McCormick Observatory
Encyclopedia
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
(USA) in Albemarle County
on the summit of Mount Jefferson
(also known as Observatory Hill). It is named for Leander J. McCormick
(1819–1900), who provided the funds for the telescope and observatory. Leander was the son of Robert McCormick (1780–1846), the inventor of a mechanical reaper
, and brother of Cyrus H. McCormick, who patented it, and undertook the large scale manufacture and marketing of the invention. The McCormick family
's homestead of Walnut Grove
was located near Raphine
, Virginia, although they moved to Chicago
to manufacture of the reaper on a large scale in 1848. In Chicago Cyrus, Leander and their brother William
founded what became the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and eventually International Harvester
. In 1870 Leander decided to donate the largest telescope in the world to his home state of Virginia
. However, the financial impact of the American Civil War
on Virginia
as well as the impact of the Great Chicago Fire
on his own finances, delayed his efforts, and the telescope was the second largest refractor in the world when completed.
It was largely through the efforts of Charles Scott Venable (aide-de-camp
to Gen. Robert E. Lee
from 1862 to 1865 and professor of mathematics
at the University of Virginia from 1865 to 1896) that McCormick finally (in 1877) decided to make his gift to the University of Virginia. For years he was also considering Washington College (later Washington and Lee University
) in Lexington, Virginia
, since it was located much closer to the family homestead. In 1870, Robert E. Lee, who was then president of Washington College, sent a letter of introduction to Joseph Henry
, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
, making known McCormick's wishes to establish an astronomical observatory in the state. However, in 1878, the University officially received McCormick's donation of the telescope. This was followed in 1881 by a donation of $18,000 for the observatory itself, contingent on the University's raising the funds to endow the professorship.
The telescope and building were completed in 1884 and dedicated on Thomas Jefferson
's birthday, April 13, 1885. At the time it was the equal largest telescope in the United States. The telescope was made by Alvan Clark & Sons
of Cambridgeport
, Massachusetts
, who were regarded as the finest telescope makers of the age.
The dome, at 45 feet, was the largest in the world when completed; it was designed by Warner and Swasey
with a unique three shutter design.
It was nearly a twin of the earlier 26-inch refractor at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington. However, the Clarks made some adjustments to the lens to improve the image quality over that of the Naval Observatory refractor. In 1877 while the McCormick Refractor was still in Cambridgeport, Alvan Clark
used it to verify the discovery of the moons of Mars
the night after the discovery observations were made by Asaph Hall
with the Naval Observatory refractor.
Under the first director, Ormond Stone
, a program to measure the positions of southern stars was carried out (an extension on the Durchmusterung star catalogue
to -23 degrees). In addition, the orbits of southern double stars were measured and southern nebulae were observed.
The first published observations to be carried out at the Observatory, before the telescope was even complete, was of the Transit of Venus
on December 6, 1882. Observations were made at the site of the observatory as well as at the Rotunda
of the University of Virginia.
Starting in 1914 the second director, Samuel Alfred Mitchell
, began a program to measure the distances to nearby stars (stellar parallax
) using photography. This program continued under the next two directors, Harold Alden and Laurence Fredrick; over the course of more than 80 years, the distances to thousands of stars have been determined with the McCormick Refractor. Peter van de Kamp
, Alexander N. Vyssotsky
, Emma T. R. Williams and Dirk Reuyl
also carried out research on the number and types of stars seen in different directions, and from this deduced information about the size and shape of the Milky Way
.
Since the 1880s, daily weather observations have been taken at McCormick Observatory, and it has been part of the National Weather Service
's Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) since the programs inception in 1890.
The telescope is the largest Alvan Clark refractor still mounted on its original Alvan Clark mount.
The Observatory is now used primarily for teaching and public outreach, and contains a museum of the history of astronomy at the University of Virginia. The observational research of the Astronomy Department is carried out at Fan Mountain Observatory
, and at other observatories.
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
and is situated just outside of 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...
(USA) in Albemarle County
Albemarle County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 79,236 people, 31,876 households, and 21,070 families residing in the county. The population density was 110 people per square mile . There were 33,720 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile...
on the summit of Mount Jefferson
Mount Jefferson (Virginia)
Mount Jefferson is a mountain located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, in Albemarle County. It lies south of Lewis Mountain, and is positioned at the northeastern edge of the Ragged Mountains....
