Royal Observatory celebrates 200th anniversary with series of events

The Royal Observatory of Belgium celebrates its 200th anniversary on Monday. Over the coming months, this milestone will be marked with a series of events, ranging from “astronomy on the pavement” sessions to concerts in the planetarium in Brussels. The programme was announced on Friday in Uccle.

On 8 June 1826, King William I of the Netherlands – Belgium did not yet exist – signed the founding charter of the Brussels Observatory. The first director was the scientist Adolphe Quetelet.

“What began as a modest observatory grew into an internationally renowned scientific institute, with space for astronomy, geophysics, seismology, space meteorology and the study of other planets,” declared the current director, Ronald Van der Linden. The observatory was later renamed the Royal Observatory of Belgium and moved to its current location in Uccle in 1890.

To mark its 200th anniversary, the Royal Observatory organises a series of activities for a broad public. For instance, on 26 and 27 September, there will be open days on the plateau in Uccle, featuring the Royal Meteorological Institute and the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy as well. The Humain Radioastronomy Station, near Rochefort – in Namur province – will also be open to visitors.

The Royal Observatory will also organise a series of free “astronomy on the pavement” sessions. On clear days and evenings, telescopes will be set up in parks and squares across Brussels, where everyone is welcome to observe the Sun, Moon, planets and stars.

In November and December, there will be lectures at the Palace of the Academies in Brussels. And in January 2027, the Brussels Philharmonic symphony orchestra will perform four concerts at the Royal Observatory’s planetarium in Brussels. Thirty musicians, twelve vocalists and a conductor will perform “The Planets” by the British composer Gustav Holst.
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^{The Royal Observatory of Belgium © PHOTO BELGIAN_FREELANCE / GILLES MENARD / FONDELOEIL}