Perkins Observatory - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Perkins Observatory is an astronomical 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...

in Delaware, Ohio

Delaware, Ohio

The City of Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County in the United States state of Ohio. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Area...

. It is owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...

Early history

The observatory is named for Hiram Perkins

Hiram Perkins

Hiram Mills Perkins was Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Ohio Wesleyan University and benefactor of the Perkins Telescope in the Perkins Observatory.-References:...

, a professor of mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

and astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

at the Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University

in Delaware, Ohio

Delaware, Ohio

from 1857 to 1907. A devoutly religious Methodist and a man of deep convictions, he was also known as an uncompromising and demanding instructor.

Perkins graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1857, just nine years after the university was founded. He was immediately offered a position on the faculty. Shortly thereafter he married Caroline Barkdull, a graduate from OWU’s Women’s College.

In 1861 Perkins temporarily left OWU when the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

began. He intended to enlist in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

, but was deemed physically unfit for service. (At 6’4” tall and 97 pounds, his students referred to him as “the human skeleton.”) Perkins then returned to his family hog farm

Pig farming

There are various methods of pig farming depending on the method of management adopted. Variables include:* Money or capital available* The type of animals kept* Local requirements and market conditions* The level of management skills...

and worked to help feed the troops. (Salt pork

Salt pork

Salt pork or white bacon is salt-cured pork. It is prepared from one of three primal cuts: pork side, pork belly, or fatback. Depending on the cut, respectively, salt pork may be lean, streaky or entirely fatty. Made from the same cuts as bacon, salt pork resembles uncut slab bacon, but is...

was a staple military food at the time.) Applying his mathematical skills to the science of pork production, by war’s end he had amassed an impressive (for the time) fortune. After the war Perkins returned to his university teaching position and lived a very frugal life on his small salary. Meanwhile, his shrewd business investments caused his fortune to multiply considerably.

In 1896 Professor Perkins donated the funds necessary to build the first of two observatories to bear his name. It is located on West William Street in Delaware, Ohio

Delaware, Ohio

right next to Hiram and Caroline’s former residence. This original “Perkins Astronomical Observatory” later had its name changed to “the Student Observatory” when the second Perkins Observatory was built a quarter century later.

Perkins’s marriage never produced children. His older sister never married. Therefore, toward the end of his life Perkins realized he had no living relatives to whom to leave his fortune. Retiring in 1907, Professor Perkins applied himself to the creation of “an astronomical observatory of importance.” It was his desire that this second observatory be a place where cutting-edge research could be conducted. It took 15 years to find an appropriate location and secure the necessary funding (Perkins himself provided about $250,000 of the approximately $350,000 budget).

Construction began in 1923 with the frail 90-year-old professor as Guest of Honor at the groundbreaking ceremony. Within a year, however, both Hiram and Caroline Perkins had died. Neither saw the completion of the new observatory.

The building and telescope mount were completed in less than two years. The work was done by the Warner and Swasey Company of Cleveland, Ohio. (Warner and Swasey also built other observatories and telescopes, including Yerkes Observatory

Yerkes Observatory

Yerkes Observatory is an astronomical observatory operated by the University of Chicago in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. The observatory, which calls itself "the birthplace of modern astrophysics," was founded in 1897 by George Ellery Hale and financed by Charles T. Yerkes...

near Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Theodore Jacobsen Observatory

Theodore Jacobsen Observatory

The Theodor Jacobsen Observatory is the on-campus observatory of the University of Washington. Built in 1895, it is the second oldest building on campus and was constructed using the remaining Tenino sandstone blocks from Denny Hall, the oldest and first building on campus...

in Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

, McCormick Observatory

McCormick Observatory

The McCormick Observatory is one of the astronomical observatories operated by the Department of Astronomy of the University of Virginia and is situated just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia in Albemarle County on the summit of Mount Jefferson . It is named for Leander J...

in Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...

