Konkoly Observatory Monographs No. 3.
The Konkoly Observatory Chronicle
In Commemoration of its Centenary
by Magda Vargha
Budapest
1999
Konkoly Observatory Monographs No. 3.
The Konkoly Observatory Chronicle
In Commemoration of its Centenary
by Magda Vargha
with the assistance of Dr. József Csaba and Robert Vida
C m s o 'V t C íw l I r€öy t m J r v X u í U í
'r\VAA.
Budapest
1999
Special thanks to D r. G erhard Scholz for the photographs o f the original instrum ents o f the O gyallaer O bservatory.
O T K A T 026361
P rin ted by T ipostil C o., Pilisszentiván, H ungary IS B N 963 8361 47 6 H U ISS N 1216-5824 F elelős kiadó: Dr. B alázs Lajos
M űszak i szerkesztő: D ecsy Pál
2
CONTENTS
The Human Component
by Lajos Balázs, Director of the Konkoly O bservatory...5
Introduction...
7Life in Ógyalla Chapter 1
T h e L i f e a n d W o r k o f M i k l ó s K o n k o l y T h e g e ... 8Chapter 2
A B r i e f H i s t o r y o f t h e A s t r o p h y s i c a l O b s e r v a t o r y o f th e K o n k o l y F o u n d a t i o n a t Ó g y a l l a / N i c o l a u s v o n K o n k o l y ...18Chapter 3
B e o b a c h t u n g a n g e s t e l l t a m A s t r o p h y s i k a l i s c h e n O b s e r v a t o r i u m in Ó g y a l l a in U n g a r n ... 22E inleitung. Bd. 1. 1 8 7 9 ...22
U ntersuchung der Sterne A ndrom edae and N ova O rionis., Bd. 8 . Teil /I. 1887... 34
Chapter 4
A F e w P i e c e s t o I l l u s t r a t e K o n k o l y 's s t y l e o f w o r k ... 36P raktische A nleitung zur A nstellung B eobachtungen m it b esonderer R ücksicht a u f die A strophysik. B raunschw eig, 1883. V o rw ort... 36
T he A strophysical O bservatory in P o ts d a m ... 38
A new P hotographie S pectroscope /N icolaus von K o n k o ly ...40
Study tour report (1984) (frag m en t)... 42
Chapter 5
T h e S u r v i v i n g L e t t e r s o f K o n k o l y T h e g e 's C o r r e s p o n d e n c e ...45K onkoly T hege's R esearches in S olar Physics. - S om e letters w ritten to him by S pörer and other prom inent astronom ers o f the tim e /B éla K álm án ...45
E nglish C o n n e c tio n ... 62
K onkoly's letters to G o th a ... 64
A letter from Karl Schw arzschild 1907...71
Chapter 6
N e w s A b o u t t h e “ V e r s a m m l u n g d e r A s t r o n o m i s c h e n G e s e l l s c h a f t z u B u d a p e s t ” 1 8 9 8 S e p t.24-27
...72New home of Konkoly Observatory
Chapter 1
The New Home of the Konkoly Observatory on the “Svábhegy” ... 74
Chapter 2 The Circumstances in the First Few Years
... 82A ppendix to "P hotom etrische B eobachtungen V eränderlicher Sterne /A ntal T a ss... 82
B udapest. (S tiftung von v. K onkoly) /A ntal T a ss... 85
U ngarische S taatssternw arte in B udapest./H erm ann K o b o ld ...88
A letter o f M ax W o lf to A ntal T ass (H eidelberg, 1926 28 F e b r .) ... 88
T he A stronom ical F raternity o f the W orld VI. /D avid P ic k e rin g ... 90
A stronom ical C onferences H eld in the year 1928 /A ntal T a s s ...92
B ericht über die V ersam m lung der A stronom ischen G esellschaft zu B udapest 1930. A ugust 8 -1 2 ...96
T he G öttingen C olloquium ...99
N ew s F rom T he M useum . W hat shall w e see - T he m useum o f the K onkoly Thege O bservatory /Júlia B a lá z s...100
Chapter 3 Correspondence of László D etre... 102
Chapter 4 Conversations between Magda Vargha and Béla Szeidl... 125
Supplement Chapter 1
B i o g r a p h i e s ...136B é la H arkányi /R ad ó K ö v eslig eth y ...136
In m em óriám K övesligethy (1862-1934) /A ntal R é th ly ...137
A ntal T ass (1876-1937) /G yörgy K u lin ...140
C ertificate o f A w ard to Dr. K ároly L a sso v sz k y ...141
L assovszky m e m o ria ls ...143
O rbituary by Im re Izsák... 143
L etters o f sym pathy to M r Lassovszky's wife on the case o f his d e a th ...144
L ászló D etre /L ászló P a tk ó s... 145
C ontributions o f Im re Izsák to Satellite G eodesy /D ezső N a g y ...145
Chapter 2
S m a l l N o t e s o n S o m e P e r s o n s ' T h o u g h t s ... 149T he Z odiacal L ight /P éter Á b ra h á m ...149
A D ifficult D ecision /Iván A lm á r... 149
P ersonal Im pression o f a T heorician in the K onkoly O bservatory /S zabolcs B a rcza... 150
A P ossible A ttitude to A stronom y /A ttila G ra n d p ie rre ...152
Is It W orth-W hile to S print a R ace? /E rzséb et I llé s ...153
T he S ongs o f D istant Suns /Z oltán K o llá th ...153
Inheritors o f K onkoly in Solar P hysics /A ndrás L u d m á n y ...154
P ersonal T houghts on Science /M arg it P ap aró ...155
P ast and F uture o f the K onkoly O bservatory /R ó b ert S z ab ó ... 156
M y R esearch Field /Im re T ó th ... 156
Som e o f M y M em ories o f my F ather L ászló D etre /C saba D e tr e ...157
The Human Component
by Lajos Balázs
Director of the Konkoly Observatory
O n the event o f the O bservatory's centenary I was often asked, that looking back, w hat is it th at I consider to be the O bservatory's biggest achievem ent. A fter a while I replied, that the biggest achievem ent is that it exists in the first place. In its existence I, naturally, do not m ean, that in one o f the pleasant green belts o f B udapest, on the Svábhegy hills, near N orm afa, there exists eight 'holds' (about 4.6 hectares) o f territory, w here, at its entrance, the follow ing stands: M agyar T udom ányos A kadém ia C sillagászati K utatóintézete (A stronom ical R esearch Institute o f the H ungarian A cadem y o f S ciences); but that the Insitute's astronom ical know ledge is internationally recognised. T hough H ungarian astronom y is not full o f success stories.
T he beginning was prom ising fo r the 1815-opened U niversity O bservatory o f G ellérthegy. Its opening was honoured by the presence o f three rulers (A ustrian E m peror, R ussian T sar, P russian K ing). Its equipm ent lived up to its day's standards. T he observatory was com pletely destroyed u nder the siege o f B u d a castle in 1849. T here are those w ho think that M iklós K onkoly T hege chosen on p urpose the 20th o f M ay 1899 as the giving o f the observatory to the state, as the taking back o f B uda is celebrated on the 2 1 st o f M ay, so the H ungarian R oyal K onkoly-founded A strophysical O bservatory started its functioning exactly 50 years after the destruction o f the G ellérthegy O bservatory.
