Nemeth/Star Productions - Picture Gallery

Welcome to the new season of SPACE-FRIDAY Photography, beginning in France! Today, we’re taking you on a journey to the past as we explore the Cathedrale Notre-Dame in Strasbourg. Our focus? The magnificent Sundial of the Cathedral. This historic timepiece, dating back to 1843, marks the third clock to grace this iconic location since France’s earliest possession of the city. Among its remarkable features are a perpetual calendar, including a *computus* calculation, an orrery displaying the positions of planets, and a precise depiction of the Sun and Moon’s real-time locations, even forecasting solar and lunar eclipses. However, the true spectacle lies in the daily procession of Christ and the Apostles, standing 18 inches tall, occurring precisely at solar noon, accompanied by the crowing of a life-size cock three times. The clock’s gold hands indicate mean solar time, or “temps moyen,” while the silver hands display Central European Time, labeled “heure publique.” Notably, during winter, mean solar time trails approximately 30.5 minutes behind Central European Time.

The Astronomical Observatory, the first building of the university complex, was erected in 1877 and inaugurated in 1881. It was crucial to isolate this place from urban emissions and disturbances from other institutes to enable precise observations. Hence, Hermann Eggert, the architect of the Imperial University, chose to build the structures away from the university grounds, surrounded by a vast undeveloped area, encompassing both the Botanical Garden to the north and west and the Astronomical Institute to the south. In the imagery from around 1880, the fences of the Botanical Garden and Rue de l’Université were not yet erected. The observatory’s large dome houses an equatorial telescope with an aperture of 49 cm, which was considered the best in the German Empire upon its installation in 1881. Today, it ranks as the third largest dome in France, following those of the observatories in Meudon and Nice. During the renovations conducted at the time of our shooting at the Planetarium Strasbourg, we could only observe it from the outside. This episode is published under CC-BY 4.0 Please credit as follows Photo: Sven Nemeth Published by: Nemeth/Star Productions (https://nemethstarproductions.eu) You can now join our new Signal group “SPACE-FRIDAY: The Talk”, to talk with people about Astronomy, Science & Space. https://signal.group/#CjQKIBZWmt57f4O58ORpQyMj1FbYfWMo3v0WILUxX93IhRIQEhDnyBfyv_7sTW7z6gd_ji5l

Every August, we can enjoy the night of the Perseids. They can be found in the night sky between the constellations Camelopardalis (Giraffe) and Cassiopeia. We start this episode at the zenith of the sky with the constellations: Cepheus (with the star Alderamin), Cygnus (with the stars Deneb, Sadr, Aljanah, Fawaris), Delphinus, Draco (with the stars Eltanin, Rastaban), Sagitta, Hercules, Lacerta, Lyra (with the star Vega), Pegasus (with the stars Scheat, Matar), Equuleus, and Vulpecula. We can also see the supernova remnant NGC 6960 and the star regions Veil Nebula and North America Nebula. The home of the Perseids is between the constellations Camelopardalis and Cassiopeia. We also observe other constellations in these pictures, such as: Andromeda (with the stars Mirach, Alpheratz, Almach), Cassiopeia (with the stars Navi, Shedar, Caph), Cepheus, Lacerta, Pegasus (with the stars Scheat, Markab), Perseus (with the stars Mirfak, Algol), Pisces, Triangulum, Aquila (with the star Tarazed), Delphinus, Sagitta, Lacerta, Vulpecula, and Aquarius. We can also see the nebula IC 1831 and the Andromeda Galaxy. All pictures licensed CC--BY 4.0