Two other official documents from the City of Zdanice about the observatory.
The documents are dated 1999 and 2000
 

To understand this documents there is some history needed.
In 1958 the idea was launched to build the observatory in the town of Zdanice.  Zdanice is in South Moravia, between Brno and Vienna.
At that time Zdanice was a small town.  The national communist party agreed with the observatory project under condition that the people of Zdanice build the observatory themselves.
The labor unions paid 75% of the building material.  
 
It wasn’t a Public Observatory but a Peoples Observatory and cultural center.  The only library and movie theater in a region of about 25km.
 
After the revolution the 1989 the direction of the observatory and the later build hotel was done by the local astronomy club.
In 1999 the city took over the observatory because there were to much problems with the management and the finance of the big observatory.
Theft and neglect were the main problems.
In 2001 the observatory was closed for the public.  In 2002 the city sold the observatory to a private investment company.
The city sold the observatory because of a lack of budget for maintenance.  The biggest cost was the big hotel who was build In the 1970’s.
The construction of the hotel is of bad quality.  The main building with the observatories and the planetarium is in good condition.
My idea was to demolish the hotel and only keep the observatory building.  The city didn’t agree, for nostalgic reasons, and it was impossible to get a building permit.
 
On the Czech Astronomy Forum there is a lot of discussion about the closure of the building and me buying the inventory.
The discussion is how it comes that the Czech State and the City of Zdanice didn’t took care of the observatory?
This documents prove that the city did everything they could but the observatory and the hotel were to big for a small city as Zdanice.
 
The observatory is the victim of the transition from communism to capitalism.  
Also there are a lot of observatories in the Czech Republic with more modern equipment.  Nearby there is the beautiful observatory of Brno.
The old Observatory of Zdanice didn’t have any added value.

The archive of the Zdanice is about 90 large cardboard boxes full of documents.
When I filled the boxes at the observatory I didn’t have the time to select or to look at the documents.  My time was so limited that I only could empty the cabinets ad fill the boxes
Now I have some more time and I discover box by box.  Not all the documents are interesting.  I don’t throw away any document.  I try to find some order and logic.
I don’t speak, write or read Czech.  I recognize some words. 
First I have to scan the documents with OCR soft and then I use Google Translate.  This is enough to get an idea what the document is about.
If it is interesting I rewrite the text. 

I think it will take a couple of years before the complete archive will be inventoried. 

Some documents are very relevant such as a letter by Frantisec Kozelsky about the motorization of the heliostat. 
The letter dates from 1998.  The observatory opened in 1963 and closed in 2002.  So it’s at the end of the observatory.
The project was to use the heliostat to project the solar disc on the roof of the planetarium.
The planetarium was never finished because of financial troubles.  Only the dome existed.  The Zeiss instrument was never installed.

I didn’t find the heliostat.  Only the unfinished optical system to enter the sunlight in the planetarium.

The letter and the plans illustrate very well the way Kozelsky prepared his projects.

In 1991 the Public Observatory of Ždánice exited 25 years.  At this occasion an article was written in the Czech astronomy magazine Říšehvězd (Empire of stars).  The article briefly outlines the history of the observatory.

The construction of the hotel isn't mentioned in the article. 

Říšehvězd, June 1991

In my research for more background information about the Gajdusek-Kozelsky telescopes from the Zdanice Observatory I found an article in the Slovak astronomy magazine about a similar 20cm refractor build by Kozelsky.

The 20cm telescope described in this article is still in use in the Hlovohek Observatory.

The old lady is the Gajdusek-Kozelsky 16cm f:15 refractor.  The telescope is mounted on the Fullerscopes MK IV

This long achromat is an excellent telescope for Moon Photography.

See some photos made with telescope in the Astrophotography section of this blog.

Centraal gelegen ruime burgerwoning met winkel en tuin.

Gebouwd in 1926 en volledige gerenoveerd in 2009:
Nieuw dak, electriciteit en centrale verwarming.

Het huis bevat nog tal van originele art déco elementen, gemaakt door de Werkstede De Coene uit Kortrijk.