T he fate was not m erciful either, for the observatory built by K ároly N agy, on the bo rd ers o f B icske.
F ro m the rem iniscences o f B enjam in G ould, the founder o f the A stronom ical Journal, we know th at in 1847 he visited the then half-built observatory, and was am azed by the great library w hich had several thousands volum es, and the up-to-dateness o f the equipm ent. H ere the W ar o f Independence in 1848/49 had interfered w ith the norm al life o f the observatory. T he A ustrian troops erected a battery in the g arden o f the observatory, and then arrested K ároly N agy, w ho created a flag for the observatory (blue w ith w hite stars) on the grounds o f republicanism . T he 52 year-old m an was chained to one o f the g un-carriages in the observatory's garden; there he spent the night under the starry sky; then on foot he w as driven to th e 'N eues G ebäude' in Pest. H ere after several w eeks o f trial he was released on lack o f evidence. T his ev en t has shaken him to the extent that he offered his observatory to H M F ranz Joseph I and asked for p erm ission to leave the country.
T he fate o f the observatory's buildings was not determ ined, how ever, by the d estructive fo rce o f tim e.
T he hilltop next to B icske had again becom e m ilitary territory at the end o f 1944. O ne o f the attacking groups o f W ehrm acht tried here to break into the Soviet siege-circle. T he territory changed hands several tim es. T he still intact buildings w ere severely dam aged. But w hat could not be destroyed by the iron-teeth o f tim e o r the W ehrm acht, the local residents destroyed. T he building o f the observatory w as sim ply carried away; now not even the base o f the observatory is to be seen. F rom the observing w atch-tow er som ething rem ained, o r rather, from the m ausoleum that K ároly N agy erected for his younger b rother w ho died early in his life. W e should m ention how ever, that the tow n o f Bicske, on the 200th anniversary o f K ároly N agy, nam ed its library after him.
U nfortunately H ungary is plentiful in these events. N evertheless, M iklós K onkoly T hege's Institute is not an exam ple to the so-called 'H ungarian' fate. A t the establishm ent, in 1871 (four years after the A ustro- H ungarian com prom ise), the country was, at running pace, on the road w hich today we often call 'opening up to E u ro p e 1. W ith good instincts, K onkoly realised that in astronom y, the future m eant the developm ent o f the field o f astrophysics. D ue to this, in his Institute's research profile, he gave astrophysics a d o m inant part to play. D uring the 1880s the K onkoly Institute was w idely know n about outside the borders o f H ungary. This alone, how ever, could not prevent it from sharing the sad fate o f private o bservatories; th at is w hen o bservatories gradually degradated and eventually becam e useless and insignificant, w hen its fo under died.
F rom the view point o f the later-living, the decisive m om ent was, w ithout doubt, w hen the Institute cam e under state ow nership on the 20th o f M ay, 1899. This m ade it possible, that the ruins that w ere created after the F irst W o rld W ar did not bury the Institute under it. A lthough the T rianon T reaty stripped aw ay Ó gyalla and w ith it its observatory from H ungary, the state ow nership o f the instrum ents created the right for them to be carried to B udapest, and there, the descendant o f the observatory to be built.
T h at the state p layed a p art w as necessary, but still not enough for survival. T ow ards the end o f the w ar th e Institute was on the edge o f existence. In 1917, for m onths, the w hole o f the scientific sta ff consisted only o f A ntal T ass. T he O bservatory's survival could not have happened, had it not been for his p erm anent determ ination. T herefore ap art from state ow nership, there had to be som ething w hich we w ould now m ostly call, 'the hum an com ponent'. D uring the life o f the Institute, for the right decisions, w ithout doubt, there alw ays had to be the beneficial historical event, but there also had to be people, w ho u tilized these possibilities, w hich w ere given. P eople w ho w orked to put culture and science back on its feet after the w ar w ere needed, culture m inisters such as dr. V ass and K lebelsberg; but trained researchers w ere also needed, w ho could p ro d u ce scientific contents for the Institute that w ere to its days' standards.
D uring the S econd W o rld W a r the Institute, again, stood close to being perished. A t the end o f 1943 it con sisted only o f the d irecto r and two assistants. O n the 25 th o f D ecem ber 1944, the S oviet troops invaded the buildings; in som e o f the dom es, cam p kitchens w ere set up, in others, horses w ere kept. T he d irector how ever, after 3 days, succeeded in getting the S oviet C om m and to agree th at the library and som e laboratories could be free from Soviet occupation. W hen I was a young researcher I heard a legend, that am ong the S oviet officers there was one who was an astronom er, and it w as thanks to him that so soon an agreem ent w as reached. T herefore the library could be saved. F rom 'the hum an com ponent', this seem ingly unim portant trifle bears w itness to a dram atically force. T o our library visitors we often proudly show that all the im portant astronom ical jo u rn als are present from the first edition onw ards, progressively (the A stronom ische N achrichten from 1823, the A stronom ical Journal from 1851, and so on), w hilst they had been through tw o w orld wars, tw o revolutions, the W all S treet crash and tw o changes o f political system , to m ention only the m ost severe events.
T h ese people, w ho gave em bodim ent to this so-called 'hum an com ponent', w ere o f course not free from errors. Q uite regularly they had torn apart their strength with bad tem per and conflicts. Y et the Institute survived all this. F ollow ing the revolution in 1956, prom ising young talents left for the W est. H ow ever in 1958 the director, L ászló D etre, achieved that from the 9 m illion forint support from the G overnm ent, the P iszkéstető m ountain station be built. T his support ended in 1974, w hen the lm telescope w as put into operation. A fter this there w ere no m ore big-scale astronom ical investm ents in H ungary; th e Institute's extensive d evelopm ent closed dow n. A new era started w ith the d irectorship o f B éla S zeidl, w hich is ch aracterised by the expansion in the field o f com puting and inform atics. T he num ber o f sta ff did not increase, but its p roductivity doubled in 2 0 years.
O ne o f the big g est traum as o f the 20th century is that the naive b elief o f the last century, o f using science for the general progression o f hum anity has faded away. T he technological advances built by scientific results w ere discharged into all out w arfare and H iroshim a. T he history o f the Institute is an exam ple to the fact th at astronom y could raise itself above narrow , tem porary political interest. It p reserved th e virtue o f d eterm ination, persistence, renew al and recovery, w ithout w hich there is no science, culture, or hum an existence.
To my colleagues with whom I have spent a great time
Introduction
Cfi intended to prepare this volume as an introduction to the Observatory. W hile editing J J this book, I saw before me the past hundred years' more important events.
Apart from the three essays that I wrote as an introduction to certain chapters, I made an effort to revive the years past through original, unknown or hardly attainable documents.
Naturally, where volumes are edited on the basis of documents, it belongs to the book's character that individual subjects are not brought up proportionally to their importance, since memories never survive in order of importance but are subjects to the laws of chance.
I published everything in its original language, and its incorrected state, except some Hungarian material that I felt essential to be translated into English.
In the first part of the book my goal was to show Konkoly's activities as fully as possible by a selection of passages. Taking a fragment from the several hundred-page itineraries, I wished to show the humour in his style and his daring colors.
Through the articles in the second part I tried to sketch out the historical background of the Observatory's re-birth.
In László Detre's scientific letters, the era's significant events crop up.
By the interview with Béla Szeidl, I tried to provide everyday information about the past.
