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| st._john_observatory [2024/04/09 19:33] – bant06 | st._john_observatory [2024/05/30 16:43] (current) – [St. John Observatory] bant05 |
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| {{tag>academics places}} | {{tag>academics places}} |
| ====== St. John Observatory ====== | ====== St. John Observatory ====== |
| [{{ :191868.jpg?direct&400|St. John Observatory, ca. 1895, from the Southeast. Photo credit: [[https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.21982047|Trinity College Archives]]}}] | [{{ :191868.jpg?direct&400|St. John Observatory, ca. 1895, from the southeast. Photo credit: [[https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.21982047|Trinity College Archives]]}}] |
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| The St. John Observatory was built on the Trinity College [[summit_campus|campus]] in late 1883, located 100 feet from the end of [[seabury_hall|Seabury Hall]]. It housed astronomical equipment and was in active use for about 55 years, after which it was demolished. | The St. John Observatory was built on the Trinity College [[summit_campus|campus]] in late 1883, located 100 feet from the end of [[seabury_hall|Seabury Hall]]. It housed astronomical equipment and was in active use for about 55 years, after which it was demolished. |
| Following this event (and possibly out of embarrassment as Trinity did not have formal instruction in astronomy) the [[board_of_fellows|Board of Fellows]] and [[trustees|Trustees]] called for the creation of an Astronomy Department and raised funds to construct a small observatory and obtain equipment. | Following this event (and possibly out of embarrassment as Trinity did not have formal instruction in astronomy) the [[board_of_fellows|Board of Fellows]] and [[trustees|Trustees]] called for the creation of an Astronomy Department and raised funds to construct a small observatory and obtain equipment. |
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| [{{ :detail_of_photographer-st.johnobservatory_-ca_1885.jpg?400|St. John Observatory in about 1885, with [[transit_of_venus|Transit of Venus]] marker visible at the rear. Photo Credit: Trinity College Archives.}}] | [{{ :detail_of_photographer-st.johnobservatory_-ca_1885.jpg?400|St. John Observatory in about 1885, with [[transit_of_venus|Transit of Venus]] marker visible at the rear. Photo Credit: Trinity College Archives}}] |
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| In 1883, [[hartford|Hartford]] surgeon Dr. Samuel St. John offered to donate books and astronomical equipment from his father's estate under the condition that they be mounted and a suitable building be provided for them. The equipment, which included a Fitz six-inch refracting telescope, a driving clock, chronograph, and transit instrument with three-inch aperture, "would enable...considerable astronomical work." That year, Dr. [[luther_flavel_sweeten|Flavel Sweeten Luther,]] Class of 1870, became the [[seabury_professor_of_mathematics_and_astronomy|Seabury Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy]], and advocated for the acceptance of the gifts and building of an observatory. He estimated a cost of $1,100 (about $3,070 today) to build a 16 x 16 foot building with a 10 x 8 foot wing, a 20 foot high revolving dome, a few pieces of equipment, and furniture. Luther stated that the building could be easily moved or adapted into a larger observatory in the future. ((Letter from Professor Flavel Sweeten Luther to President George Williamson Smith, Oct. 29, 1883)) | In 1883, [[hartford|Hartford]] surgeon Dr. Samuel St. John offered to donate books and astronomical equipment from his father's estate under the condition that they be mounted and a suitable building be provided for them. The equipment, which included a Fitz six-inch refracting telescope, a driving clock, chronograph, and transit instrument with three-inch aperture, "would enable...considerable astronomical work." That year, Dr. [[luther_flavel_sweeten|Flavel Sweeten Luther,]] Class of 1870, became the [[seabury_professor_of_mathematics_and_astronomy|Seabury Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy]], and advocated for the acceptance of the gifts and building of an observatory. He estimated a cost of $1,100 (about $3,070 today) to build a 16 x 16 foot building with a 10 x 8 foot wing, a 20 foot high revolving dome, a few pieces of equipment, and furniture. Luther stated that the building could be easily moved or adapted into a larger observatory in the future. ((Letter from Professor Flavel Sweeten Luther to President George Williamson Smith, Oct. 29, 1883)) |
| In 1977, student Robert Nero '80 took on the task of locating parts from and reconstructing Luther's Warner and Swasey telescope as part of Assistant Physics Professor Brooke Gregory's observational astronomy class: "Parts emerged from hiding places in the boiler room, under a stairwell, in a cubbyhole in [[mccook_academic_building|McCook]], the lens from a physics lab storeroom, and some never were found." Nero even located 1895 drawings of a similar telescope from Warner and Swasey. When it was completed, the telescope stood 14 feet tall and weighed about 400 pounds thanks to its mainly cast iron parts. | In 1977, student Robert Nero '80 took on the task of locating parts from and reconstructing Luther's Warner and Swasey telescope as part of Assistant Physics Professor Brooke Gregory's observational astronomy class: "Parts emerged from hiding places in the boiler room, under a stairwell, in a cubbyhole in [[mccook_academic_building|McCook]], the lens from a physics lab storeroom, and some never were found." Nero even located 1895 drawings of a similar telescope from Warner and Swasey. When it was completed, the telescope stood 14 feet tall and weighed about 400 pounds thanks to its mainly cast iron parts. |
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| Today, the only remnant of St. John Observatory is the Transit of Venus marker, which was moved from its original location in 1959 to a spot in front of [[hallden_hall|Hallden Hall]], to make way for the new [[mather_hall|Student Center]]. It is a large cube made of brick with a stone cap. If standing today, the observatory would be at the corner of [[hamlin_hall|Hamlin]] and [[cook_hall|Cook]] Halls. | Today, the only remnant of St. John Observatory is the Transit of Venus marker, which was moved from its original location in 1959 to a spot in front of [[hallden_hall|Hallden Hall]], to make way for the new [[mather_hall|Student Center]]. The marker is a large cube made of brick with a stone cap. If standing today, the observatory would be at the corner of [[hamlin_hall|Hamlin]] and [[cook_hall|Cook]] Halls. |
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