, and (of course) the Warner and Swasey Observatory

Warner and Swasey Observatory

The Warner and Swasey Observatory is the astronomical observatory of Case Western Reserve University. Named after Worcester R. Warner and Ambrose Swasey, who built it at the beginning of the 20th century, it was initially located on Taylor Road in East Cleveland, Ohio, USA...

in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

.) The building included a lecture room, library, office space, walk-in vault, small bedroom for visiting astronomers, and spacious work rooms and metal fabrication shops.

However, Professor Perkins had stipulated that the telescope mirror be cast in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. At this time no U.S. companies had experience in casting

Casting

In metalworking, casting involves pouring liquid metal into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowing it to cool and solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process...

such a large mirror, so the National Bureau of Standards agreed to take on the project. It can be argued that casting of this mirror launched the optical glass industry in the United States.

The first four attempts to cast the mirror were unsuccessful. The fifth attempt, using a different technique, created a 69 inches (1.8 m) blank (somewhat larger than originally intended). Three years of grinding and polishing followed. When installed in the telescope mount

Telescope mount

A telescope mount is a mechanical structure which supports a telescope. Telescope mounts are designed to support the mass of the telescope and allow for accurate pointing of the instrument...

in 1931, it was the third largest mirror in the world. (Prior to installation of the 69 inches (1.8 m) mirror, the observatory used a 60 inches (1.5 m) mirror on loan from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

OSU Era

Early on it became apparent that the Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University

simply did not have the staff or expertise necessary to operate one of the world’s most important observatories. In 1935 a cooperative agreement was reached with the Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

to staff and operate Perkins Observatory. For the next 63 years, for most practical purposes, the observatory belonged to OSU.

The following three decades were Golden Years for Perkins Observatory. The remote skies were dark (if somewhat cloudy). Famous astronomers from around the world traveled to central Ohio to use the large telescope. Important meetings of professional and amateur astronomers were hosted on site. The library collection grew to include many rare volumes.

Astronomer Philip C. Keenan

Philip Childs Keenan

Philip Childs Keenan was an American astronomer.Keenan was an American spectroscopist who collaborated with William Wilson Morgan and Edith Kellman to develop the MKK stellar spectral classification system between 1939 and 1943...

spent most of his professional life as an astronomer working at Perkins Observatory. (He was employed by the Ohio State University

Ohio State University

, not Ohio Wesleyan.) Using the 69 inches (1.8 m) telescope he spent almost 20 years taking spectrographic plates of vast areas of the night sky. In collaboration with William Wilson Morgan

William Wilson Morgan

William Wilson Morgan was an American astronomer.The principal theme in Morgan's work was the study of stellar and galaxy classification. Along...

of Yerkes Observatory

Yerkes Observatory

, Dr. Keenan helped to create the M-K System of Stellar Classification

Stellar classification

In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...

. (“M” is for Morgan and “K” is for Keenan.) This is the most common stellar classification

Stellar classification

system used by astronomers today.

In 1932 the Director of the Observatory began publication of a small in-house magazine known as “The Telescope.” At first this quarterly dealt primarily with research and current events related to Perkins Observatory, but in following issues it expanded its coverage of topics somewhat. In 1941 it merged with another small astronomy magazine known as “The Sky” to create “Sky & Telescope

Sky & Telescope

Sky & Telescope is a monthly American magazine covering all aspects of amateur astronomy, including the following:*current events in astronomy and space exploration;*events in the amateur astronomy community;...

Magazine.”

Another stipulation in Hiram Perkins’ endowment was that observing sessions be open to the public at least once a month.

The radio telescope known as Big Ear was built on Perkins Observatory property and operated from 1963 to 1998. It was famous in part for its work on SETI

SETI

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is the collective name for a number of activities people undertake to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Some of the most well known projects are run by the SETI Institute. SETI projects use scientific methods to search for intelligent life...

and the WOW! Signal

Wow! signal

The Wow! signal was a strong narrowband radio signal detected by Dr. Jerry R. Ehman on August 15, 1977, while working on a SETI project at the Big Ear radio telescope of The Ohio State University then located at Ohio Wesleyan University's Perkins Observatory, Delaware, Ohio. The signal bore...

detected in 1977. This instrument was built and operated by the Ohio State University

Ohio State University

Perkins - The Difficult Years

Central Ohio is not, as it turns out, a particularly good location for an astronomical research telescope. The low elevation and generally cloudy weather conspired to frustrate most astronomers using the 69 inches (1.8 m) telescope. More troublesome, the cities of Columbus, Ohio to the south and Delaware, Ohio to the north were both growing. Light pollution therefore became increasingly problematic. So in 1961 the Perkins Telescope was moved to Lowell Observatory

Lowell Observatory

Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965....

in Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...

