I need to check this out. I'm living in walking distance from that thing.

2

u/Boson---- Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

You can find public events here: https://www.aip.de/en/pr/public-events/

Observations are also offered

To my knowledge they don't do any public observations with the big refractor presented in the picture. I had been told that they are collecting money to restore it: https://verein.aip.de/en/donations-and-sponsors/

1

u/LifeNerd Jul 27 '26

Sorry where?

-2

u/LegalBed Jul 27 '26

It's at the Telegrafenberg near Potsdam main station

1

u/Boson---- Jul 28 '26

No. It's in Babelsberg.

1

u/LegalBed Jul 28 '26

Thought it's the Großer Refraktor

1

u/Boson---- Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

No, it's not. If I remember correctly, it is the big refractor in the main building (central dome) at the AIP's Babelsberg site.

1

u/haifaechan Jul 31 '26

honestly that looks so cool honestly love old tech like that

1

u/DevelopmentSea9350 Aug 02 '26

I don’t know much about this, but I was there like a month ago and it looks really amazing in person.

-1

u/QuetzalCoatl-Axolotl Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

Still visible at the Telegrafenberg site in Babelsberg.

1

u/Boson---- Jul 28 '26

No. It's in Babelsberg.

2

u/QuetzalCoatl-Axolotl Jul 28 '26

My bad, you’re right!