In the Supplement, I give you the biography of the Observatory's past hundred years’
most important persons. Finally, in the last, a bit unusual chapter, I put together some of my colleagues’ subjective thoughts.
For the predominant part of the letters presented in this book, I got hold of them with the big-hearted support of my friends. The surviving letters of Ógyalla form the property of Dr. László Druga. I got hold of the letters from Gotha with the help of my close friend Manfred Strumpf. From Dr. Csaba Detre, László Detre's original pieces of correspondence arrived to the Konkoly Observatory's library. I got a copy of the Beobachtungs of Konkoly from librarian József Horváth. I got the souvenirs associated with Károly Lassovszky with the help of Mrs. Lassovszky and her daughter, Judit. Finally, I owe thanks to science historian Dr. Anita McConnel, who found for me a previously unknown article about Konkoly in the Optician paper.
The reading of handwriting (in particular, the ones written in Gothic letters) is very difficult. I owe thanks to Dr. László Patkós, Katalin Rajczy, V. Miklós Gyóngy, Katalin Vargha, József Márton, Szabolcs Barcza and István Domsa who in this and other work, were available at my disposal.
Magda Vargha
P A R T I
Life in Ógyalla
CHAPTER 1
THE LIFE AND WORK OF MIKLOS KONKOLY THEGE
"„.The so u l aim s high. W here to? N obody know s. It w ould fl y high, b u t abhors the g loom y night, until the com forting
stars rise a n d turn the m in d tow ards eternity w ith their b eauty a n d splendour, a n d sh o w us, w anderers, w here to look f o r hope, fa ith a n d eternity. ”
Roots
M iklós K onkoly T hege w as born in Pest, on the 20th January 1842. H is parents w ere w ell-to-do landow ners from Ó g y alla1. H e was an only child, and grew up surrounded by his parents loving care. H e was n o t allow ed to go to state schools, but had been educated by private tutors. T his w ay his parents h oped to p ro tec t him from sickness and other perils. It w as a natural consequence o f this that, although he very seldom d isobeyed a p arental order, he grew up to be a brave, alm ost foolhardy m an, w ho was alm ost constitutionally unable to shirk from a challenge, how ever seem ingly im possible it was.
H e w as a noblem an, so nobody w as surprised over his prow ess w ith sabre and gun, but his well d ev elo p ed technical sense, his ability to construct o r con a ship, or to pass the exam inations necessary to get his p ap ers as a sh ip ’s m ate and as a (railw ay) engine-driver, w ere regarded as rather eccentric. His habit o f taking his visiting scientists to his estate on his train, driven by him self, was counted as an even higher audacity.
W e shall never know w here his d aredevil spirit, fed on the tradition o f centuries - his fam ily acquired the Ó gyalla estate in the X IIIth century - w ould have driven him , had he not m et, as a sixteen year old student o f th e U niversity o f P est, Á nyos Jedlik, a physicist o f nation-w ide renow n, one the inventors o f the electric generator. T he experim ental cast o f m ind o f the m aster infected the pupil and through all his life M iklós K onkoly T h eg e rem ained open to new ideas, and he h im self becam e a tireless experim enter.
It was the w ish o f K onkoly’s parents that he should m ake a career for h im self in politics, so he was directed to go to the university as a law student. As an obedient son, he com plied, but by no m eans w ith the sam e w illingness as he had show n tow ards his studies o f physics, m athem atics and astronom ical subjects.
Studies abroad
In 1860 he started his studies at the A stronom y D epartm ent o f the U niversity o f Berlin, w here he could, under the guidance o f E ncke, steep him self in the m ost up-to-date results o f astronom ical research. Johann F ran z E ncke taught astronom y at B erlin U niversity since 1826. A s the only professor o f astronom y o f the U niversity, he w as the intellectual leader o f a w hole generation o f astronom ers o f later fam e and renow n. J.
1 Now Hurbanovo, in Slovakia
H. M ädler, J. G. G alle, G ustav Spörer, B enjam in G ould, Ph. W olfers, C. B rem iker, F. B rünow , L. Seidel, H.
S chubert and m any others were am ong his form er pupils. P. Rtim ker, A. K rüger, Lesser, B. H offm an, W ilhelm F örster, T iel, F .T ietjen w ere K onkoly’s contem poraries studying u nder E ncke, w ho w as as excellent a teacher as he w as an astronom er. “A lle S ch ü ler E n c k e ’s a b er d enken an die V orlesungen m it g ro sser F reude zurück un d bew ahren ihrem theuern L ehrer ein dankbares, b leibenden A ndenken. ”, w rites O.
Bruhm s in his m onograph about E n ck e.2
Som e o f the enthusiastic astronom y students o f B erlin U niversity decided to found a society d evoted to astronom y. A lthough another three years had to pass before the still existing “A stronom ische G esellsch aft”
(A G ) was instituted in H eidelberg, am ongst its founder m em bers we also find these young m en from Berlin.
D uring the follow ing years K onkoly rem ained in close contact w ith his astronom er friends w ho w ere m em bers o f the AG.
T he list o f the subjects these young m en had to study in B erlin can also be ascertained from the previously m entioned biography o f Encke:
=> S phärische A stronom ie m it A nw endung der Instrum ent.
=> T h eoretische A stronom ie R echende A stronom ie
=> S pecielle Störungen
=> G eschichte der A stronom ie
=> L ösung num erischer G leichungen
T o com ply w ith his p a re n ts’ wishes, he attended som e lectures on law, but w ith an enthusiasm even less than at Pest.
Years o f Drifting
A fter receiving his degree from the U niversity o f B erlin in 1862, he felt a desire - he could afford it - to augm ent his know ledge o f astronom y, w hich was restricted to theory, by the study o f its practical aspects.
T o achieve this, he spent a year at various observatories in E urope (G öttingen, H eidelberg, P aris and G reenw ich).
Im m ediately after his return he m arried. In his new w ife he found h im self a com panion o f g reat intellect and sensibility. U nfortunately they w ere also closely related by blood. T his resulted in the untim ely death o f th eir tw o little sons. M rs K onkoly (née E rzsébet M adarassy) w as liked and respected by the g uest scientists visiting O gyalla, politicians, com posers and the fam ily’s innum erable relations in need o f help.
Y ielding to the entreaties o f his fam ily, M iklós K onkoly T hege has p u t aside his am bition to be an astronom er, and tried to settle dow n and lead the sort o f life that was expected o f him by his fam ily. So he entered the C ounty A dm inistration, but after a few years he could bear it no longer and quitted the w orld w hich was so com pletely alien to his w hole being.
In 1870 he m ade another study trip to E urope. T he last seven years saw a rapid expansion o f science.
T he rate o f im provem ent in the field o f instrum ent m aking was quite incredible. H e reco g n ized this, and on this trip, besides visiting observatories, he also m ade it his business to visit the m ore n o tab le instrum ent m akers, such as John B row ning in Y o rk and Siegm und M erz in M unich. L ater on, they b ecam e the suppliers o f his first instrum ents.
Decision fo r a lifetime
W hen he lost his firstborn son at the age o f seven (his other son lived for only one day), he felt th at he m ust find another way o f perpetuating his nam e for the future, and decided to achieve this by realizin g his youthful dream s and devoting his life to astronom ical research. In pursuance o f this idea, he erected a four inch B ardou telescope under a sm all rotating dom e, on the northern ro o f o f his m ansion and started on the w ork o f o bserving stars, w hich he continued till the end o f his days.