(also known as Observatory Hill). It is named for Leander J. McCormick
Leander J. McCormick
Leander James McCormick was an American farmer, inventor, manufacturer, and businessman. Although born in rural Virginia, he later owned vast amounts of real estate in downtown Chicago.-Life:...
(1819–1900), who provided the funds for the telescope and observatory. Leander was the son of Robert McCormick (1780–1846), the inventor of a mechanical reaper
Reaper
A reaper is a person or machine that reaps crops at harvest, when they are ripe.-Hand reaping:Hand reaping is done by various means, including plucking the ears of grains directly by hand, cutting the grain stalks with a sickle, cutting them with a scythe, or with a later type of scythe called a...
, and brother of Cyrus H. McCormick, who patented it, and undertook the large scale manufacture and marketing of the invention. The McCormick family
McCormick family
The McCormick family is a family of business people and politicians from the United States.They descend from Robert McCormick and Mary Ann Hall.Below is a list of members:...
's homestead of Walnut Grove
Cyrus McCormick Farm
The Cyrus McCormick Farm and Workshop is on the family farm of inventor Cyrus Hall McCormick known as Walnut Grove. Cyrus Hall McCormick improved and patented the mechanical reaper, which eventually led to the creation of the combine harvester...
was located near Raphine
Raphine, Virginia
Raphine is an unincorporated community in Rockbridge County in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S. state of Virginia.-History:The name "Raphine" came from an old Greek word "raphis", meaning "to sew." It was chosen in honor of James Edward Allen Gibbs , a local farmer who patented the first...
, Virginia, although they moved to 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...
to manufacture of the reaper on a large scale in 1848. In Chicago Cyrus, Leander and their brother William
William Sanderson McCormick
William Sanderson McCormick was an American businessman who developed the company that became the major producer of agricultural equipment in the 19th century...
founded what became the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and eventually International Harvester
International Harvester
International Harvester Company was a United States agricultural machinery, construction equipment, vehicle, commercial truck, and household and commercial products manufacturer. In 1902, J.P...
. In 1870 Leander decided to donate the largest telescope in the world to his home state of 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...
. However, the financial impact of 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...
on 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...
as well as the impact of the Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...
on his own finances, delayed his efforts, and the telescope was the second largest refractor in the world when completed.
It was largely through the efforts of Charles Scott Venable (aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to Gen. Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
from 1862 to 1865 and 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...
at the University of Virginia from 1865 to 1896) that McCormick finally (in 1877) decided to make his gift to the University of Virginia. For years he was also considering Washington College (later Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
) in Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
, since it was located much closer to the family homestead. In 1870, Robert E. Lee, who was then president of Washington College, sent a letter of introduction to Joseph Henry
Joseph Henry
Joseph Henry was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as a founding member of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor of the Smithsonian Institution. During his lifetime, he was highly regarded...
, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, making known McCormick's wishes to establish an astronomical observatory in the state. However, in 1878, the University officially received McCormick's donation of the telescope. This was followed in 1881 by a donation of $18,000 for the observatory itself, contingent on the University's raising the funds to endow the professorship.
The telescope and building were completed in 1884 and dedicated on Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
's birthday, April 13, 1885. At the time it was the equal largest telescope in the United States. The telescope was made by Alvan Clark & Sons
Alvan Clark & Sons
Alvan Clark & Sons was an American maker of optics that became famous for crafting lenses for some of the largest refracting telescopes of the 19th and early 20th centuries...
of Cambridgeport
Cambridgeport
Cambridgeport is one of the neighborhoods of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is bounded by Massachusetts Avenue, the Charles River, the Grand Junction Railroad, and River Street. The neighborhood contains predominantly residential homes, many of the triple decker style common in New England...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, who were regarded as the finest telescope makers of the age.
The dome, at 45 feet, was the largest in the world when completed; it was designed by Warner and Swasey
Ambrose Swasey
Ambrose Swasey was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, manager, astronomer, and philanthropist. With Worcester R. Warner he co-founded the Warner & Swasey Company....
with a unique three shutter design.