.

Lowell is the largest private observatory (non-university or government affiliated) in the world. Through the end of the 20th century, the Perkins Telescope was the observatory’s largest instrument. Observing time on this instrument was shared between Lowell astronomers and the Ohio State University

Ohio State University

.

The 69 inches (1.8 m) telescope at Perkins was immediately replaced with a 32 inches (812.8 mm) cassegrain reflector

Cassegrain reflector

The Cassegrain reflector is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror, often used in optical telescopes and radio antennas....

telescope. It was donated by Dr. Michael Schottland, a veterinarian

Veterinarian

A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....

from Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. At that time it was the largest privately owned amateur telescope in the United States. Currently it is one of the three largest telescopes in Ohio.

In 1964, three years after the Perkins Telescope arrived at Lowell Observatory

Lowell Observatory

, the 69 inches (1.8 m) mirror was replaced. A new 72 inches (1.8 m) mirror made of a more modern material was installed in the old mount. The old 69 inches (1.8 m) mirror was loaned to COSI in Columbus as an exhibit.

Part of the arrangement between OSU, OWU, and Lowell Observatory

Lowell Observatory

called for Ohio State to continue to fund operations at Perkins Observatory. This included maintaining the building, the library, and the monthly public programs. However, over the following decades, without a research instrument on site, interest in Perkins Observatory within the Ohio State University

Ohio State University

Astronomy Department declined. The on-site staff shrank until there was just a part-time secretary and a building superintendent who had only a small maintenance budget. Few of the observatory’s Directors (employees of OSU) spent much time at the observatory. There was not even enough money in the budget to maintain subscriptions to prominent astronomy magazines for the Observatory’s library.

For some years a small dome detached and separated from the main observatory building housed a 0.6-meter f1.8 Schmidt telescope. In 1990 this instrument was moved to Lowell Observatory and extensively refurbished using funding from NASA. In 1993 this new instrument came online as the LONEOS system to detect near-Earth asteroids. However, at the time Perkins Observatory received no compensation for use of this instrument.

At Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University

, unfortunately, interest in Perkins Observatory also waned. Little concern was shown toward maintaining the historic property. An endowment fund of approximately $90,000 left by Hiram Perkins in his will (intended to fund observatory operations and the Director’s salary) disappeared somewhere into the OWU’s general endowment fund. Worst of all, most of the land surrounding the observatory was sold to developers. Of a sizable initial plot, by 1990 only 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) remained. (A golf course was built on the sold off property, which later also swallowed up the Big Ear radio telescope

Radio telescope

A radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...

Rebirth and Reinvention

In the 1990s, Tom Burns, a member of the Columbus Astronomical Society and professor of English at the Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University

, became Director of Perkins Observatory. He greatly expanded the Observatory’s public programs and visibility in the central Ohio area.

A collaborative and mutually beneficial relationship was also established with the Columbus Astronomical Society. (In exchange for monthly meeting space and observatory access the CAS provides volunteer assistance with the many public programs.)

Major repairs to the observatory dome were undertaken, thanks to the profits made from the sale of eclipse viewing glasses for the 1994 solar eclipse

Solar eclipse

As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...

. Unused office and storage space was converted into exhibit rooms, a children’s play area and a small gift shop. In September 1999 the original 69 inches (1.8 m) telescope mirror was retrieved from COSI (where it had been sitting in a closet for over a decade) and placed on display.