A t first he w anted to do this ju s t to satisfy his ow n curiosity, but he soon realized that both his talents and am bitions spurred him on to greater achievem ents. K onkoly’s personality was well suited to attem pting to do things w hich appeared at first to be beyond his pow ers. His intention was single-handedly to establish a basis fo r the cultivation o f astronom y in the H ungary o f his tim es, w here the n ecessary m aterial and intellectual necessities (except traditions) did not exist.
In 1874 the building o f the tw o-dom e observatory was com pleted.
In these times not a single observatory was working in Hungary
2 Bruhms, C.: Johann Franz Encke. Leipzig, 1869.
I believe, th at the sad fact, that during this tim e, w hen in m ore fortunate countries new observatories grew alm ost like m ushroom s, H ungary had possessed not a single one, requires an explanation. It is all the m ore surprising that this happened to a country, w hich was, during the renaissance, the hom e o f R egiom ontanus and M artin B ylica, w here three im portant observatories w ere w orking at the end o f the X V IIIth century, and w here three m onarchs attended the inauguration o f one o f the m ost beautiful o bservatories o f the contem porary w orld, the observatory on the top o f St. G ellert’s Hill.
T h e observatory on St. G ellert’s H ill was dam aged during the 1848-49 W ar o f L iberation, and later, after th e w ar was lost, in the follow ing period o f m erciless oppression. It was blow n up by the A ustrian m ilitary. T he fabulous instrum ents o f R eichenbach, together with the valuable library, w ere stored in the basem ent o f the U niversity o f Pest, w aiting for b etter tim es. In 1867 the “reco n ciliatio n ” took p lace betw een H ungary and A ustria, out o f w hich a new state, the A ustro-H ungarian M onarchy w as born. In this state H ungary was granted an independent governm ent, signifying the end o f H ungary’s one hundred and eighty years o f subjugation.
W hen K onkoly m ade his decision that, instead o f enjoying the nightly splendours o f the starlit firm am ent as a private person, he w ould attem pt to breathe new life into H ungarian astronom y, he could not have chosen a m ore o pportune historical m om ent.
Years o f beginning, years o f instant success
K onkoly m ade som e o f his instrum ents by his ow n hand. H e im m ortalized those through his splendid draw ings. L ooking at any one o f them , we cannot help being struck with the w ay he am algam ated the need fo r utility and p recision w ith the dem ands o f aesthetics. H is piano-playing was sim ilar and the sam e elegance ch aracterized all o f his creative activities, such as the creation o f his new observatory. O f course he had an easy tim e, as long as his p o ck et was deep enough to pay for the realization o f his richly im aginative plans. In 1874 a B row ning type 10 Vi inch reflector was delivered in seven crates. A one hundred and sixty-tw o mm M e rz refractor was erected in the second dom e.
U sing his B ardou telescope, K onkoly em barked on his regular observation o f sunspots and p ro tu b eran ces as early as 1872. B ecause he w anted to com pare his w ork to the latest research, he sent his first observations to the P otsdam O bservatory, to G ustav S porer, one o f the oldest p upils o f E ncke and one o f the forem ost authorities on the subject. It can be seen from their surviving correspondence, that S pohrer was p leased at being ap proached by K onkoly, as it gave him the opportunity to augm ent his ow n observations w ith those taken independently at O gyalla.
In 1873 K onkoly becam e a m em ber o f the A stronom ische G esellschaft, thereby securing h im self an international platform from w hich to introduce the results o f his researches. F ro m 1879 onw ards the O gyalla O bservatory regularly sent th eir annual rep o rt to the periodical published by the A G , the “V ierteljah rsch rift” .
P roviding a b acking fo r his instate, in his ow n country, so that the effectiveness and efficiency o f his w ork can be m aintained, needed no sm aller effort than doing the w ork itself.
S ince 1872 the w ork o f he observatory was review ed yearly in the “P roceedings in the fields o f M athem atical S ciences” o f the H ungarian A cadem y o f S ciences.3
A s an acknow ledgem ent o f his labours, in 1876, after five years devoted to science, he w as honoured by b ein g m ade a co rresponding m em ber o f the H ungarian A cadem y o f Science. A fter a further seven years, he was accepted as an ordinary m em ber.
E ver since the beginning, in his capacity as d irector o f the Ó gyalla O bservatory, K onkoly established clo se contacts w ith the R oyal S ociety in L ondon. H is papers read at the m eetings o f the R .A .S. w ere regularly published in th e “M onthly N otices” . T he fist tw o (in 1873 and 1874) w ere read by John B row ning.
H is third pap er (O n the passage o f M ercury in front o f the Sun), was interpreted by the S o ciety ’s P resident, H. M . C hristie. O n the 14th o f January 1881 “H e was balloted and duly elected F ellow o f the S ociety” . On four occasions he app eared in person to deliver his papers. K onkoly left no stone upturned in the interest o f having his c o llab o rato rs’ w ork presented to the fam ous society. He read the inaugural lectures o f the brothers Jenő and S ándor G othard on the occasion o f their being elected to m em bership o f the RA S. O n tw o o ccasions K onkoly also read the papers o f the young K övesligethy in front o f the illustrious gathering. He w as on good term s w ith the ed ito r o f the O bservatory. B etw een 1882 and 1910 ten o f his articles w ere p ublished in this p eriodical. W hen he visited London, he very seldom failed to visit the hom e o f W illiam H uggins. T h ere are tw enty letters o f K onkoly in the care o f the A rchives o f the R oyal Society. S om e o f these deal w ith adm inistrative problem s, such as m ethods o f paym ent o f his m em bership fees. T he m ajority o f
3 Értekezések a mathematikai Tudományok köréből. Budapest, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia 10
K on k o ly ’s letters addressed to the society are related to articles he sent to the society. T he prim ary su b ject o f his com m unications was his research into the spectroscopy o f m eteors and com ets.
T he first few o f K onkoly’s years devoted to astronom y can only be likened to the honeym oon follow ing m arriage. A t first success cam e easy in all his endeavours. A m ajority o f the A ca d em y ’s “P ro c ee d in g s” w ere devoted to the publication o f his articles. T he H ungarian periodicals devoted to the p opularization o f science w ere clam ouring for papers bearing the hallm ark o f his light-hearted and en tertaining style. Suddenly astronom y becam e a m atter o f public interest in Hungary.
s
The scientific programme o f the Ogyalla observatory
F rom 1879 the O gyalla O bservatory had its ow n publication. T he lavishly illustrated “B eobachtungen angestellt der A strophysicalischen O bservatorium O gyalla” , printed in H alle, w as an em inently suitable m edium for dissem inating inform ation to the m ore im portant observatories o f the contem porary w orld about the astronom ical research conducted at O gyalla. It was also suitable for facilitating the m aking o f arrangem ents for the exchanges o f personnel betw een observatories.
Im m ediately after his return from his first study tour in 1864, M iklos K onkoly T hege started his w ork on the observation o f com ets. He continued with this investigation through his w hole life. T en years later, the first use he m ade o f his new B row ning type telescope was a spectroscopic study o f a com et. D u rin g his life he had forty opportunities to observe a com et, and tw enty-seven tim es out o f the forty he also m anaged to com plete a spectroscopic exam ination.
