Vassar College Observatory

Infobox nrhp
name = Vassar College Observatory
nrhp_type = nhl

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caption = Observatory in 2007, with dome sealed
location = Vassar College campus, Town of Poughkeepsie, NY
nearest_city = Poughkeepsie
lat_degrees = 41 | lat_minutes = 41 | lat_seconds = 15 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 73 | long_minutes = 53 | long_seconds = 37 | long_direction = W
area =
built = 1865
architect =
architecture =
designated= July 17, 1991cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2116&ResourceType=Building
title=Vassar College Observatory|date=2007-09-18|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = July 17, 1991cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 91002051
mpsub =
governing_body = Vassar CollegeThe Vassar College Observatory is located near the eastern edge of the Poughkeepsie, New York college's campus. Finished in 1865, it was the first building on the college's campus, older even than the Main Building, with which it shares the status of National Historic Landmark. The observatory's significance is due to its association with Maria Mitchell, the first widely known woman astronomer in the United States.

As the college has built a new observatory on a hill near the edge of campus, the building is no longer used for astronomy. Today it houses the campus's women's center. It is currently undergoing a large restoration and renovation, after which it will house the offices of the Education Department.

History

Mitchell, the first director of the observatory, focused primarily on observing planets and their satellites. She was an avid advocate for using the observatory as part of courses of study. Students could frequently be found using both the main telescope and any number of smaller instruments. In addition to serving as an educational and research facility, the original observatory also served as a home for Maria and her father during and after her tenure as professor.

Professor Mary W. Whitney assumed the directorship in 1888. She had been a student of Mitchell's. Whitney focused on comets and published in 1890, 1892 and 1895 in the "Astronomical Journal".

It was noted in "Popular Astronomy" in 1904, "In general the work done at Vassar is similar to that done at several of the smaller German and Italian Observatories."

The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1991.cite web|url=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/91002051.pdf "Vassar College Observatory", September 25, 1989, by Page Putnam Miller] |619 KiB |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration|date=1989-09-25|publisher=National Park Service] cite web|url=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/91002051.pdf Vassar College Observatory-Accompanying 5 photos, exterior, from c.1873 to 1986.] |746 KiB |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration|date=1989-09-25|publisher=National Park Service]

Today, the old observatory is no longer used for research. While the building still stands, the telescope has been removed and most of the building is used as office space. In the late 1990s, a new observatory was built on the Vassar College campus. The Class of '51 Observatory is a state-of-the-art facility that houses two telescopes; one 20-inch reflector used primarily for public outreach, and a 32-inch reflector used for teaching and research. It is tied with the Austin-Fellows telescope of the Stull Observatory at Alfred University for the honor of being the largest telescope in the state of New York.

List of Directors

* Maria Mitchell (1865–1888)
* Mary W. Whitney (1888–1895)
* Caroline Furness (1895–1899?)...
* Henry Albers (19??–1990)
* Fred Chromey (1990–present)

ee also

* List of observatories

References

* McKenney, Anne P., "What women have done for astronomy in the United States," "Popular Astronomy", Vol. 12, pg. 171.

External links

* [http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/pwwmh/ny21.htm Places Where Women Made History: Vassar College Observatory, at National Park Service]
* [http://physicsandastronomy.vassar.edu/ Department of Physics and Astronomy at Vassar College]
* [http://physicsandastronomy.vassar.edu/observatory.html Vassar College Observatory]