Observatory in Lower Austria

View into infinite expanses is now being “sharpened”

Astronomers will soon be able to look even deeper into space from the Leopold Figl Observatory at Mitterschöpfl. From there, they will be able to track down exoplanets - soon with improved technical equipment.

We are gaining more and more insight into how infinite the universe is. And what unimaginable dimensions are opening up," says astronomer Stephan Meingast from the University of Vienna, trying to put the astonishment of the "Krone" environment editor into perspective during a local inspection of the observatory, which hovers in solitude above the treetops in the district of Baden.

The observatory on the Schöpfl.(Bild: Imre Antal)

Austria's largest reflecting telescope
In any case, the observatory near St. Corona am Schöpfl is somehow located in eternity. This is because exoplanets are constantly being discovered in space from here - a glimpse into humanity's past reveals itself as if by magic. Once emitted, the radiance of the stars takes endless light years to become visible from Earth. These small and large wonders of creation are made possible by Austria's largest reflecting telescope with a diameter of 1.5 meters.

Looking into space - University Rector Sebastian Schütze, astronomer Werner Zeilinger, State Councillor for Science Stephan Pernkopf (from left).(Bild: Imre Antal)

Global space missions
The Viennese scientists have long been feeling their way far into the darkness of the starry nights from this observatory. "We now want to make further advances possible with an investment of several hundred thousand euros," explains Stephan Pernkopf, Provincial Councillor for Science. The observatory, whose foundation stone was laid by Leopold Figl in 1966 with a donation to the University of Vienna, does not stand alone on the 880 meter high Mitterschöpfl, but has long been embedded in large global space missions - also with NASA. What sets this observatory apart: As astronomer Werner Zeilinger emphasizes, it works free of the light pollution that obscures views of the sky elsewhere.