T he use o f spectroscopy in astronom y w as at this tim e a novel field o f study. T o g eth er w ith C arl V ogel o f the P otsdam O bservatory, K onkoly soon m anaged to create a respectable collection o f spectro g rap h ic d ata at th e O gyalla O bservatory. B y 1875 he had published in the “P ro ceed in g s” the spectral classificatio n o f one hundred and sixty stars. In addition to obtaining the advice o f C arl V ogel, K onkoly also utilised the results o f A ngelo Secchi and W illiam H uggins. H e several tim es visited H uggins in his hom e, and he was travelling to P otsdam practically every year. One o f K onkoly’s short com m unications in “N atu re” , am ounting to not m uch m ore than a few w ords, served as an excuse for A ngelo Secchi to enter into d irect com m unication w ith the astronom er at O gyalla by m eans o f w riting him a letter. In this letter Secchi expressed som e doubts about som e o f th e results o f V ogel in the field o f stellar spectroscopy. K onkoly did not g et involved in his controversy and m aintained good relations w ith both astronom ers.
So, in a few years H ungarian astronom y had found its hom e at O gyalla. A fter a short tim e, even the outside w orld had to take us into consideration, if for nothing else, on account o f the yearly rep o rts published in the V ierteljahrschrift. M o st o f K onkoly’s w ritings (fifty-tw o o f them ) saw daylight in the A stronom ische N achrichten, published in Kiel. Since 1890 its editor was K onkoly’s favourite pupil, H erm ann K obold.
B ut these w ere ju st som e im portant steps tow ards establishing a country-w ide astronom ical culture.
Unsuccessful attempts at nationalisation. The Gotha adventure
A fter a few years after the foundation o f his observatory, K onkoly realised that only the state can provide the resources for financing continued astronom ical research in the country. T o obtain state support, he tried in 1878 to offer his observatory to the U niversity o f P ozsony (B ratislava), ju s t abo u t to be established. B ecause the founding o f the U niversity o f P ozsony was delayed, a year la ter he entered into negotiations w ith the U niversity o f T echnology in B udapest. A gost T refort, then th e M in ister fo r E ducation, had given his consent, but this initiative also cam e to nothing due to technical reasons.
N ob o d y should think that K onkoly w ished to shed his responsibilities for running the o bservatory, as he expressly reserved the rig h t for him self to rem ain with the institute as its director. K onkoly, w ho could not to lerate less than perfect w orkm anship even in the sim plest o bject o f everyday use, was only afraid, th at his ow n po ck et w ould not be deep enough to operate his observatory according to th e standards o f th e outside w orld. T he thought o f com prom ising quality under financial pressure was abhorrent to him.
D iscouraged by his unsuccessful attem pts to hand over his observatory into the hands o f the nation, he decided on a step, w hich afterw ards even he m ight have regretted him self. T his assum ption o f m ine is supported by the fact, that until now the failure o f his G otha adventure was never m entioned in any o f his previous biographies. T he docum entary evidence was unearthed by M anfred Stum pf, as a re su lt o f his literature studies at the State A rchives o f G otha.
In 1882 H a n se n ’s directorship o f the G otha O bservatory ended and his d ire c to r’s chair b ecam e vacant.
K onkoly offered him self as a candidate for the place. It can be seen from his letters that are still extant, that he was deeply w ounded by the fact, that w hile he never shirked any financial sacrifice in the interest o f H ungarian astronom y, governm ent officials regarded it with indifference. A list o f instrum ents, show ing how
up-to -d ate the equipm ent o f Ó gyalla was, is available in the G otha A rchives4. A nyw ay, K onkoly did not offer to d o n ate his instrum ents, assem bled w ith such great care and sacrifice - they w ere superior to those bein g in use a t G otha - , but to loan them for the duration o f his directorship.
In the autum n o f 1882 four letters have been sent from Ó gyalla to G otha (16 th and 24 th o f N ovem ber, 19th and 2 9 th o f D ecem ber). In his fifth letter, dated January 1882, giving as reason his fa th e r’s serious illness, K onkoly T hege w ithdrew his offer. It is true that his father was seriously ill. He d ied o f heart failure o ne y ear later.
K onkoly visited the ruler o f G otha in January 1883. They both w ere favourably im pressed w ith each other. E ven so, I feel, that K onkoly m ust have sensed, w hat was revealed by Prof. S ch reib er’s letter, found in 1984, th at is, th at he w as not ju d g e d by the G otha authorities capable o f filling the position. W hether K onkoly knew o f these undercurrents, o r not, we shall probably never know.
In 1887 the p o st o f d irector o f the G otha O bservatory fell vacant again. K onkoly applied again, but, fortunately for us, unsuccessfully. B y the tim e his letter arrived to G otha, the p o st was already filled.
A fter each unsuccessful attem pt to donate his observatory to the nation, K onkoly carried on w ith the jo b o f m aintaining the standards o f his observatory w ith renew ed vigour. H e could draw energy from his failures.
One swallow doth not a summer make
K onkoly w as clear-sighted enough to know that “O ne sw allow doth not a sum m er m ake” , he knew that his efforts alone w ere n o t sufficient to bring abo u t the creation o f an astronom ical culture in H ungary, so he d ecided to try to p ersuade others to jo in him in his endeavours to build m ore observatories.
M o st o f the scientists, grouped around the H ungarian A cadem y o f S ciences, w anted to m ake the m ost o f the opportunities, p resented by the brightening o f political horizons. T hey w anted to use all available m eans to help the cultural d evelopm ent o f their country. Som e o f them, like K onkoly, united in th eir person the d evoted patron o f science and the practicing scientist. Such w ere L ajos H aynald, B ishop o f K alo csa and also an outstanding botanist, th e brothers Jenő and S ándor G othard, the jo in t landlords o f H erény and m any others. T here w ere outstanding scientists, like B aron L oránd E ötvös and B aron B éla H arkányi, w ho had p ractically no interests outside science, for w hom their aristocratic d escent was im portant only in establishing social contacts, to b e used in prom oting and financing their scientific work. A nother type o f patro n w ere B aron G éza P odm aniczky and his wife, the B aroness B erta D égenfeld-Schom berg, who fell in love w ith the o b servation o f the night sky and founded an observatory at K iskartal, w here they pursued their interest with the dev o tio n o f the com m itted am ateur. T hey m oved in the highest o f high circles, B erta D égenfeld was an aunt o f C o u n t István T isza, w ho later becam e prim e m inister. B oth B aron G éza P odm aniczky and B aron B éla H arkányi w ere m em bers o f the u pper house o f parliam ent. B aron P odm aniczky w as so proud o f his w ork as an astronom er, that, although he w as a w ell regarded econom ist, he had h im self en rolled am ong the honorary m em bers o f the A cadem y as an astronom er.
