Lee Observatory
Encyclopedia
The Lee Observatory is a (now closed) astronomical
observatory
it was the first and the oldest of the Middle East. It is located in the campus of the American University of Beirut
in Beirut
, Lebanon
.
, opened in 1873. Dr. Cornelius Van Dyck was its pioneer. The observatory was named the 'Lee' Observatory in reference to Henry Lee, a wealthy British merchant from Manchester, who made a significant donation to help finance its construction.
The Observatory had a twin role, sky gazing and a meteorological station for the middle east.
Several directors and assistants managed the Observatory, among them:
Dr Van Dyck who had astronomy as a hobby bought most of the equipment from his own budget.
Professor Mansour Jurdak and Professor Owen Gingerich
with their concept of "Open Nights Observatory" made contributions to the Observatory library.
Saad Sami Haddad drew a sky map of stars up to and including the 5th magnitude. He contributed in the filing of sunspot data taken daily and forwarded them to Zurich, the International center for sunspot research. He made statistical tests revealing the significance of the East-West asymmetry of the sunspots activity. He was also responsible for the gathering of meteorological data.
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
it was the first and the oldest of the Middle East. It is located in the campus of the American University of Beirut
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
.
History
The Lee observatory of the American University of BeirutAmerican University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
, opened in 1873. Dr. Cornelius Van Dyck was its pioneer. The observatory was named the 'Lee' Observatory in reference to Henry Lee, a wealthy British merchant from Manchester, who made a significant donation to help finance its construction.
The Observatory had a twin role, sky gazing and a meteorological station for the middle east.
Several directors and assistants managed the Observatory, among them:
Dr Van Dyck who had astronomy as a hobby bought most of the equipment from his own budget.
Professor Mansour Jurdak and Professor Owen Gingerich
Owen Gingerich
Dr. Owen Jay Gingerich is a former Research Professor of Astronomy and of the History of Science at Harvard University, and a senior astronomer emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory...
with their concept of "Open Nights Observatory" made contributions to the Observatory library.
Saad Sami Haddad drew a sky map of stars up to and including the 5th magnitude. He contributed in the filing of sunspot data taken daily and forwarded them to Zurich, the International center for sunspot research. He made statistical tests revealing the significance of the East-West asymmetry of the sunspots activity. He was also responsible for the gathering of meteorological data.