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Collection Overview
Scope and Contents of the Materials
This collection is comprised of historical materials from the Washington University Observatory. This includes records of observations, plans of the Observatory, and reports. Many items in the collection are extremely fragile and require special handling.
Collection Historical Note
At the inaugural ceremonies of Washington University in 1857, William Greenleaf Eliot, the first chancellor, announced that the local philanthropist James Yeatman had donated $1,500 for the making of a superior telescope. The lenses for the 6-inch refractor, made by Henry Fitz & Co., and refigured in 1882 by Alvan Clark & Sons, are still in use today. Fitz and Clark were two of the most noted American telescope makers of the 19th century.
During the latter part of the 19th century, the Observatory, at that time located at 18th and St. Charles Streets in downtown St. Louis, served as a source of standard time for the region. A network of some 50,000 miles of telegraph wire existed. Henry W. Pritchett and other Observatory astronomers made several valuable determinations of longitude. In 1905, as the University moved to the present location from downtown, the Observatory moved to a site where Louderman Hall (chemistry) now stands. In 1954, the present dome atop Crow Hall was completed. The present electric drive for the telescope was installed in the mid-1960s, replacing the original pendulum drive.
Administrative Information
Repository:
WUA University Archives
Accruals:
Accruals are interfiled with collection.
Access Restrictions:
Open
Use Restrictions:
Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.
Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.
If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)
Physical Access Note:
Some of these materials are fragile and may require special handling.
Acquisition Method:
Accession number WUA2014-076
Preferred Citation:
[Item description]. From the [collection title, series, box, folder]. University Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
Processing Information:
Updated by Sarah Gabriel in June 2016
Finding Aid Revision History:
Updated by Sarah Gabriel in June 2016
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Correspondence],
[
Series 2: History],
[Series 3: Student Materials],
[
Series 4: Publications],
[
Series 5: Data],
[
Series 6: Miscellaneous],
[
Series 7: Photography],
[
All]
- Series 3: Student Materials
- Box 4
- Folder 10: "Apparent Motion of Sun in Heavens. Mean Solar Time", n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 11: "Astronomical Coordinates", n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 12: Astronomical Symbols, n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 13: "Checking of Clocks", n.d.
- Master with Ditto copy sheets, two additional copies
- Folder 14: Checklist--Observatory Closing Procedure, 1971
- Original with Ditto copy sheet, 1 additional copy
- Folder 15: Constellations, n.d.
- Folder 16: Conversion of Mean Solar into Sidereal Time, n.d.
- Folder 17: "Data for May 18, 1956", 1956
- Folder 18: "Declination and Hour Circles of the Yeatman Refractor", n.d.
- Folder 19: "Determination of the Solar Constant", c.1953
- Folder 20: "Elements of Planetary Orbits", n.d.
- Folder 21: Evening Sky Guides, n.d.
- Folder 22: Filar Micrometer, 1957
- "Calibration and Use of" Manual, Data sheets
- Folder 23: "Graphical Study of the Orbital Motion of the Moon", n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 24: "Graphical Study of Planetary Motion", n.d.
- 2 documents
- Folder 25: Instruction Manuals--Bound, 1948-c.1955
- Folder 26: Instruction Manuals--Unbound, n.d.
- Folder 27: "Instructions and Procedures for Using the 6" Refractor, 1969
- 2 modern copies
- Folder 28: Instruction Sheet, n.d.
- Folder 29: Inventories, c.1912-1915
- Folder 30: "Julian Day Number and Algol", n.d.
- "Julian Day
- Folder 31: "Latitude and Longitude Terrestrial Globe", n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 32: "Mid-Term Laboratory Exam", 1958
- with Ditto copy sheets
- Folder 33: "Motion of the Moon", n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 34: "North Circumpolar Constellations", n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 35: Notice of Phone Number Change, n.d.
- Folder 36: Notes on Determination of Latitude, c.1870s-1880s
- Folder 37: Notes on Time and Checking Clocks by Radio Time Signals, n.d.
- Folder 38: "Observation Program for Jupiter", 1957
- Folder 39: "Observing Star Clusters and Nebulae", n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 40: "Observing Sun Spots", n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 41: "Optical Properties and Mechanical Adjustments of The 6" Refractor", 1957-1958
- Instruction Manual (2 bound copies, one "Quad Shop" copy) and Student Work
- Folder 42: Physics Observing Session Guide, 1971
- Item 1: "Physics Observing Session" November 15 1971, 1971
- Original with Ditto copy sheet, 2 additional copies
- Item 2: "First Observing Session", c.1971
- 2 copies
- Item 3: "Second Observing Session--Spring 1971", 1971
- 2 copies
- Item 4: Loose pages, c.1971
- 2 copies each
- Item 5: "The Surface of the Moon", n.d.
- Item 6: "The Maryland Academy of Sciences Graphic Time Table of the Heavens", 1972
- Folder 43: "Preliminary Inventory", n.d.
- Folder 44: "Right Ascension and Declination, Celestial Globe, Sidereal Time", n.d.
- Folder 45: "A Selected Bibliography--Man and Cosmos", c.1975
- Folder 46: "Solar System Positioner", n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 47: "Special Notes Concerning Comet 1956h", 1957
- Folder 48: "Special Notes Taken by J.Y.S.", c1930s
- Camera Instruction Manual, Notes
- Folder 49: "The Spectrometer", n.d.
- Folder 50: Star Chart, n.d.
- Folder 51: "Star Maps", n.d.
- Folder 52: "Study of Lenses on the Optical Bench", n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 53: Study of Uranus Semidiameter, n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 54: "Telling Time by the Stars", n.d.; 1958
- Two separate documents, both with Ditto copy sheets; one n.d., one labeled "Paul A Smith 11-6-58"
- Folder 55: "Temperature of Stars", n.d.
- Folder 56: "Times of Visibility of the Planets", n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 57: "Total Eclipse of the Moon", c.1956
- 2 copies
- Folder 58: "Transit Instrument", 1957
- Folder 59: "Use of the 6th Refractor Setting Circles", n.d.
- Master with Ditto copy sheets, one bound copy
- Folder 60: "Use of Bubble Sextant", n.d.
- Folder 61: "Use of a Detailed Star Atlas", n.d.
- 2 copies
- Folder 62: "Use of the Slide Rule", n.d.
- 2 Copies
- Folder 63: Venus Phases Project Log, 2003
- Folder 64: "The Washington University Observer's Guide", 1975
- 2 copies
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Correspondence],
[
Series 2: History],
[Series 3: Student Materials],
[
Series 4: Publications],
[
Series 5: Data],
[
Series 6: Miscellaneous],
[
Series 7: Photography],
[
All]