In S ep tem b er 1877 cardinal L ajos H aynald, archbishop o f K alocsa w rote a letter to K onkoly, soliciting his expert advice on establishing an observatory, sim ilar to that o f Ó gyalla, in his town. O bservation started one year later in the new observatory, built to K onkoly’s design and equipped with instrum ents o f his choosing. T he observatory was attached to the Jesuit G ym nasium 5 and was operated in co-o p eratio n w ith the fathers. Its repu tatio n rests on the observation o f solar protuberances, m ade by the then director, Fr. G yula F ényi, betw een 1885 and 1913. T he results o f this w ork were disclosed in the institu te’s ow n publications, and earned international resp ect for the solar observations at K alocsa. A fter the retirem ent o f Fr. Fényi, the o bservatory continued w orking, albeit less productively, until in 1950, the year the Jesuit O rd er was banned thro u g h o u t H ungary. T he last director, Dr. M átyás Tibor, who had been w orking previously in he O bservatory o f the V atican, had to flee, and had to discontinue his scientific work.
F é n y i’s h eritage is p reserved and his w ork is continued in the O bservatory o f S olar P hysics in D eb rec en .6
Friends and co-workers close to Konkoly
M iklós K onkoly T hege first got acquainted w ith the nam e and the w orks o f Jenő G othard in 1879, d uring the Industry F air in Székesfehérvár. N ext year he met them in person, w hen the brothers Jenő and S án d o r G othard visited K onkoly at Ó gyalla. Jenő G othard im m ediately fell under the spell o f w hat he saw, and decided, that he will build an astronom ical observatory on his estate at H erény, and not a physics laboratory, as w as his original intention.
4 Staatsarchiv W eim ar, Staatsm inisterium Gotha.
5 In H ungary a Gymnasium was approximately equivalent to a British gram mar school 6 M TA Csillagászati K utatóintézete Napfizikai Obszervatórium a, Debrecen.
In 1881 K onkoly sold his B row ning type reflector to G othard, w ho started to use it for his observations one year later, under a dom e erected on the ro o f o f his palace at H ereny.
K onkoly and G othard did not take long to establish a friendship and a cordial w orking relation. G othard was educated in the C ollege o f P olytechnic in V ienna, w here, at this tim e, astronom y was taught by Joseph H err and W ilhelm Tinter.
D uring S eptem ber o f 1881 they both travelled to see the E lectrotechnical F air in Paris, from w here they w ent to C alais to cross the Channel and visit England.
A ccording to the testim ony o f their correspondence they had often traveled together. F or ex am ple in 1883 they traveled together to the m eeting o f A G in Vienna.
K onkoly did everything possible to inform his fellow academ icians about the w ork done by G othard, and to have him accepted as a corresponding m em ber. It was K onkoly who presented G o th a rd ’s results in front o f the Royal Society in London.
O gyalla and H ereny w ere the first tw o localities connected by a p erm anent telegraph line. N aturally, co nditions w ere rather prim itive, so many technical problem s had to be solved in o rder to m aintain reliable com m unications.
F or him self, K onkoly regarded Carl Vogel and M ax W o lf as his favourite friends abroad. Soon the G othard brothers also established a close relation with the two scientists.
K onkoly was a good p icker o f men. H e had excellent w orking relations with his co-w orkers. P erhaps H erm an K obold and Rado K ovesligethy w ere the best am ong them.
M artin Ebell w rote in his obituary o f H erm an K obold7:
“The tw enty-tw o y e a r o ld K obold a rrived to K o n k o ly 's estate a t O gyalla in H ungary. The tw o scientists w ere tied to each o th e r by a lifelong friendship. A t the Strasbourg C onference in 1901 I w as w itness to th e ir jo y at seeing each other. K obold regards his fiv e yea rs sp en t with K onkoly a t O gyalla as the best, hap p iest a n d m ost fr u itfu l tim e o f his life. A t O gyalla lie was busy with the observation o f com ets a n d o th e r h eavenly bodies. K onkoly, right fr o m the beginning took an interest in astrophysics. H e built his ow n instrum ents, p rim a rily spectroscopes. H e was am ong the fir s t to carry out spectroscopic investigations on com ets. ”
K onkoly was so well satisfied with K o b o ld ’s work, that he w anted to take the young m an with him to G otha and pay his em olum ents out o f his ow n pockets.
Ogyalla during the 1880s
/In 1882-1883 K onkoly devoted all his available tim e to w riting the first o f his great H andbooks. This was published in 1883 in H alle, under the title o f “P raktische A nleitung der A stronom ischer B eo b ach tu n g en ” .
N ow , after com pleting his book, he had an im m ediate need for another telescope, as rep lacem en t for the B row ning reflecto r w hich he had sold to G othard. He purchased a ten and a quarter inch lens from M erz, but could not find anybody, who w ould undertake the building o f the m echanical parts in th e available tim e. So, he had to do it him self. H e started on the construction o f the m echanism in his w orkshop at O gyalla, using the new reflector at P otsdam as his tem plate, and finished the jo b in one year.
In 1883 he w ent on another study-tour in Europe. His purpose was to see the u p-to-date instrum ents produced abroad, and to find out which are the instrum ents indispensable for a m odern observatory.
In a m onograph about K onkoly, the author, L ajos S teiner8, described this tim e as the “golden ag e” o f the O gyalla O bservatory. This opinion is supported by the “B eobachtungen” , published by the Institute, w hich give a detailed survey o f the In stitu te’s m anifold achievem ents.
B etw een 1880 and 1885 K obold w orked at O gyalla alm ost w ithout interruption, carrying on with his observations. It is characteristic o f K onkoly’s caring benevolence, that, after a year o f his arrival he has p resented one o f the young m an’s papers in front o f the A cadem y in his ow n translation.
K o b o ld ’s prim ary interest was the observation o f com ets and asteroids, with a view to establish their p ositions. He also regularly observed the surface o f the big planets. H e intended to use his ob serv atio n s to d eterm ine the conditions prevailing on the p lan ets’ surface. He regularly photographed the red spot o f Jupiter, and used his results to com pute the tim e o f the planet s rotation.
T he d ecades long association o f the young R ado K ovesligethy, who was at (he tim e a student in V ienna, with O gyalla dates back to the sum m er o f 1881. H e spent his sum m ers in observation w ork at O gyalla. His m ain interest was spectroscopy, and his w ork resulted in the publication, in 1887, ol a spectroscopic catalogue in volum e IX /2 o f the “B eobachtungen” .
7 EBELL, Martin: Herman Kobold. In: V ierteljahrschrift des Astronomischen Gesselschaft. Bd. 77. 1942. pp 241-252.
8 STEINER Lajos: K onkoly Thege M iklós T. Tag emlékezete. Budapest, M agyar Tudom ányos A kadémia, 1943.
11 Beobachtungen angestellt am Astrophysicalischen Observatorium in O Gyalla. Halle, H.W .Schmidt
T he reg u la r observation o f sunspots at Ó gyalla started in 1972. K onkoly usually rese rv e d this w ork for him self. If necessary, he also used the help o f other scientists. A t first K onkoly drew the sunspots, la ter he used a h eliograph to obtain photographic records. H e also calculated the area o f sunspots. In his later calculations h e used the relative num ber o f W olf. H e also carried out som e m easurem ents using a m icrom eter. H e w as am ong the first astronom ers to use this m ethod. H e tried to learn about the physics o f the S u n ’s surface by observing the solar spectrum through various filters. T hese observations w ere continued at Ó gyalla after K on k o ly ’s death, until 1918.
