Museum of Astronomy

Tashkent is home to one of the oldest scientific institutions in the Central Asian region - the Mirzo–Ulugbek Astronomical Institute, which was opened in 1873, under the original name of the Tashkent Astronomical Observatory. In 1966, the observatory received the status of a scientific institute and was transformed into the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences.

At the initiative of the UN, 2009 was declared the International Year of Astronomy, which coincided with the 615th anniversary of the birth of one of the most famous astronomers and scientists of the Middle Ages - Mirzo–Ulugbek. On this occasion, the Astronomical Institute of Uzbekistan held a number of events, including international conferences in Samarkand and Paris, and the end was the opening of the first Museum of Astronomy in Central Asia on December 16, 2009.

The museum's exposition was created with the support of the United Nations and reflects the development of all stages of astronomical science, special attention is paid to the research of Mirzo-Ulugbek and his discoveries. 

The museum presents unique exhibits that were created in the XVIII century by the great physicist Isaac Newton – a telescope used by master James Short, and the Gadley’s octant. The reflector of the famous English optician Dollond, the celestial globe of Muhammad Sharif Bukhari, German and French telescopes of the XVIII-XX centuries and the marine chronometer invented in the XVIII century by the watchmaker Harrison, who was awarded the prize offered by Newton for this work, are also presented. Visitors can see the main chronometer of Tashkent from 1873 to 1931, which was also the standard of Tashkent time, this is the watch of the Amsterdam company “Hovyu". 

In the exposition of the observatory, you can see the layout of the unique and well-known main instrument of the Ulugbek Observatory in Samarkand, the meridian quadrant, and the layout of the Zij-i-Kuragoni tables, where the coordinates of 1018 stars are described with incredible accuracy. 

Stefan Kozik, a Tashkent scientist who discovered 2 comets in 1936 and 1939, was awarded the medals of the Pacific Astronomical Society and the Academy of Sciences of our country, which are also presented in the museum's exposition.

Visitors to the museum can get acquainted with portraits of astronomers, pictures of planets, stars, as well as scientific bases of the Astronomical Institute – the latitudinal station in Kitab and the observatory in Maidanak. 

The achievements of modern astronomical science in the study of the Earth, the Solar System and minor planets, clusters of stars in our Galaxy have not been ignored by the museum's exposition. It also reflects the results of a sensational study by Uzbek astronomers together with their American and German colleagues, where it was discovered that planets can form around stars. 

Regular visitors to the museum today are students of schools, lyceums and universities, as well as residents and guests of the capital, on whom the museum's exposition makes an indelible impression.