Astronomical Instruments of Whitin Observatory

(It Used To Be) Down in the Basement: Astronomical Instruments of Whitin Observatory

This version updated as of 2010 January to reflect things given away or discarded prior to moving out for the Whitin renovation.
The original pre-move version by Sonya Rhee '98 is available.

Duncan sky globe

This Web page documents the variety of astronomical instruments housed at Whitin Observatory. The objects in the inventory are categorized according to their uses. Each object has a brief description, some briefer than others because of a lack of information that was available.

Table of Contents

Major Telescopes of Whitin

The major instruments of Whitin, our four large telescopes, are noted briefly but not documented here in detail because this Web page is devoted mainly to smaller objects.

6-inch refractor.
Alvan Clark.
12-inch refractor.
Made originally by Fitz and later partly redone by Alvan Clark.
Sawyer 24-inch reflector.
 
Research telescope with CCD imaging camera.
Hale spectrohelioscope.
Tube extends into the basement and the grating is also located there but its vertical brass tube is located on the main floor. Often used in the introductory astronomy classes.

Globes and Celestial Spheres

When ancient skywatchers looked up at the night sky, they noted that star patterns, also called constellations, remained the same. They assumed that these constellations were attached to a celestial sphere surrounding our planet. And just as people created a visual representation of Earth, they also created a visual representation of the celestial sphere, known as a celestial globe.

Thales of Miletus, from the sixth century BC in Greece, is said to have made the first of celestial globe. No globes of his have survived but the oldest known celestial globe, the Farnese Globe from the third century BC, is currently on display in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale at Naples, Italy.

Duncan Globe. 8 inches, John C. Duncan and Leah B. Allen.

(quantity 13) Plaster-like globes, beige in color with black dots as stars depicting the major stars and constellations, without any pictorial representations. Each globe sits in a wooden stand with brass meridian ring. The inscription on the globe reads “Duncan's Eight-inch Celestial Globe, Showing the positions of the principal stars and circles of reference for the epoch of 1950.0, By John C. Duncan, Professor of Astronomy and Leah B. Allen, Instructor in Astronomy, Wellesley College, Copyright 1924, by Rand McNally & Co.”

One more globe, without stand or meridian ring, is packaged in its original box. This globe has the same artwork as the others but is not the same material; it seems to be made of metal rather than plaster. A handwritten note on the box says the mounts for the meridian rings on the other globes don't fit this one.

Large “Duncan type” Globe. Ten inches. Joslin's Celestial Globe.
(quantity 2) Made by Gilman Joslin, Boston. Celestial globe with pictorial depictions of constellations. Sits in a wooden stand like the Duncan globe. Zodiac signs and months of the year written on ring around the globe — ring is colored in pink, green, and yellow. Handwritten azimuth scale on ring as well.
British wooden globe. Sixteen inches. Smith's Celestial Globe.
Weighted with sand, and situated on a carved wooden stand. It shows elaborate paintings of the major constellations and their stars. Its label reads “Smith's Celestial Globe, Containing all the principal stars, compiled from the workings of Wollaston, Flamsted, DeLa Caille, Bradley, Herschel, Maskelyse, The Transactions of the Astronomical Society of London.” In fragile condition.
British wooden globe. Eight inches. Joslin's Celestial Globe.
Manufactured by the same company, but called “Joslin's Celestial Globe.” Similar in style to the sixteen-inch diameter Smith globe. In fragile condition.
Clear Plastic Globe. Fourteen inches. Spherical Concepts, King of Prussia, PA.
Copyright 1986.

Unlike the other, older globes, it is made of clear plastic showing the various constellations and their stars with a miniature replica of Earth placed inside. The horizon, a blue band around the Earth, is adjustable for any latitude. It also has no “band rings” to measure altitude, declination, and azimuth, but it is drawn in black onto the globe.

Plain white globes. Six inches. Maker unknown.
(quantity 1) It seems like you may be able to draw on the globe. Around the globe itself, there is band to measure the latitude. The one we kept may be labelled A-158 or A-159.
Plain black globe. Twelve inches. Maker unknown.
Material similar to that of a blackboard. Chalk markings still visible.
Political Globe of Earth. Eight inches. Atlas School Supply, Chicago.
Mounted on a heavy brass stand. It depicts a political map of the countries, the ecliptic, and an analemma.
Lunar Globe without mount. Twelve inches. Rand-McNally.
Globe depicts the various features of the moon with its accompanying names. Scale reads 1 inch=180 miles.
Globe of Venus without mount. Sixteen inches. Maker unknown.
It stands on a removable wooden base. It is mainly green and blue in color. Depicts the major features of the planet and marks the landing sites of various missions to Venus.
Precession globe of Earth. Four inches. Maker Unknown.
Sits on a metal stand, with a metal equator. Silver pole with sharp tip hangs down to demonstrate procession.