The birth o f a new observatory in Hungary
In K iskartal, the year 1885 saw the building o f a new observatory on the estate o f B aron G éza P odm aniczky. K onkoly took an active part in its preparation. T he dom e itself and som e o f the instrum ents w ere from Ó gyalla. T he B aron and his w ife, C ountess B erta D égenfeld w ere serious in p reparing for their future in astronom y. In the sum m er o f 1885, regular astronom y classes w ere held at N yirm ada, in the palace o f the C ountess. T he tu tor was R adó K övesligethy. T he young astronom er attracted a very distinguished circle o f visitors, K álm án T isza, the p rim e m inister, and his son István T isza, a future p rim e m inister o f H ungary.
O ne night the countess, who spent all her evenings in front o f the telescope, drew K öv eslig eth y ’s attention to som ething interesting in the A ndrom eda constellation. W hat she saw was in fact an extragalactic supernova, know n as S A ndrom edae. T his way the nam e o f the C ountess was added to the nam es o f the discoverers o f this supernova. L ater it was studied both at Ó gyalla and at H erény. S ubsequently K övesligethy also m ade som e spectrographic studies o f it.
A t K iskartal, reg u lar observations started in the new observatory, under the guidance o f K övesligethy, in 1886.
A fter a short w hile the b rilliant young astronom er was invited to B udapest by L oránd E ötvös, the head o f th e G eophysics D epartm ent o f the U niversity, to jo in his departm ent as an assistant lecturer. T his w as an offer not to be refused. T he golden age o f Ó gyalla ended w ith the departure o f K övesligethy. K obold has already left a year ago, to take up an appointm ent in S trasbourg. In 1887 the Ó gyalla S pectrum C atalogue was published. In its introduction K onkoly paid generous hom m age to K övesligethy’s outstanding achievem ent.
1887 saw the publication o f K onkoly’s second great handbook, the “P raktische A nleiung zur H im m elsphotographie” . T he degree o f success o f the book is indicated by the fact, that W . V alentiner entrusted K onkoly w ith the w riting o f the chapter “A strophotographie” (Vol. I. 1897, pp. 212-34) for his m onum ental handbook, the “H andw örtebuch der A stronom ie” .
K o n k o ly ’s third great handbook, the “H andbuch fiir Spektroskopiker w as published in the first year w hen he b ecam e thr d irecto r o f the N ational Institute o f M e teorolgy .” 10
In these years the technological base o f astronom y underw ent an enorm ous expansion, enriching astronom y w ith new er and b etter instrum ents and appliances.
K on k o ly ’s purse becam e lighter and lighter with the passing o f every year.
As the new director o f the National Institute o f Meteorology he did not neglect astronomy fo r a single moment
H is appointm ent to the directorship o f the N ational Institute o f M eteorology in 1890 could not happen at a m ore p ropitious tim e for Konkoly. H e m oved to B udapest, so he could spend only the sum m ers at Ó gyalla. H e had to discontinue his regular observations, but the fate o f astronom y in H ungary still
rem ained his p rincipal preoccupation.
In his capacity o f d irecto r o f the N ational Institute o f M eteorology, he established a m eteorological observation p o st in one o f the annexes. T he sta ff o f this station w ere state em ployees, but it was them who continued the w ork o f astronom ical observation. So the “B eobachtungen” could be regularly published, ju st as before.
A series o f articles on astronom y was printed, in H ungarian, in the periodical o f the institute titled
“Id ő járás” (“T he W e ath er” ), so this publication also served as a substitute for the still non-existent printed fo ru m o f the H ungarian astronom ers.
In addition to repairing the instrum ents used at Ó gyalla, the well trained artisans staffing the w orkshop o f the Institute o f M eteorology even created original new instrum ents.
A s d irector o f the Institute o f M eteorology, K onkoly T hege m ade four long study-trips in E urope. The m ost im portant stages o f his first visit in 1893 w ere Potsdam , Pic du M idi, B russels, U trecht and L eyden. In 10 Hanbuch fiir Spectroskopiker im Cabinet und am Fernrohr. Halle, D ruck und Verlag von W ilhelm Knapp. 1890.
14
1897 he to o k p a rt in the W orld F air in Paris. In 1898 he traveled to S trasbourg, Paris, and H eidelberg. In 1901 he spent som e tim e in T rieste, M ilan, N ice and Zurich.
O f course they w ere not the only occasions when he traveled abroad. H e w as devoted to m usic, so any perform ance, p rom ising to be interesting, was a sufficient reason for him to take to the road.
A ccording to his ow n estim ation, he visited G reenw ich at least a dozen tim es.
E ven though he w as in charge o f the Institute o f M eteorology, he m aintained close co n tac t with his astronom er friends. In the account o f one o f his travels he wrote:
“O n the V o f M ay, an exhibition o f P hotography w as o p en e d in D resden. We sp en t the p re vio u s aftern o o n having a fr ie n d ly contest w ith m y fr ie n d M axim ilian W o lf o f h a nging the sp le n d id astronom ical a n d sp ectro g ra p h ic p h o to g ra p h s o f Lohse, P ickering, Wolf, Schorr, H a ll a n d Cam pbell. The S o la r p h o to g ra p h s fr o m O gyalla reaped a rich harvest o f success. ”
K onkoly T hege was one o f the first am ateur photographers in H ungary. A t first he used the old D aguerre process on plates produced by him self. H e was am ong the first to use dry plates. F o r his w ork in photography he was aw arded the D aguerre G old M edal and the V oigtlander S ilver M edal o f the P hotographisehe G esellschaft.
A t the “E xhibition o f H ungarian T echnology” , held in the P rincess H all o f L ondon in 1908, he had won the “G rand P rix ” with his photographs and w ith the instrum ents m ade by his own hands.
A s an astronom er, K onkoly also exerted h im self greatly in the interest o f m eteorology in H ungary.
A fter a short w hile m eteorology has been given a new and m uch m ore up-to-date hom e. It w as also in K onkoly’s tim e th at a countryw ide netw ork o f w eather stations was created. T h ese stations w ere equipped w ith instrum ents already well tried in other countries. Finally, it was in the last year o f K o n k o ly ’s directorship, that a new, palatial building was handed over to the Institute o f M eteorology, as its new, p erm anent hom e.
Konkoly used every means fo r the establishment o f a national observatory
E ven though he was sitting in the d irec to r’s chair o f the Institute o f M eteorology, he n ever faltered in his principal am bition o f handing over his observatory to the nation.
In 1896 K onkoly w as elected as M em ber o f P arliam ent to rep resen t the electoral d istrict o f Tata. H e m ade use o f the opportunities being presented by his becom ing an M P, to continue the struggle for the continued support o f H ungarian astronom y and for the establishm ent o f a N ational O bservatory. H e m ade tw o speeches in the H ouse on this subject. In his other speeches he gave his views on the w eighty m atter o f infrastructure developm ent. H e chose as his subject the im provem ents necessary to m ake H u n g ary ’s shipping and railw ay system s up to date.
T he year 1896 had another significance for Konkoly. T his was H u n g ary ’s m illennial year, w hich was com m em orated w ith - am ong others - holding a grandiose m illennial exhibition. O ne o f its organisers was M iklós K onkoly T hege, in collaboration w ith F erenc Hopp. T he H ungarian Institute o f M eteorology had a separate pavilion, w here m eteorological and astronom ical instrum ents, both new ly designed and o f historical interest, w ere exhibited, together with valuable old books on astronom y from the in stitu te’s library. T he catalogue o f this m em orable collection was also produced in printed form .
