www.baader-observatories.com
Baader Dome again at Germany's highest point
The Mt. Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak, is not only an impressive scenic attraction but also a location that allows for the implementation of cutting-edge technology and groundbreaking scientific research due to its unique geographical and climatic conditions.
Already in 1994, we installed our first 2.6-meter observation slit dome at the Zugspitze. This dome was specifically designed for the extreme weather conditions at the summit and has demonstrated exceptional performance for over 29 years since its installation. Further information and detailed customer reviews can be found below.
Unique in Terms of Reliability and Technology
This year, 2023, we installed a technically advanced 2.3m Baader AllSky Dome at the Zugspitze. The 180° opening AllSky Dome replaces the previous classic slit dome, as the new instruments have different requirements for the dome. Unlike the earlier measuring instrument (a heliostat with a 400 mm aperture), the new instruments require a fully opening dome, as two separate sun tracker instruments now have to operate side by side, and they could not both see through the slit of a classic dome.
The new AllSky Dome allows scientists from KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) on the Zugspitze to collect important atmospheric data and conduct critical research (see also the German Tagesschau report: New Research Dome for the Zugspitze). However, both domes share our unique feature of designing professional observatories known for their robustness and longevity, even under extreme weather conditions, such as the maximum recorded wind speed of 336 km/h at the Zugspitze.
A video of the dome installation in July 2023 can be viewed here::
Old article: 2.6 m Classic dome, Zugspitze 1994
Excerpt from an assessment from May 2014 – after 19 years of operation by Dr. Ralf Sussmann:
The hardware and software of the dome have ensured smooth and reliable measurement operation for 19 years now under the most extreme meteorological conditions at our atmospheric observatory on the Zugspitze summit. The retrofits to the current state of technology required over the years proceeded without problems and helped to maintain the function of the system, or even to improve it further. Over all these years, whenever spontaneous problems occurred, we experienced the entire Baader team as invariably helpful like no other company. Because of our consistently good experiences with Baader Planetarium, we also decided to purchase two further Baader domes for laser radar applications. We can recommend Baader without reservation at any time to professional colleagues as well as hobby users. - Dr. Ralf Sussmann, Head of the research group “Atmospheric Variability and Trends” -
2.6 meter dome - Zugspitze
Since 1994, a 2.6 m dome from our production has stood at this location and serves as protection for an atmospheric spectrometer of the IFU / Fraunhofer Institute. Since then, the dome has been in use all day, follows the course of the Sun continuously every day, and opens the shutter and horizon flap independently as soon as the weather data allow this. The highest measured wind speeds were repeatedly 330 km/h. Not a single day of failure has occurred; the sensitive spectrograph is completely protected without even the slightest water ingress. The structure still looks exactly as it did on the first day after installation – as the pictures can testify.
