Markree Observatory
Encyclopedia
History
Sligo County (UK Parliament constituency)
Sligo County is a former county constituency in Ireland, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returned two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote system of election.-Boundaries:...
(1798–1863) eldest son of Edward Synge Cooper MP
Sligo County (UK Parliament constituency)
Sligo County is a former county constituency in Ireland, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returned two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote system of election.-Boundaries:...
, and Ann, daughter of Henry Vansittart
Henry Vansittart
Henry Vansittart was the English Governor of Bengal from 1759 to 1764.Vansittart was born in Bloomsbury in Middlesex, the third son of Arthur van Sittart . His father and his grandfather, Peter van Sittart , were both wealthy merchants and directors of the Russia Company...
, Governor of Bengal
Governor of Bengal
From 1690, a governor represented the British East India Company in Bengal, which had been granted the right to establish a trading post by the local rulers, the nawabs of Murshidabad, who were nominal vassals of the Mughal emperor in Delhi....
, set up Markree Observatory on the grounds of Markree Castle
Markree Castle
Markree Castle, in Collooney, County Sligo, Ireland is the ancestral seat of the Cooper family, partially moated by the River Unshin. Today it is a small family-run hotel.-17th century:...
.
In 1831 Cooper acquired from Robert A. Cauchoix of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
an objective of 13.5-inches (35.5 cm) for which he paid £1200. In 1834 he mounted the lens on an equatorial mounting by supplied by Thomas Grubb
Thomas Grubb
Thomas Grubb was an Irish optician and founder of the Grubb Telescope Company.He was born probably near Portlaw, County Waterford, Ireland, the son of William and Eleanor Grubb....
of Dublin.
For a number of years Cooper’s big refractor was the largest in the world. He used the telescope to sketch Halley's comet in 1835 and to view the solar eclipse of 15 May 1836.
Later a 5-foot (1.5m) transit and a 3-foot (0.9m) Meridian Circle
Meridian circle
The meridian circle, transit circle, or transit telescope is an instrument for observing the time of stars passing the meridian, at the same time measuring its angular distance from the zenith...
, fitted with an interchangeable 7-inch (17.75 cm) glass were added, which was the largest at that time in 1839. In 1842 a 4-inch (10 cm) Comet Seeker
Comet seeker
A comet seeker is a type of small telescope adapted especially to searching for comets: commonly of short focal length and large aperture, in order to secure the greatest brilliancy of light....
was added.
"The Observatory of Mr Cooper of Markree Castle
Markree Castle
Markree Castle, in Collooney, County Sligo, Ireland is the ancestral seat of the Cooper family, partially moated by the River Unshin. Today it is a small family-run hotel.-17th century:...
- undoubtedly the most richly furnished private observatory known - is worked with great activity by Mr Cooper himself and by his very able assistant, Mr Andrew Graham." (Royal Astronomical Society, 1851)
In 1878, Cooper’s assistant, Andrew Graham, discovered the asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
9 Metis
9 Metis
9 Metis is one of the larger main-belt asteroids. It is composed of silicates and metallic nickel-iron, and may be the core remnant of a large asteroid that was destroyed by an ancient collision...
with the Comet Seeker. Graham resigned his post at Markree in 1860, but continued his research at Cambridge Observatory
Cambridge Observatory
Cambridge Observatory is an astronomical observatory at the University of Cambridge in the East of England. It was first established in 1823 and is now part of the site of the Institute of Astronomy...
until his retirement in 1905. E.J. Cooper died in 1863, but the observatory remained active until the death of Edward Henry Cooper MP
Sligo County (UK Parliament constituency)
Sligo County is a former county constituency in Ireland, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returned two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote system of election.-Boundaries:...
in 1902.