Astro related sightseeing in the UK and Europe

[traveller]

Hi all,
I am heading to the following European cities in September and would like to go to some astro related sights if possible.
The cities list include
Copenhagen, Billund (Legoland :D), Helsingborg (Sweden), Liege (Belgium) and Stoke on Trent and Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK (I know...).
I will go to the Natural History Museum in London, but any other suggestions for the above cities (and tips if you have been there) will be very much appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Bo :thumbsup:

[gary]

Hi Bo,

I've never been there but there is the Rundetårn (Round Tower) in Copenhagen which was built in the 17th century as an observatory -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rundet%C3%A5rn

I know that some who have been on tours with Fred Watson have visited the
Danish island of Hven where Tycho Brahe set up his observatory.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uraniborg

Don't forget to visit Greenwich if you have not been there in the past.

Best Regards

Gary

[Camelopardalis]

Bo, if you get a clear night ;) go up and visit the Kielder Observatory (http://www.visitkielder.com/visit/kielder-observatory), it's one of the (if not the) darkest places in England (note: there are darker, more remote regions in Scotland and Wales)

Then there's the Royal Observatory (http://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory) in Greenwich which is worth a trip if you're in the area (it's been a few years since I last went).

If you were out in the west country, I'd suggest the Herschel museum in Bath.

[pluto]

The Rundetaarn in Copenhagen is cool, definitely worth a visit.
I would also recommend a trip to the Science Museum in London and the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

Also if you end up in Stockholm try and drop by the old observatory there. I went there and as soon as the attendant heard I was an amateur astronomer he got very excited and gave me a very comprehensive tour :)

I really wish I'd gone to Legoland, next time for sure... :sadeyes:

[traveller]

Thanks Gary, I think I have been to Rundertarn when I was in Copenhagen in 1999 backpacking around Europe, but didn't realise its astronomical importance. Have been to Greenwich of course, and will go again.



That's only 1 hour drive from Newcastle, looks great. Again, I was living in Bath for three months back in 1999, but visited more pubs than observatories :lol:



Don't think I will go to Stockholm, or have the time to do so, but will think of you when my kids go nuts in Legoland ;)

[rustigsmed]

Hey Bo,

You could catch the train (or bus) from Helsingborg to Lund to the Lund observatory (which is apart of Lund uni now) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lund_Observatory its not that far.

or go to the Tycho Brahe museum off Landskrona (super close to Helsingborg and an island - oops seen someone has mentioned this already).

Plenty of options down there. here is a list of astro societies in Sweden
http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lista_%C3%B6ver_astronomif%C3%B6ren ingar all those listed as in Skåne (http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sk%C3%A5ne) are doable.

Cheers

Russ

[traveller]

Thanks Russ,
Another missed opportunity in my misspent youth. I was in Lund for 3-4 days, as I had a friend who was finishing his economics degree from Lund Uni, he even gave me a tour of the campus. Missed the observatory, guess it's not something an economics graduate would find interesting...
Bo

[Wavytone]

Ok apart from what's left of Greenwich - very sad to see BTW because most of the antique scopes and astronomical instruments have been removed and it has been reduced to a cheap gift stop flogging junk and a cafe.

There are several stone circles worth seeing between the Scottish highlands and Stonehenge in the south.

A science and astronomy museum in Florence which has Galileos missing finger, and a collection of early refractors of that period.

A da Vinci museum in Milan, well worth seeing (though not strictly astronomical).

[tileys]

Not astro - but tech related - If you can fit it in I would recommend a trip to Bletchley Park - where they worked on cracking the Enigma machines in the last war - fascinating place - one of the birthplaces of modern computing.

[traveller]

Thanks Tiley,
I will look into it, very interesting.
Bo

[Wavytone]

The original London planetarium has been relegated to showing Marvel superheroes (the poms are losing their sense of what Really Matters IMHO) however there is another planetarium at Greenwich http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Harrison_Planetarium

If your interests extend to Victorian engineering you can't miss the science museum and the Brunel museum. I'd suggest read a biography of Brunel first in case you don't know - and consider travelling to see some of the landmarks he created, many are still standing in daily use.

[traveller]

Thanks, I know a little about Brunel and visited Clifton suspension bridge among other things when I was living in Bath for three months. I didn't know about the other planetarium so will look it up.
Bo

[Rob_K]

Don't stop there Wavytone - Greenwich itself has been taken over by SteamPunk, with Flamsteed House subtitled "Longitude Punk'd" (groan) and housing a display of intricate, fake, imaginary time-associated machinery & gadgets created by the SteamPunk movement. The real things are in a dingy box of a room downstairs, if you get that far. This is what happens when the Arts takes over Science, where style and display is more important than content. It's a problem in museums all over the world, Australia included.

Greenwich has within it one of the greatest stories of all - time itself - but there is no coherent experience of it at the observatory. And there are many untold stories. For instance, the 2nd Astronomer Royal, Edmond Halley, gets one little signboard that essentially says he did a lot of measurements but some were a bit suss. That's it?! :shrug:

Cheers -

[barx1963]

Sad isn't it. "Steampunk" is quite likely the most annoying modern trend, outside of Facebook that is!

Malcolm

PS Sorry about hijacking the thread Bo!

[OzEclipse]

Herschel Museum of Astronomy at 19 New King Street, Bath. The museum is William Herschel's original house. He discovered Uranus in the backyard of this house and there is a workshop where they used to cast the speculum mirrors for his telescopes.

Would not recommend a special trip to Bath just to see it but Bath is worth a visit in its own right. If you are there, the Herschel museum is definitely worth a visit.

http://herschelmuseum.org.uk/

Joe

[Wavytone]

One aspect I missed particularly at Greenwich was their collection of old instruments - astrolabes, sundials, monographs, clocks, drool-worthy old telescopes, filar micrometers and much more which I first saw in the late 1970's.

What's left on display is tragic and I can't help suspecting some stupid accountant flogged the collection off as worthless old junk.

And yes sorry I forgot the Herschel museum - I saw that in 2013. I'll add the stone circles at Avebury and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Aquhorthies

[traveller]

I made a couple of posts on Star Gazers Lounge and got some nice tips for visiting Kielder Observatory and accommodations near by.
Can't wait for my trip.....
(:prey::prey::prey: Aussie dollar go up)