Photographic Equipment

A Unitron “Astro Camera Model 220” inside wooden box.
Used as an attachment to a telescope to photograph celestial objects. Instructions for use included.
Two photo boxes. 8-in × 7-in and 5-in × 5.5-in.
8-in × 7-in: Post-it note says the this box is for the twelve-inch camera and was “Made at Wellesley by Mr. Mackie in Physics in 1970.” 5-in × 5.5-in: Possibly for the twelve-inch telescope (“lens” diameter same size). Maker unknown.

Plates, Slides, and Prints

Seven glass photographic plates of the Moon inside “Seed Dry Plates, Eastman Kodak Company” box. 9-in × 7-in.
Each plate has a separate envelope with plate number, date, subject, and remarks. Taken with the Hooker Newtonian telescope. Dates begin, August 24, 1925 and end August 2, 1926. Inside seminar room.
Lantern slides in pull-out drawer.
Slides of celestial objects, observatories, famous astronomers, and mathematical formulas.

Sextants

A sextant was (and sometimes still is) used in celestial navigation to determine latitude and longitude by measuring the angle between the horizon and a celestial object such as a star. The name sextant comes from the Latin, sextus, meaning “one-sixth” which is the span of the sextant's arc (60 degrees), that is, one-sixth of a circle. Although octants (45 degrees) were originally used to determine latitude, they were replaced by sextants almost entirely by the mid-eighteenth century.

The basic structure of a sextant consisted of an arc marked off in degrees and a movable radial arm mounted with a half-mirror/half-glass (now made of plastic). The sextant was mounted onto a telescope that had been lined up with the horizon. The radial arm would be adjusted until the star is reflected in the mirror and through the telescope matched the horizon. The angular distance of the star above the horizon could then be read by the degrees marked off on the arc. Often, a chronometer was used in conjunction with the sextant to determine the latitude.

Marine sextant in wooden box. 9.5-in × 9.5-in. U.S. Maritime Commission.
Manufactured by the U.S. Maritime Commission. Labeled A-141. Contains a sextant with instruction manual. Also contains another eyepiece, and a cherry red handle screwdriver.
Stand-mounted brass sextant. Fourteen inches in height. Troughton, London.
Includes seven different filters in all — one appears to be a lunar filter and the rest variations on a solar filter. Two weights are attached to the sextant in order to “flip” the sextant. Labeled A-262. Three-leg stand with adjustable knobs to control balance. A small key attached to one of the knobs (purpose unknown). Most of the brass coating is corroded.
Astro-compass MK II. Ten inches in height. Sperti, Inc.
Labeled A-147. Includes two levels, North and South latitude markers. Works like a sextant.

Spectroscopes

Black spectroscope. Spencer Buffalo U.S.A.
Labeled A-251. It is mounted on a stand with a prism in the center.

Telescopes

Most historians have traced the invention of the first optical telescope to the Netherlands in 1608. Among the earliest optical systems were the Galilean telescopes, named after their inventor, Italian astronomer, Galileo. These telescopes had two lenses mounted inside a tube, and set apart at a distance that equaled the difference between their two focal lengths.

German astronomer Johannes Kepler improved the Galilean telescope by placing a convex eyepiece in the back of the focus. That change enlarged the field of view and increased the potential for magnification by 1,000 or more. Kepler also paved the way for modern refracting telescopes.

Since then, refracting telescopes have not gone through major changes. However, astronomers have invented another type of optical telescope, the reflecting telescope. These instruments work when a mirror gathers and focuses light onto an eyepiece, which magnifies that light. British astronomer William Herschel used such a telescope to discover the planet Uranus in 1781.

Brass telescope. 3 inch reflector. J. Cuithbert.
A rather short tube for its width. Sits on attached tripod. Attached is a finder scope and an adjustable focus. The focus is adjustable by lengthening or shortening the eyepiece.
Brass telescope. 2.5 inch refractor. J. Adams.
Longer and thinner tube than the previous item. Sits on attached tripod. Made in London. From the Huggins collection. Contains a solar filter (broken) and an additional eyepiece.
White telescope. 2.5 inch refractor. Unitron.
Encased in a box measuring about 20 inches in length. Refractor telescope. Written on the lens of the telescope, “D-62mm” and “F-900mm.” Cecily and I took it out on December 15, 1998 and it does not seem to work (perhaps something is wrong with the lens) although the finder scope is intact.
Wooden spotting scope. Refractor. {C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}

Engraved “L. Bach Optiker, München” (L. Bach Optician, Munich)

About one foot long when fully retracted. Made of brass and mahogany or cherry wood.

Previously on display on the wall above the Palomar Print cabinets.

Theodolite in wooden box. Refractor. C.L. Berger & Sons.
About 10 inches in length. Lenses are about 1 inch in diameter. Mounted on a stand with a compass, and two bubble levels. In original wooden box, shaped to fit telescope. (Only fits in box in one non-obvious orientation - when removing, note orientation so that you can get it back in!) Care instructions are pasted on the inside door of the box. Accessories include a “sunshade” (like a dew shield), a metal “top,” and a “key.”
Sun-tracker telescope inside wooden box. Seven inches in height. Maker unknown.
(quantity 2) Altitude and azimuth scale including a label for North. Mounts on stand outside — near the stands for the Meades and next to the twelve-inch dome.

