The Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) is a scientific research institute, which also provides a wide range of services. Researchers study the planet Earth and other, near and distant objects in space. Scientists at the observatory are involved in the following fields: astronomy, astrophysics, space geodesy and solar physics. The ROB also collaborates with a great many international centres.

The following tasks fall under the category of service activities: date and time service, management of the Belgian seismological network, gravimetric measurement, permanent monitoring of solar activity, space meteorological outlooks and the dissemination of information on a variety of astronomic phenomena.

The Royal Observatory of Belgium also runs the Planetarium on the Heysel. Audiences are able to gaze at the starry sky with the help of special audiovisual programs, listen to conferences, or visit exhibitions relating directly to the scientific themes entrusted to the Federal Institutions on the Uccle Plateau (Royal Observatory of Belgium, Royal Meteorological Institute and Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy).

The Planetarium, a magical place, is known for its large dome (at a diameter of more than 23 metres, one of the largest in Europe). A faithful reproduction of the firmament is given by projecting it onto a dome-shaped screen with an extremely complex projector, known as a planetarium projector. This magnificent piece of technology alone is worth the visit.

The set up of the database of publications of ROB makes use of NASA's Astrophysics Data System Bibliographic Services (ADS).

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