Berlin Observatory
The Berlin Observatory (Berliner Sternwarte) is a German astronomical institution with a series of observatories and related organizations in and around the city of Berlin in Germany, starting from the 18th century. It has its origins in 1700 when Gottfried Leibniz initiated the "Brandenburg Society of Science″ ("Sozietät der Wissenschaften") which would later (1744) become the Prussian Academy of Sciences ("Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften"). The Society had no observatory but nevertheless an astronomer, Gottfried Kirch, who observed from a private observatory in Berlin. A first small observatory was furnished in 1711, financing itself by calendrical computations.
Taqi ad-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf
Taqī al-Dīn was both the founder and director of the Constantinople Observatory, which is also known as the Istanbul Observatory. This observatory is frequently said to be one of Taqī al-Dīn's most important contributions to sixteenth-century Islamic and Ottoman astronomy. In fact, it is known as one of the largest observatories in Islamic history. It is often compared to Tycho Brahe’s Uraniborg Observatory, which was said to have been the home to the best instruments of its time in Europe. As a matter of fact, Brahe and Taqī al-Dīn have frequently been compared for their work in sixteenth-century astronomy. The founding of the Constantinople Observatory began when Taqī al-Dīn returned to Istanbul in 1570, after spending 20 years in Egypt developing his astronomy and mathematical knowledge. Shortly after his return, Sultan Selīm II appointed Taqī al-Dīn as the head astronomer (Müneccimbast), following the death of the previous head astronomer Muṣṭafā ibn Alī al-Muwaqqit in 1571. During the early years of his position as head astronomer, Taqī al-Dīn worked in both the Galata Tower and a building overlooking Tophane. While working in these buildings, he began to gain the support and trust of many important Turkish officials. These newfound relationships lead to an imperial edict in 1569 from Sultan Murad III, which called for the construction of the Constantinople Observatory. This observatory became home to many important books and instruments, as well as many renowned scholars of the time. While there is not much known of the architectural characteristics of the building, there are many depictions of the scholars and astronomical instruments present in the observatory. However, due to political conflict, this observatory was short lived. It was closed 1579 and, was demolished entirely by the state on 22 January 1580, only 11 short years after the imperial edict for its construction.