When von Struve began assembling his Geodetic Arc in 1816, the doorstep of the observatory became its first point.

In 1946 the renamed Tartu Observatory was separated from the university and subjected to the Estonian Academy of Sciences.

The old observatory building now mainly serves as a museum and is a part of a public science education centre.

The 1.5 metre Cassegrain reflector, which is the largest optical telescope in Northern Europe, is used for spectroscopic observations.

Tartu Observatory has also laboratories for accurate radiometric calibration for near-UV to shortwave infrared radiation; vacuum-, vibration-, temperature, and electromagnetic compatibility testing.