Category of Astronomical Heritage: tangible immovable
Simon Marius Observatory, Residence in Ansbach, Germany

Description

Geographical position

Promenade 27, 91522 Ansbach

Location

Latitude 49.302712 N, longitude 10.575995 E. Elevation ??? m above mean sea level.

IAU observatory code

Description of (scientific/cultural/natural) heritage

CV

Simon Marius [Mayr] (1573--1624)

1606 Marriage with Felicitas Lauer

Simon Marius in Ansbach from 1606 to 1624

Under Margrave Georg Friedrich I, the Swabian architect Blasius Berwart (1563-1589, chief Margravial master builder) built a sophisticated Renaissance residence between 1565 and 1575.

Joachim Ernst of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1583--1625), Margrave 1603 to 1625
Coat of arms of the Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach

Discovery of Jupiter's moons -- Marius contra Galilei
Galileo Galilei (1564--1642)
Il Saggiatore (1623)
telescopic observations:
Milky Way and nebula as a collection of countless stars,
observations of the moon and Jupiter's moons as well as Venus phases

Simon Marius [Mayr] (1573--1624)

Prognosticon auf 1612 (dedication 1.3.1611)

Marius, Simon: Mundus Iovialis anno MDCIX Detectus Ope Perspicilli Belgici. Nuremberg 1614.

Marius determined the orbital periods and brightness of the moons.

Memorial plaque for the discovery of Jupiter's moons in Ansbach Castle

Kepler, Johannes: Narratio de Observatis a Sequatuor Iovis Satellitibus Erronibus, 1610/11

Marius discovered the Andromeda Nebula (1612).

Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (903--986) had already depicted the Andromeda Nebula in his work "Liber locis stellarum fixarum" (964).

The Andromeda Nebula was given the designation M 31 in the Messier Catalogue.
Charles Messier (1758-1771) observed in the Observatoire Hôtel de Cluny from 1748 onwards.

History

Telescopes of Simon Marius

Fuchs von Bimbach, Frankfurt Fair (1608), lens damaged and too expensive.
"Perspicillum belgicum", Fuchs von Bimbach (summer 1609),
Telescope made by Simon Marius using Venetian lenses (end of 1609),
Telescope bought in Regensburg (1613)

Aftermath: Monument in Ansbach, Moon Crater, and Meteorite

Marius memorial in Ansbach
(Friedrich Schelle 1991)
Moon crater 11.9° N, -50.8° W,
diameter 41km (IAU 1935),
Rima Marius 16.4°, -49.5° (IAU 1964)
Marius Regio (1979) on Jupiter's moon Ganymede
Marius minor planet 7984
(Marius Portal, Norman Schmidt)

State of preservation

The Renaissance building was replaced by the current building, built on the ground plan of the Renaissance Residence:
Gabriel de Gabrieli, 1694-1716,
Carl Friedrich von Zocha 1719-1730 ,
Leopoldo Retti, 1731-1749.

Comparison with related/similar sites

no information available

Threats or potential threats

no information available

Present use

no information available

Astronomical relevance today

no information available

References

Bibliography (books and published articles)

Gaab, Hans & Pierre Leich (Hg.): Simon Marius und seine Forschung. Leipzig: AVA -- Akademische Verlagsanstalt (Acta historica Astronomiae; Vol. 59) 2016. (Schriftenreihe der Nürnberger Astronomischen Gesellschaft, Nr. 6; Schriftenreihe der Simon Marius Gesellschaft, Bd. 1).
....
Wolfschmidt, Gudrun (Hg.): Booklet of Abstracts: Astronomie in Franken Simon Marius und seine Zeit. Von den Anfängen bis zur modernen Astrophysik -- 125 Jahre Dr. Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg (1889). Colloquium of the Working Group History of Astronomy in the Astronomical Society, Nürnberg, 20. September 2014, Bamberg, 21.-22. September 2014. Hamburg: Center for History of Science and Technology (GNT) 2014.
Wolfschmidt, Gudrun (Hg.): Simon Marius, der fränkische Galilei, und die Entwicklung des astronomischen Weltbildes. Simon Marius, the Franconian Galileo and the Evolution of the Astronomical Worldview. Hamburg: tredition science (Nuncius Hamburgensis - Beiträge zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften; Band 16) 2012 (420 Seiten).