Zweibrücken Observatory

Zweibrücken Observatory (German: Volkssternwarte Zweibrücken), or the Zweibrück Observatory of the Natural Science Association, is a public observatory in Zweibrücken, Germany. Its dome was painted to resemble the Star Wars character R2-D2 in 2018.

Zweibrücken Observatory
Alternative namesVolkssternwarte Zweibrücken
LocationZweibrücken, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Coordinates49°15′41″N 7°21′34″E
Altitude321 m (1,053 ft)
Websitewww.sternwarte-zw.de
Location of Zweibrücken Observatory
Related media on Wikimedia Commons

Construction

The observatory is located on a hill in the Zweibrücken campus of the University of Applied Sciences, Kaiserslautern. In 1999, the Zweibrücken scientific association was founded, with plans to construct an observatory. In 2002 the 4.57 metres (15.0 ft) diameter dome was erected. The construction was an initiative of Professor Peter Pokrowsky.[1]

The dome houses a Celestron C14 optical telescope, with a diameter of 14 inches (36 cm), as well as a Coronado SolarMax solar telescope with a diameter of 4 centimetres (1.6 in) and a focal length of 40 centimetres (16 in).[2]

R2-D2

In September 2018, the telescope dome was painted to resemble the R2-D2 robot from Star Wars by a team led by Hubert Zitt. It was the second observatory dome to be painted in such a way, following from Goodsell Observatory in 2010.[3][4] The repainting took 120 man-hours.[5] It gained internet fame after a post on Twitter by Star Wars actor Mark Hamill.[6][3][4]

References
  1. "Sternwarte Zweibrücken". www.sternwarte-zw.de (in German).
  2. "Sternwarte Zweibrücken". www.sternwarte-zw.de (in German).
  3. "German Professor Who Is A Hardcore Star Wars Fan Has Just Repainted An Observatory Into R2-D2". Bored Panda.
  4. "This German professor repainted his observatory into R2-D2". A Science Enthusiast. 25 March 2019.
  5. Mack, Markus. "Wie ein Professor aus einem Observatorium einen gigantischen R2-D2 machte". ze.tt (in German).
  6. Hamill, Mark (22 March 2019). "R2-D2 Observatory Transformed Germans Into Giant Nerds". @HamillHimself.
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