In 1998 the Ohio State University

Ohio State University

formally ended its relationship with Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University

and Perkins Observatory. OSU withdrew from the 1935 agreement so it could apply its financial resources to purchasing time on the Large Binocular Telescope

Large Binocular Telescope

Large Binocular Telescope is an optical telescope for astronomy located on Mount Graham in the Pinaleno Mountains of southeastern Arizona, and is a part of the Mount Graham International Observatory...

on Mount Graham

Mount Graham

Mount Graham is a mountain in southeastern Arizona in the United States, in the Coronado National Forest. It is the highest mountain in the Pinaleño Mountains. As the name "Mount Graham" is often used by locals to refer to the entire mountain range, the peak itself is frequently referred to as...

. The 72 inches (1.8 m) telescope was sold outright to Lowell Observatory

Lowell Observatory

by Ohio Wesleyan. (The proceeds of this sale went into the Perkins Observatory Endowment Fund.) Staff members who were technically Ohio State University employees started receiving their paychecks from OWU.

Current Use

Currently, regular observing programs are held almost every Friday and Saturday night throughout the year. Programs are held on other evenings and during the day by special appointment. A monthly lecture series detailing various current topics in astronomy is ongoing. Occasional special events (like telescope fairs, celebrity guest lecturers, and viewings of unusual astronomical events) are also sponsored and organized by Perkins. (Thousands of people visited the observatory to see comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. Each time a notable solar eclipse

Solar eclipse

is visible from Central Ohio, several thousand pairs of eclipse glasses are distributed and educational school programs scheduled. E. C. Krupp, Director of Griffith Observatory

Griffith Observatory

Griffith Observatory is in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest...

and John Dobson

John Dobson (astronomer)

John Lowry Dobson is a popularizer of amateur astronomy. He is most notable for being the promoter of a design for large, portable, low-cost Newtonian reflecting telescopes that bears his name, the Dobsonian telescope. The design is considered revolutionary since it allowed amateur astronomers to...

, inventor of the Dobsonian telescope

Dobsonian telescope

A Dobsonian telescope is an alt-azimuth mounted newtonian telescope design popularized by the amateur astronomer John Dobson starting in the 1960s. Dobson's telescopes featured a simplified mechanical design that was easy to manufacture from readily available components to create a large, portable,...

, have both visited and lectured at Ohio Wesleyan thanks to Perkins sponsorship.)

Perkins Observatory is now the most visible and most reliable source of information related to astronomy and space exploration in central Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. Television stations, newspapers, other local science museums, and members of the general public rely on Professor Burns and his staff to answer questions, provide perspective, make media appearances and dispel astronomical misconceptions.

Challenges

Perkins Observatory faces many challenges as it begins the 21st Century.

Like many public institutions without government support, Perkins faces funding limitations. Although the Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University

is very supportive, it cannot by itself provide adequate monies for staff, program expansion, or maintenance on the historic building. (An endowment fund has been established, and donations are accepted.)

Since the observatory was constructed 1923–1931, it experiences many maintenance challenges typical of older, historic buildings. Costly repairs and heating & cooling expenses eat into the limited budget. Also, handicapped accessibility was not a concern in the 1920s. Retrofitting the building for public use while keeping its unique architectural identity has proved to be difficult, costly, and time-consuming.

The most troublesome challenge that Perkins Observatory must now deal with is the increasing effect of light pollution

Light pollution

Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, is excessive or obtrusive artificial light.The International Dark-Sky Association defines light pollution as:...

. The city of Delaware is expanding from the north while Columbus expands from the south. Although lighting ordinances do exist which cover the surrounding area, enforcing compliance is a constant struggle. Observatory staff recognizes that the day is coming when observation of deep sky objects will no longer be possible from the site.

The observatory now faces new challenges in October 2009 as part of the neighboring golf course plans to develop box stores and apartments next to the observatory. This light pollution will certainty disable the observatory. Volunteers and staff are looking to the Delaware and Columbus residents to voice their opinion to the Delaware zoning commission to keep this from happening and to preserve what view of the heavens the observatory has now. Please see the the-cas.org website or the Perkins Observatory facebook page for more information.

External links

Perkins Observatory Website
Columbus Astronomical Society Website
History of the Student Observatory
Perkins Observatory Clear Sky Clock Forecast of observing conditions.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.