Gelijkvloers bestaand uit winkelruimte, ruime hall met trap en toilet, salon, woonkeuken, wasplaats en atelier.

Eerste verdieping met ruime overloop, 4 slaapkamers, dressing en toilet.

Tweede verdieping volledig ingerichte zolder met velux en centrale verwarming. Afzonderlijke logeerkamer.

Het huis bevat veel authentieke elementen: eiken deuren, hoge plafonds, originele parketvloeren en natuurstenen vloeren.

Rustige en zongerichte tuin met tuinhuis.

Meer info en foto's op deze pagina

Contact:
Xavier Debeerst
0476 49 19 71
Xavier@debeerst.com

ATOS (Antique Telescope Observation site)  is the next step in the evolution of Anamorfose and Anamorfose Curiosa. 

Anamorfose was founded in 1996 as a Photo Gallery in Belgium.  Anamorfose was selling vintage art photography and books worldwide as an e-commerce.  After years, the focus shifted from art photography to scientific photography and more specifically astronomical photography.  With the purchase of astronomical photos came also the trade in historical and antique telescopes. 

This culminated in the rewarding trade in antique observatory telescopes. 

The next step in this evolution is ATOS. 

The installation of these large telescopes in observatories for the public and the potential buyers to use and test, will give a boost to the antique telescope trade.

The project

Antique and classic telescopes are part of our scientific legacy.  Sometimes forgotten or considered no longer suitable for scientific use.
Not matter wath they say, even antique equipment can produce good science – with the right scientists.

The concept of ATOS is straight forward:

"creating an observation site for antique telescopes in a dark European region with luxury overnight accommodations."

Location: The Provence.

The location of the observation site is one of the most important and most challenging elements of the project.  In the light polluted Europe it isn't obvious to find a dark region with enough clear nights to observe.  Secondly the location must be attractive for the visitors.

After some search and analyses of  several regions we decided that the Provence in France is the best suited place to realize ATOS.
Dark places, approximately 170 dark nights a year with excellent observation opportunities (Source: Observatoire de Haute Provence), nice climate, good attainability, rich cultural offer and very nice people.

The domain must offer possibilities for the observation site and overnight accommodations (Chambre-d'Hôtes and Gîtes).  If possible a historic site with an authentic character. 

I've already visited the Provence twice in search of such location and visited several suitable domains.  But the search hasn't finished yet.  Still looking for the ideal spot.

The Observatories

The starting infrastructure will be the large observatory telescopes from the Zdanice Observatory and the other classic telescopes we have in our inventory.  In total we have plans for 5 observatories.  Specialised observatories for solar observation and astrophotography.  Observatories for visual observation.

Later the observation site will be open for other antique telescope collectors who want to park their telescopes under a dark sky.
You can always contact me if you should be interested to become part of this adventure.

Target groups

Besides amateur astronomers and collectors of antique telescopes, ATOS will be open for the general public who loves a quality stay in the Provence and discover the dark nights with classic telescopes.

The right communication will be the key to success.

Investors

For this ambitious and unique project there is a substantial budget needed.  Most of all to acquire the right location in the Provence.

We already have the basic astronomical infrastructure: telescopes, collection of vintage astrophotos and a large astronomical library.
I have a lot of experience in tourism marketing, the success factor for the project.

We are looking for fellow investors who love observing with classic telescopes in an authentic location in the Provence.
The return on investment can be negotiated.  We have several proposals.

Don't hesitate to contact me for more information.

One of the consequences of the horrible terrorist attacks of last Friday, 13th was that all the photo fairs in Paris were cancelled or closed.
This is only minor indirect consequence of the attacks.  The Paris people suffered much more than that.

Because we weren't able to show our photos in Paris I made a video with a selection of vintage photos and quotes.

More information about the vintage photos on our Anamorfose website.
I hope you can enjoy the video.

The Reichert Zetopan was one of the most advanced professional research microscopes from the 1970's and 1980's. The Zetopan Microscope is a heavy duty and very versatile instrument.