It was nearly a twin of the earlier 26-inch refractor at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington. However, the Clarks made some adjustments to the lens to improve the image quality over that of the Naval Observatory refractor. In 1877 while the McCormick Refractor was still in Cambridgeport, Alvan Clark
Alvan Clark
Alvan Clark , born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, the descendant of a Cape Cod whaling family of English ancestry, was an American astronomer and telescope maker. He was a portrait painter and engraver , and at the age of 40 became involved in telescope making...
used it to verify the discovery of the moons of Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
the night after the discovery observations were made by Asaph Hall
Asaph Hall
Asaph Hall III was an American astronomer who is most famous for having discovered the moons of Mars in 1877...
with the Naval Observatory refractor.
Under the first director, Ormond Stone
Ormond Stone
Ormond Stone , was an astronomer, mathematician and educator. He was the director of Cincinnati Observatory and subsequently the first director of the McCormick Observatory at the University of Virginia, where he trained a significant number of scientists...
, a program to measure the positions of southern stars was carried out (an extension on the Durchmusterung star catalogue
Star catalogue
A star catalogue, or star catalog, is an astronomical catalogue that lists stars. In astronomy, many stars are referred to simply by catalogue numbers. There are a great many different star catalogues which have been produced for different purposes over the years, and this article covers only some...
to -23 degrees). In addition, the orbits of southern double stars were measured and southern nebulae were observed.
The first published observations to be carried out at the Observatory, before the telescope was even complete, was of the Transit of Venus
Transit of Venus
A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, becoming visible against the solar disk. During a transit, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black disk moving across the face of the Sun...
on December 6, 1882. Observations were made at the site of the observatory as well as at the Rotunda
The Rotunda (University of Virginia)
The Rotunda is a building located on The Lawn in the original grounds of the University of Virginia. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason" and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed in 1826, after...
of the University of Virginia.
Starting in 1914 the second director, Samuel Alfred Mitchell
Samuel Alfred Mitchell
Samuel Alfred Mitchell was an astronomer who studied solar eclipses and set up a program to use photographic techniques to determine the distance to stars at McCormick Observatory, where he served as the director.-Early years:Mitchell was the son of John Cook and Sarah Chown Mitchell,...
, began a program to measure the distances to nearby stars (stellar parallax
Stellar parallax
Stellar parallax is the effect of parallax on distant stars in astronomy. It is parallax on an interstellar scale, and it can be used to determine the distance of Earth to another star directly with accurate astrometry...
) using photography. This program continued under the next two directors, Harold Alden and Laurence Fredrick; over the course of more than 80 years, the distances to thousands of stars have been determined with the McCormick Refractor. Peter van de Kamp
Peter van de Kamp
Piet van de Kamp , known as Peter van de Kamp in the United States, was a Dutch astronomer who lived most of his life in the United States. He was professor of astronomy at Swarthmore College and director of the college's Sproul Observatory from 1937 until 1972...
, Alexander N. Vyssotsky
Alexander N. Vyssotsky
Alexander Nikolayevich Vyssotsky was an astronomer. Vyssotsky was born in Moscow, Russia, and received his master degree from Moscow State University....
, Emma T. R. Williams and Dirk Reuyl
Dirk Reuyl
Dirk Reuyl was a Dutch American physicist and astronomer. He was the cousin of astronomer Peter van de Kamp.-Life:He was awarded his Ph.D from Utrecht University in Utrecht, Netherlands. He came to the United States a few years before his cousin Peter van de Kamp. He joined the staff at McCormick...
also carried out research on the number and types of stars seen in different directions, and from this deduced information about the size and shape of the Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
.
Since the 1880s, daily weather observations have been taken at McCormick Observatory, and it has been part of the National Weather Service
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
's Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) since the programs inception in 1890.
The telescope is the largest Alvan Clark refractor still mounted on its original Alvan Clark mount.
The Observatory is now used primarily for teaching and public outreach, and contains a museum of the history of astronomy at the University of Virginia. The observational research of the Astronomy Department is carried out at Fan Mountain Observatory
Fan Mountain Observatory
Fan Mountain Observatory , an observatory operated by the Astronomy Department of the University of Virginia in southern Albemarle County, Virginia...
, and at other observatories.
External links
- McCormick Observatory home page
- Leander McCormick Observatory Clear Sky Clock Forecasts of observing conditions.