Konstantin V. Ivanov

Doctor of Science (History), PhD in Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Chief Researcher, Head of the History of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Department

S. I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology of Russian Academy of Sciences

(Moscow, Russia)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-102-112

Abstract. The article presents the circumstances preceding the construction of the Pulkovo Observatory; it takes into account and discusses both the political and scientific contexts of the early 19th century, which allows us to better understand the usefulness of establishing a new type of astronomical observatory during that particular historical period. The author lists the projects for the construction of new observatories and shows as an advanced strategy for conducting astronomical observations makes its way, completely changing the idea of the architecture of astronomical buildings. The open horizon began to be provided not by the construction of high towers within the urban space, which was typical for the entire 18th century, but by the construction of a solid, low building on a natural elevation, or on an artificial terrace, outside the city limits. Measurements began to be taken not from portable instruments, but from stationary instruments placed on stone pillars that do not touch the walls of the observatory building. This rather coincides with the all-European transition from the late Baroque architectural style to neoclassicism. Among the immediate predecessors of the Pulkovo Observatory, the Helsinki Observatory is mentioned – a fact that for some reason is ignored in the historiography of the Russian history of astronomy. The paper substantiates the increased attention of the governments of European states in the first third of the 19th century to the development of precise positional astronomy in connection with the practical need to carry out numerous demarcations following the Napoleonic Wars. The author gives some examples of the convergence of interests between government officials and academic astronomers through the development of a rhetoric of public benefit. It is pointed out that the significantly increased accuracy of astronomical measurements has made it possible to solve not only practical but also fundamental scientific issues, which include: determining the proper velocities of stars, measuring annual parallaxes, determining the coordinates of the apex and refining astronomical constants.
Keywords: Pulkovo Observatory, Helsinki Observatory, principles of observatory construction, positional astronomy, practical astronomy.

Full text of the article (PDF)

For citation: Ivanov, KV 2025, ‘The Founding of the Pulkovo Observatory: Backstory’, Tula Scientific Bulletin. History. Linguistics, issue 2 (22), pp. 102–112, https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-102-112 (in Russ.)

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