Nice Observatory


The Nice Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Nice, France on the summit of Mount Gros. The observatory was founded in 1879, by the banker Raphaël Bischoffsheim. The architect was Charles Garnier, and Gustave Eiffel designed the main dome.
In 1886 the largest refracting telescope in the World made its debut at Nice Observatory, the Grand Lunette.

Description

The refractor telescope made by Henry and Gautier became operational around 1886–1887,
was the largest in a privately funded observatory, and the first at such high altitude. It was slightly bigger in aperture, several metres longer, and located at a higher altitude than the new at Pulkovo observatory in the Russian Empire, and the at Vienna Observatory.
In the records for the largest refracting telescopes all three were outperformed by the refractor installed at the Lick Observatory at 1,283 m altitude in 1889.
As a scientific institution, the Nice Observatory no longer exists. It was merged with CERGA in 1988 to form the Côte d'Azur Observatory, which often is still referred to as "Nice Observatory".
The Nice Observatory was featured in the unsuccessful 1999 film Simon Sez. It was also the setting for the title scene in the 2014 Woody Allen flick Magic in the Moonlight.

Directors