A new solar telescope will be inaugurated at the Michiel Coignet Observatory in Antwerp on Sunday, following the annual solar viewing day.
The observatory on Zirkstraat will now collaborate with Volkssterrenwacht Urania from Hove to organise new activities.
The observatory in Zirkstraat was founded in the 1920s by the Astronomical Society of Antwerp, which in the meantime received the "Royal" title.
In 1925, the KSGA published its first statutes, making it its 100th official anniversary this year.
The Michiel Coignet Observatory has since become a household name in Antwerp, attracting many interested visitors every year to look at the moon, sun and stars.
One of the observatory's historic telescopes is a 100-year-old Zeiss telescope, a 13-centimetre diameter lens viewer. Equipped with a modern solar filter, it is an ideal telescope for observing sunspots.
On the occasion of the annual solar viewing day, the “birthday” Zeiss telescope will be highlighted. In addition, a brand new solar telescope, which allows to see solar flares or prominences, will be inaugurated on Sunday.
The observatory on Zirkstraat was restored in 2023 by Volkssterrenwacht Urania from Hove, one of the six recognised people's observatories in Flanders with a strong supra-local appeal. It was now decided to anchor that collaboration.
Urania receives around 20,000 visitors a year and has a very active youth workforce. KSGA is the oldest association for amateur astronomy in Flanders, and by cooperating with Urania its long-term survival is assured.
The general public can visit on Sunday during the solar viewing day between 13:00 and 18:00 and during the months of July and August, every Saturday afternoon between 14:00 and 16:00, to look at the sun through the telescope.
