Welcome Address

Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Keller

Director of the

Carl-Zeiss-Planetarium Stuttgart and Welzheim Observatory

To the delegates and guests of the ESOP XVIII

Ladies and Gentlemen,
dear colleagues and friends,

it is a great pleasure and also a great honor to welcome you in our planetarium. It is both nice and honorful that you have chosen Stuttgart for your ESOP-meeting in 1999. Combining scientific lectures and discussions with observations of the total solar eclipse on August 11th, 1999 is really a good opportunity. It is the only eclipse in the passing 20th Century in wich the path of totality crosses Germany. A total solar eclipse is the most spectacular star occultation not only for scientists and enthusiastic amateur-astronomers but also for the general public. We expect more than half a million visitors and eclipse-chasers from all over the world to come to Stuttgart - definitely an important event for all of us.

Stuttgart is the capital of the German Federal state of Baden-Württemberg, the swabian metropole. It has about 600 000 inhabitants but in an area of 30 km around more than 3 million people are living. The famous astronomer Johannes KEPLER was born in Weil der Stadt, a small town 20 km nearby. In the early Twenties the Swabian Observatory was erected on Uhlandshill with a benefit of Albert Einstein; he was born in the swabian county, too. 80 km east of Stuttgart the factory of Carl Zeiss Company is located.

Stuttgart was one of the first cities to have a planetarium shortly after its invention by Walther Bauersfeld. The first Stuttgart Planetarium opened its doors for the public in May 1928. It was located in the Hindenburgbau, opposite of the railway main station. This building was destroyed in 1943 during World War II.

In 1969 a generous donation of the Carl Zeiss-Foundation gave the city of Stuttgart the chance to erect a new planetarium. The new Stuttgart Planetarium started its astronomical shows on April 22nd, 1977.

About five million visitors have seen the star shows in our dome ever since. Besides star shows for the general public a lot of other astronomical activities take place in this institute. Trainings of ESA-astronauts in astronomical navigation as well as lectures in celestial mechanics and chronology for the students of Stuttgart University are given.

In 1992 a new astronomical observatory was erected in the national park of the Swabian-Frankonian forest near the city of Welzheim in a dark area without light pollution of street lamps and traffic. The main telescope of Welzheim Observatory is a 10-inch-triplett APQ-refractor from Astro Physics. The observatory is handled by the astronomers of Stuttgart Planetarium. Some weeks ago the new semi-professional solar telescope from Carl Zeiss was installed. Its first task is observing the total solar eclipse 1999 for the local TV-station.

The Swabian Observatory has a long tradition in observing star occultations. For many years the results of this job were published in various astronomical journals. Now it is a great pleasure to welcome the experts of this astronomical topic in Stuttgart. Today both amateurs and professional astronomers will learn from each other. Observing star occultations is an ideal example for the successful co-operation between amateurs and professionals. The astronomical research needs the work of amateurs for exploring the secrets of our universe.

I wish you a successful and memorable conference!

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