T he d irectorship o f the N ational Institute o f M eteorology conferred an even higher social standing on K onkoly T hege. In 1897 the 25th anniversary o f the O gyalla O bservatory was celebrated with the p articipation o f several m inisters. This event was the prelude to the In stitu te’s nationalisation.
In 1898 the A G held its m eeting in B udapest, to lend support to K o n k o ly ’s efforts. T he m eeting continued on the prem ises o f the A cadem y, under the honorary chairm anship o f B aron L oránd E ötvös.
The Royal Hungarian Ógyalla Astrophysical Observatory o f the Konkoly Foundation is born
O n the 16th o f M ay 1899 the H ungarian state accepted K onkoly’s offer, so the Royal H ungarian Ó gyalla A strophysical O bservatory o f the K onkoly F oundation cam e into being. K onkoly had got w hat he w anted.
M iklós K onkoly T hege rem ained director, but as he was already responsible for running the Institute o f M eteorology, the institute w as actually lead by R adó K övesligethy, as deputy director. T he Institute also acquired the services o f B éla H arkányi, w ho had considerable experience, having w orked in num erous o bservatories, such as P otsdam and M eudon. In 1893 he visited, accom panied by Jenő G othard, the m ost im portant observatories o f the A m erican continent. A ntal T ass and L ajos T erkán w ere w orking for the institute. A stronom ic photom etry and photography becam e the principal field o f interest for the institute.
P hotom etry based on photography was initiated at Ó gyalla by A ntal T ass in 1906.
B y th e initiative o f K övesligethy and H arkányi a sm all Z öllner type m odern spectrophotom eter was acquired in 1901, w hich was follow ed by a larger one and a w edge-photom eter in 1903. V isual photom etry becam e th e centre o f gravity o f the institu te’s w ork-program m e. K onkoly was pushing m ainly for the extension o f the in stitu te’s instrum ent-park. In 1904 they bought a 162mm photographic telescope. T his was m ounted - after the necessary m odification - on the already existing 262m m telescope T his acquisition enabled the institute to m ake photography o f the sky p art o f their program m e. L ater in 1908 a 200m m H eyde refractor, eq uipped w ith a m ovable photographic cam era, was also acquired. It was used for the d eterm ination o f sta rs’ lum inosity according to S chw arzschild m ethod.
T he m ost im portant result o f the photom etric activities at Ó gyalla was the Ó gyalla C atalogue o f V ariable S ta rs11, w hose first volum e was published in 1916, a few w eeks before K o n k o ly ’s death, w hose w orking life lasted ju s t long enough to have w ritten the forew ord to the volum e.
Konkoly retired in 1911
A t Ó gyalla, ju s t as later on the S vábhegy, it was an iron rule, that clear nights m ust be used for observation, but during cloudy evenings the K onkoly palace was the scene o f m any a happy gatherings.
P oliticians, fellow scientists from hom e and abroad, w riters, poets and m usicians regularly enjoyed the h ospitality o f K o n k o ly ’s house.
K onkoly was an outstanding pianist, good enough to give several public recitals. E lisabeth, Q ueen o f H ungary and Louis, K ing o f B elgium had a high opinion o f K onkoly’s playing. H e knew F ranz L iszt, and he also had a close rap p o rt w ith R ichard W agner. O n one occasion w hen they w ere travelling by ship dow n the D anube, the ship suffered som e dam age during a storm , and was saved only by the bravery and seam anship o f K onkoly. H e later com m ented on this e v e n t:
“W agner bore h im s e lf w ith bravery. H e received g rea t a p lea su re fr o m observing the storm as i f we w ere a tten d in g a p erfo rm a n ce o f the F lying D utchm an. ”
K onkoly b u ilt an observatory reserved exclusively for his ow n use in N agytagyos. W hen he retire d in 1911, he d ivided his tim e betw een B udapest, Ó gyalla and N agytagyos. In 1914 he decided to m ove the equipm ent from N agytagyos to P annonhalm a during his life, so that he could build a sm all new observatory.
T he do m e w as also dism antled and m oved to P annonhalm a. O ne o f his teachers w as Á nyos Jedlik, a B ened ictin e m onk, who, in his old age, returned to P annonhalm a to end his days there. K onkoly was privately educated, but his exam inations were conducted by the B enedictine m onks in Győr, so even though he w as a P rotestant, he felt very close to the B enedictine order. It is rather touching to read his letters w ritten to A ladár T óth, in w hich he related all the troubles he had with the transportation o f his instrum ents to P annonhalm a.
A lthough conditions prevailing during the w ar som ew hat hindered his m ovem ents, K onkoly kept w orking until his death. H e never lost the acuteness o f his mind and w as full o f ideas till the end.
O ne o f his colleagues, A ntal B odócs, gave the follow ing account o f K onkoly’s death, in his letter to A ladár T óth :
“D ea r C olleague!
We w ere g rea tly su rp rised by the unexpected death o f H is E xcellency, because until now he w as n ever kn o w n to su ffer fr o m any serious illness, so we w ere co nvinced that we w o u ld live to see his eightieth birthday, b u t the jo k e is on us, f o r he died, w ithout a long illness, o f a heart attack. This is a ll the m ore
11 Photom etrische B eobachtungen V eränderlicher Sterne. /A ntal Tass. Publikation des Königl. Ung. Astrophysikalischen Observatorium s v. Konkoly's Stiftung in Budapest. Ö gyalla 1918 - Budapest 1925.
surprising, because less than a y e a r ago he h a d a m inor operation to rem ove a lipom a, a n d on th a t occasion the doctors to ld him, th a t a t the age o f seventy-four, less than one m an in a h u n d re d h a d a h ea rt like his.
C oncerning the circum stances o f his death: on the 16th he visited the ordnance fa c to r y o f M a rx a n d M erei, a n d b etw een f o u r a n d seven hours in the afternoon he w as still w alking indefa tig a b ly fr o m flo o r to flo o r. M a rx sa id th a t he w as in a “g re a t f o r m ”, telling jo k e s alm o st incessantly. The n ex t day, in the afternoon he experienced som e trouble with his breathing. H is breathing sto p p e d f o r a f e w m om ents, so he h a d to lie dow n f o r a sh o rt while. N ext d a y he ha d a turn f o r the w orse a n d his heart sto p p e d sud d en ly at seven p. m. H is doctor, to w hom he w as telling jo k e s until the last minute, is o f the opin io n th a t the h eart fa ilu re w as the d ire ct cause o f death. We, on the other hand, believe, that it m ight have been his troublesom e breathing th a t a ffe cted his heart, as, looking ba ck a fter the event, we seem to rem em ber that lately he w as a p parently trying to a vo id the clim bing o f stairs.
O ne thing is certain : H e d ie d in style, because it is not the fa te o f every m an to die telling jo k e s. ” W e know it from other sources, that on his last night, after his factory visit, he w ent to h ear a perform ance o f his favourite opera, W a g n er’s “P arsifal” .
He took leave of this world with the music of his friend still in his ears.
Dr. K opf, the president o f the AG, said at the m eeting o f the R oyal H ungarian A ssociation o f N atural S ciences :
"E r h a t als einer d e r ersten astrophysicalische U ntersuchungen a n g estellt u n d e r w ird in der G eschichte d e r A stro n o m ie als ein er B egründer diese jü n g e ren Z w eiges unsere W issenschaft in E hren genannt. ”
