Tallinn Observatory

The observatory is located in a tower built by Nikolai von Glen at the beginning of the 20th century (construction was completed around 1910). Von Glen supposedly planned to use the tower as a lighthouse, but its exact purpose is not known (among the possible assumptions the mill and observation tower are also considered). According to some reports, there was a spyglass in the building for a while.

The name “Tallinn Observatory” appeared in the late 1950s, when it refers to a small observatory owned by the Estonian branch of the All-Union Astronomical and Geodesic Society (VAGO) and located at 15 Estonia Boulevard . It, in turn, was created by Edgar Höpner ( Est. Edgar Hoeppener ) as a private observatory and was transferred to the Tartu branch of VAGO in April 1954 (renamed the Estonian branch of VAGO in December 1958).

Soon, the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the ESSR decided to create a national observatory on the basis of the observatory of the VAGO department, and in April 1959 a long-term plan for its development was approved. The first stage of this plan involved the restoration of the Glen Tower and its adaptation to the needs of the astronomical observatory. The completion date was designated December 25, 1960. In the future, it was planned to build two observation towers, as well as the main observatory building with a planetarium and, possibly, a basement for a gravimetric station . This stage was supposed to be completed by 1965, and in 1970 the number of employees of the observatory was to be 12 people. The initial large-scale plans were only partially realized, but an observatory in the Glen Tower was created.

The initiator of the observatory should be considered Charles Wilman . After Wilman went to work at the Tartu Observatory , the work was continued by Peep Kalv ( Est. Peep Kalv ) (1934-2002), who became its first director. As director, Calw remained until his death in 2002, the years of his work account for the heyday of the observatory. The life and work of Estonian astronomers Charles Wilman, Peep Calw, Linda Calw, Hulot Kestlan, Voldemar Harvig and others are connected with the Tallinn Observatory.

In 1993, the observatory was subordinated to the Tallinn Technical University ^[1] .

• Study of long-period variables .
• The study of silver clouds .
• The study of meteors .
• Popularization of astronomy .
• Educational activity.

In the Estonian language for the concept of an observatory, there are two words with the same meaning: borrowed observatoorium and own tähetorn , literally “star tower” (from Estonian täht - “ star ” and torn - “ tower ”). The Tallinn Observatory is called tähetorn , and the new Tartu Observatory is called observatoorium . At the same time, the old Tartu observatory is also called tähetorn . This separation is justified, since the Tallinn and the old Tartu observatories are located in buildings that are actually towers, while the new Tartu Observatory is a complex of structures, including several towers with tools, and other buildings.