Sherzer Observatory
Encyclopedia
Sherzer Observatory is an astronomical
observatory
owned and operated by the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Eastern Michigan University
located in Ypsilanti, Michigan
(USA). Established in 1878 with a gift from the citizens of Ypsilanti of a four-inch (102 mm) , $600 Alvan Clark
refractor
, the observatory located on Pierce Hall was hit by a tornado
and destroyed in 1893. It was then relocated to the roof of the new Natural Science Building in 1903. The building and observatory was later named after William Sherzer, a science professor at the school who conceived the design for the new building after seeing similar facilities on a visit to Germany. The architect of the building was E. W.. Arnold of Battle Creek
.
In 1928, a 10 inches (254 mm) refractor telescope manufactured by telescope maker and amateur astronomer John Mellish
was installed on a German equatorial mount built by physics professor Edwin Strong. The University Archives still has data produced by students using this telescope and the brass Negus transit telescope which shared the observatory with the refractor.
In the 1970s and 1980s, members of the EMU student astronomy club made numerous updates and restorations to keep the aging observatory running. Then, in 1989, Sherzer Hall was gutted by fire. Almost half of the building was destroyed including the original observatory. Fortunately, the University decided to rebuild.
The new observatory opened in September 1991 with a 10 inches (254 mm) apochromatic refractor telescope and German equatorial mount centered under a 6-meter dome. A classroom/computer lab was finished in 1997, and additional 8 inches (203.2 mm) to 14 inches (355.6 mm) telescopes, CCD cameras, and other equipment added to the inventory for student use. A secondary observatory with an automated 8 inches (203.2 mm) SCT for CCD imaging was added to the rooftop level, becoming operational in 2008.
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...
owned and operated by the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
located in Ypsilanti, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
(USA). Established in 1878 with a gift from the citizens of Ypsilanti of a four-inch (102 mm) , $600 Alvan Clark
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...
refractor
Refracting telescope
A refracting or refractor telescope is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image . The refracting telescope design was originally used in spy glasses and astronomical telescopes but is also used for long focus camera lenses...
, the observatory located on Pierce Hall was hit by a tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
and destroyed in 1893. It was then relocated to the roof of the new Natural Science Building in 1903. The building and observatory was later named after William Sherzer, a science professor at the school who conceived the design for the new building after seeing similar facilities on a visit to Germany. The architect of the building was E. W.. Arnold of Battle Creek
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
.
In 1928, a 10 inches (254 mm) refractor telescope manufactured by telescope maker and amateur astronomer John Mellish
John E. Mellish
John Edward Mellish was an American amateur astronomer and telescope builder.John E. Mellish lived outside of Madison Wisconsin...
was installed on a German equatorial mount built by physics professor Edwin Strong. The University Archives still has data produced by students using this telescope and the brass Negus transit telescope which shared the observatory with the refractor.
In the 1970s and 1980s, members of the EMU student astronomy club made numerous updates and restorations to keep the aging observatory running. Then, in 1989, Sherzer Hall was gutted by fire. Almost half of the building was destroyed including the original observatory. Fortunately, the University decided to rebuild.
The new observatory opened in September 1991 with a 10 inches (254 mm) apochromatic refractor telescope and German equatorial mount centered under a 6-meter dome. A classroom/computer lab was finished in 1997, and additional 8 inches (203.2 mm) to 14 inches (355.6 mm) telescopes, CCD cameras, and other equipment added to the inventory for student use. A secondary observatory with an automated 8 inches (203.2 mm) SCT for CCD imaging was added to the rooftop level, becoming operational in 2008.