Abstract
<strong class="journal-contentHeaderColor">Abstract.</strong> Shortly after the introduction of the physical unit for the magnetic field in 1832 and the invention of the bifilar apparatus in 1837, both being extraordinary scientific achievements that took place in Göttingen, the Clementinum observatory in Prague became one of the first places where systematic observations of the geomagnetic field began. Karl Kreil was decisively responsible for this. In this paper, we focus on the very beginnings of geomagnetic observations in Prague, dating from the middle of 1839. We describe what archival materials with data exist from that time, how the main instrument for observing magnetic storms – the bifilar magnetometer – worked, how this instrument was calibrated, and we also describe the first magnetic survey in Bohemia. This study indicates the importance of historical geomagnetic observation materials to modern science, such as the space weather research.
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