In a galaxy far far away, also known as Germany, a professor has painted a multi-million dollar observatory to look like much loved Star Wars character R2-D2.

The tribute is the work of Professor Hubert Zitt, a fanatical sci-fi enthusiast who even lectures on the physics and philosophy of Star Wars and Star Trek. He carried out the clever conversion with the help of painter Klaus Ruffing, his father-in-law and a handful of enthusiastic students.

As a day job, Professor Zitt works as an associate professor of computer engineering at the Zweibrücken University of Applied Sciences. He was inspired to paint the observatory because its shape bore a striking similarity to the beloved Star Wars robot. The team cleaned the tower before applying a fresh white undercoat and painting on the iconic design.

The observatory’s transformation took place late last year but it only gained recognition online in recent days. The team’s efforts even caught the eye of Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill who wrote on Twitter that the observatory has “transformed Germans into giant nerds.”

Hamill’s comments appear to already be coming true as Star Wars fans from all over the galaxy have been traveling to the observatory to see the giant droid for themselves.

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