The Zetopan can be used with transmitted, incident, epi or mixed illumination.

The version we have is the Polarisation version with Bertrand Lens.

This is a research-grade microscope for optical examination under higher magnifications.  It is a Zetopan model with 3 objectives  and an X-Y stage with vernier scales.

The example photos are a 19th century microscope slide with Diatoms.

Spring in November.  That's the actual weather in Belgium. 
Very strange weather.  Mosquitoes in November...

Result of this warm weather is a lot of dew and fogging.  Not the best observation conditions.
A good dew controller is needed.

Equipment

The 160mm f:15 Gajdusek-Kozelsky refractor is installed in the observatory on the Fullerscopes MK IV equatorial mount.  Tracking and GOTO is now possible.  The Fullerscopes MK IV is a classic heavy duty mount retrofitted with stepper motors and an FS2 controller.

The Gajdusek-Kozelsky refractor is originally mounted on the original altaz mount.  

It's only a 16cm refractor but it's an impressive heavy telescope.Steel tube with balance weights inside the tube.

With a length of 240cm and a weight of +/-30kg it's the limit for the MK IV.  But the system works very smooth.

The focuser is a nice oversized 2" rack and pinion.  Very smooth.  Perfect for fine focusing at high magnifications.

The zenith prisms are an original 30mm made by Kozelsky and a 2" made by Zeiss.

Observation report

First views were very disappointing.  Blown up stars and a very bad star test. Almost impossible to focus the image.  Compared the images with the views from the 10cm Polarex.  Pinpoint stars and almost textbook star test.

After 45 minutes the Gajdusek-Kozelsky was cooled down and ready for the real work. Pinpoint stars!
First object: Aldebaran.  Red giant.  Perfect colour and deep black background.  Started with a 50mm 2" Rini eyepiece.  Pushed the image to 400x with an Abbe Zeiss 6mm ortho eyepiece.  Dimmer view but almost no colour aberration.  A little green border.  Up to 300X no trace of false colour.  Remarkable result.
Enough technique.  Time to enjoy deepsky objects.

The pier of the Fullerscopes is made for the 30cm Cassegrain and not for a long tube refractor.  Not the most comfortable observing position.  So limited to lower situated objects. The pier should at least be 75cm higher. 

First deep sky object were the Pleiades, open cluster in Taurus.  Pin point stars.  The field of view is to small to observe the complete cluster.  Bud large enough to see the three triangles.

Of course the Orion Nebula.  Low at the horizon just above the houses.  Nice fit in the 31mm Nagler.  Compared to the 4" Polarex much more detail.
A long tube refractor is excellent for faint stars.  Challenge to observe the E-star (mag 10.3) in the Trapezium cluster inside the Orion Nebula.  Could easily see the E-star.  Not possible with the Polarex.

The three open clusters in Auriga were the next objects.  Already higher in the sky.  Not so easy to observe.  Seated on the ground of the observatory.  Beautifll.

The back to Orion for double star hunting. Beta Orionis or Rigel was an impressive split.  Already visible with the 31mm Nagler but best with a Circle T 12.5mm Ortho. 

The Quadruple of Sigma Orionis was very interesting.  The seeing wasn't longer good.  Could only see the C-star with averted view.  Same with the C-star of Struve 761.

Last object was the open cluster M35 in Gimini.  I always compare M35 with an open hand full of shiny diamonds.   The companion cluster NGC2158 was visible, faint, only with averted vision.

Ended the observation session at 4am...

It was a great night.  Enjoyed a lot the 160mm Gajdusek-Kozelsky refractor.  Would it be with the 20cm (8") refractor?

The public observatory of Zdanice had a library and archive of thousands books and documents.  A real treasure.
A selection of the books can be found on the Anamorfose Photo Gallery website

Books about astronomy, space exploration, mathematics, science, history, ...

Various languages: Czech, Russian, German, English and French.

The books where scattered all over the building.  Everywhere you could find books and documents

Since I had only limited place in the trucks I was obliged to make a selection of books to bring back.  A very difficult choice to make.

