Sky on a globe and time in a bag

The Arabic celestial sphere, a planetary simulation of the sky, 

is from the year 1873. 

This original time signal bag was lifted to the mast of the observatory roof and 

dropped down exactly at noon to tell the right time to the Helsinki port and 

central railway station. Next to it is the comet seeker dated 1830s.

These are only a few of many interesting things you find in the newly renovated Helsinki Observatory, which is now open to the public for the first time during it´s long academic history. 

The so-called Argelander´s refractor arrived in Helsinki 1835 

and was mainly used to measure the positions of comets. 

This new Centre for Astronomy introduces the visitors into the history and basics of astronomy and to the secrets of space on a nice way (hey, the target is get even the schoolchildren interested!).
There you can for example test how heavy you would be on another planet, see the sun rise and set, admire the planets photographed by different methods and touch an old piece of meteorite.
And ask a question still unanswered: how and why did all this get started? 

The building of Helsinki Observatory was designed by architect 

Carl Ludvig Engel (1778–1840) and built between 1831 and 1834.

The address of Observatory is Kopernikuksentie 1, just at the end of Unioninkatu. Opening hours are Tuesday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday from 12 to 4 pm, Thursday from 12 to 8 pm. On Sundays and Mondays it is closed.

www.observatorio.fi/english/index.html#

Photos © Paula Hietaranta