Telescope Parts

Heavy brass attachment piece. 6 in long. Maker unknown.
Possibly the 6-inch (located inside the dome for the 6-inch). One lens.
Brass attachment for six-inch telescope with azimuth scale. Twelve inches in height. Maker unknown.
Possibly a primitive reticle. (Now located in the 6-in dome.)

Time Keepers

Sidereal Clock. E. Howard.
See Appendix to find archival material relating to the purchase.
Marine Chronometer inside wooden box-7-in × 7-in which is inside another wooden box-10-in × 10-in WM. Bond & Son, Boston.
Made in 1886. Includes an additional piece (clock winder perhaps). The box for the chronometer is encased in another box with velvet lining.
Kullmer constellation finder (resembles a sundial with arrow gnomon). Six inches in diameter. C.J. Kullmer, Syracuse, NY.
First ring divided into months and days. Second ring divided into different hours and constellations.

Miscellaneous

Ellipsograph, unboxed. 11-in × 14-in.
Silver ellipsograph.
portable coelostat.
(quantity 1) Manufactured by the Eastern Science Company, U.S.A. This coelostat is used to track a star, and is adjustable to latitude. It consists of two adjustable mirrors about 2 1/2 inches in diameter that are about 7 inches apart. They stand at about 14 inches in height.
A Sire's gyroscope standing at about 5 inches in height.
Its label reads A-137. Consists of a brass cone mounted on a wooden stand. Precession demonstration device.

(Kate Lonergan, 2011 July) An example of Sire's gyroscope; I'm not sure by whom or from when as we're missing the maker's label from the base, but I'm guessing from around the turn of the century. You can see supporting information in the descriptions of very similar images at this page from Kenyon College's Physics Dept. site:

http://physics.kenyon.edu/EarlyApparatus/Mechanics/Gyroscope/Gyroscope.html

I think we're also missing several guide wires that most likely came with the gyroscope. Our gyroscope doesn't have such a long pole on top, which is probably why it was more confusing to determine what it was.

Brass plate, “Heavens Declare the Glory of God.”
Dedicated to Annie Jump Cannon, Wellesley 1884.
Pencil sharpener. Made by Guhl & Harbeck, Hamburg, Germany.
The U.S. Patent states that in 1897 it was distributed by the Favor Ruhl & Co.
One wooden box with motion demonstrations.
Box contains various instruments that show the workings of the tides, the planets, etc. Some are in working condition although a few are damaged. All but one are numbered; here I refer to the unnumbered diagram as number 11. The list is as follows:
  • No. 1 — The solar system, shewing [sic] the revolution of all the planets with their satellites round the sun.
  • No. 2 — The Earth's annual motion round the sun, shewing the parallelism of its axis, producing the seasons.
  • No. 3 — This diagram illustrates the cause of Spring and Neap Tides, and shews the Moon's phases during its revolution.
  • No. 4 — This diagram illustrates the apparent direct and retrograde motion of Venus and Mercury; and also their stationary appearance.
  • No. 5 — A diagram to prove the Earth's Rotundity.
  • No. 6 — This diagram illustrates the eccentric revolution of a comet round the sun, and shews the appearance of its tail at different point of its orbit. (Not working — broken)
  • No. 7 — The diurnal motion of Earth, shewing the rising and setting of the sun, illustrating the cause of night and day.
  • No. 8 — This diagram illustrates the annual motion of Earth round the sun, with the monthly lunations of the moon.
  • No. 9 — This diagram shews the various Eclipses of the Sun, with the transit of Venus.
  • No. 10 — This diagram shews the various Eclipses of the Moon.
  • No. 11 — This diagram was not numbered or explained; it appears to illustrate the motions of the stars.
Puzzle, “Planetarium Study Game” inside blue wooden box. 9-in × 6-in.
Cardboard puzzle pieces (two-dimensional) of the celestial sphere inside a blue wooden box.
An instrument demonstrating the conservation of angular momentum. Eastern Science Supply Company.
Labeled 132. Two silver balls, about 3 inches in diameter each, mounted on a black stand. A lever mounted on one side of the stand is used to push the two balls together while in motion. Shortest span apart is about 6 inches, while largest span apart is about 15 inches. About 12 inches in height.
Wooden cone cut to show various geometric shapes.
Hand made instrument to display the retrograde motion of Mars.
Black metal circle (24 inches in diameter)
Stereoscope inside black box. 11-in × 8-in. Carl Zeiss, Inc.
Includes booklet, “Viewing Lenses of 15 cm. Focus.” There is a crack in the viewing stand but it still workable. Included in the box are many dual images of the night sky (taken on different days, even years) pasted on cardboard. The two sets of pictures are labeled “good,” and “possible.” Some have instructions typed on the back. There is also three sets of pictures: the 36-inch equatorial Lick telescope, Lick's Crossley reflector, and the Lick Observatory. Pictures are courtesy of Underwood and Underwood, Publishers.
Cross staff. Maker unknown.
(quantity 10 sticks, 11 intact cross pieces, 1 broken cross piece)