In the 19th century Anders Jonas Ångstrom was keeper of the observatory and conducted his experiments in astronomy, physics and optics there. His son, Knut Johan Ångstrom, also conducted research on solar radiation at the observatory.
The observatory recently merged with the Institute of Space Physics to form a Department of Astronomy and Space Physics and moved to the Ångstrom Laboratories. In addition to facilities in Uppsala, the observatory maintains the Kristaburgb Observatory in Sweden and the Uppsala Southern Station at Mount Stromlo and Siding Springs Observatory in Australia.
Research at the observatory over the years includes stellar parallaxes, stellar statistics, galactic structure, external galaxies, stellar atmospheres and solar system research.