Some of the books are very rare.  

First light for an experimental astrocamera made from a Zeiss Jena Tessar 250mm f4,5

The astrocamera is equiped with a 2" moonlight focuser.  Makes focusing easier.

The lens is a view camera lens 250mm f:4,5 Tessar made by Carl Zeiss Jena.

Photo taken two nights ago. Moon and high nebulosity: not the best circumstances for astrophotography.

The mount is the Skywatcher Star Adventurer.  A very nice traveller mount.

The Orion Nebula

Crop of the precious photo

The Pleiads

The 16cm f:15 Gajdusek Kozelsky refractor is installed on the Fullerscopes MK IV mount.  This heavy duty mount from the 1950's carries the refractor very well.

Now it will be possible to observe more objects because the Fullerscopes has the GOTO function.

The equatorial mount will make it possible to use higher enlargements.  It will also be possible to use the refractor for astrophotography

You want find much of them.  This is SN001 of the 20" 50cm Ealing Beck.  Normally Ealing made Cassegrains up to 40cm or 16".  Specially for the University of Ghent Ealing made this 50cm.  For some reasons the OTA was never installed on the mount.

The mount with the typical counterweight system.

The mirror cell with the baffle tube

Secondary mirror with the focusing motor.

Now the complete telescope is in our warehouse waiting for cleaning and installing new motors and controller.  After this it will be shipped to its final destination.

It's only a 15cm or 6" f:10 Maksutov telescope but it looks and feels like a much bigger instrument.

All metal, no plastic and a lot of beautiful glass made in the 1970's..

The Mk63 sits on an equatorial wedge with a motor and controller on the RA.  It runs smooth. 

Nice feature is the small Maksutov Guiding Scope.

The complete set with original adapters makes it easy to attach a camera to the scope.

First result: full Moon

Details of the Tangent Arm of the Kozelsky mount before cleaning.
Works very smooth

First newspaper article about the building of the observatory in 1960

News paper articles from the Zdanice Observatory archive. Starting in 1960 until 1989.
It must have been a famous observatory at that time.

Artist impression of the observatory

The observatory was build by the local community

The finished observatory without the hotel.

About 15.000 people a year spend the night in the hotel. A special rail road was build to Zdanice. The observatory was famous for the research of variable and double stars. A lot of visitors came from the USSR.

1986 Observatory and hotel

The 3 domes of the two refractors and the later added planetarium

The domes of the 20cm refractor and the planetarium

The 20cm f:15 Gajdusek-Kozelsky refractor? Now in our warehouse.

1961 the process of the building of the observatory

The 16cm Gajdusek-Kozelsky refractor

In the boxes brought back from the Zdanice Public Observatory found a copy of the statutes of the Observatory.
Interesting historical document.
The statutes date from a couple of years before closing of the observatory.

Handmade Star Diagonal Prism for the 16cm refractors.
The eyepiece size is 30mm and not the contemporary 31,5mm.
Works very well with Leitz microscope eyepieces.

Large 2inch star diagonal prism for the 16cm refractor.
Heavy piece bud fits perfect the refractor.

There is no indication of a brand on this piece.

7 June 2015

Last first light for the Gajdsuek_Koselsky 16cm refractor on the Alt Azimuth mount.
I don't know when it was the last time scope saw star light?

Two photos of how I found the scope laying in one of the domes.

The other photo is the scope standing in the garden ready for observation.

Refractorphil and his son joined for the first light.

It was a little puzzling to find the right pieces to fit the eyepieces. When you use an Altaz mount it's difficult to use high power eyepieces. Between 60x and 150x were ideal.

First object was Venus. Clean view with no secondary colors. Second object was Jupiter. Splendid view. Lot's of details in the clouds and a beautiful shadow transition. Details of the poles. Crispy.

Startest: textbook. What I hoped.
Double-Double in Lyra: clear split at 100x.
M13: Beauty
M57: lot of details.

Conclusion: The scopes is great. Easy to use. The focuser is a joy. Simple mount.