Whitin Observatory
Encyclopedia
Whitin Observatory is an astronomical
observatory
owned and operated by Wellesley College. Built in 1900, with additions in 1906, 1967, and 2010-2011, it is located in Wellesley
, Massachusetts
and named after Wellesley College trustee Mrs. John Crane Whitin (Sarah Elizabeth Whitin) of Whitinsville, who donated the funds for the observatory. Astronomer Sarah Frances Whiting
was the first director of the new Wellesley College Astronomy Department.
The facilities include a 24-inch Boller and Chivens
reflector
with a CCD and retrofitted with a DFM control system, a 12" Fitz/Clark refractor
, a 6" Alvan Clark
refractor, a Hale Spectrohelioscope, an MIT Haystack Small Radio Telescope, and six Meade 8" SCTs
.
and as told in Wellesley College 1875-1975: A Century of Women:
It quickly became apparent that the Observatory would need to be expanded. Sarah Frances Whiting
wrote in Whitin's obituary "An Appreciation," which appeared in The Wellesley College News
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 Wellesley College. Built in 1900, with additions in 1906, 1967, and 2010-2011, it is located in Wellesley
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of Greater Boston. The population was 27,982 at the time of the 2010 census.It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College...
, 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...
and named after Wellesley College trustee Mrs. John Crane Whitin (Sarah Elizabeth Whitin) of Whitinsville, who donated the funds for the observatory. Astronomer Sarah Frances Whiting
Sarah Frances Whiting
Sarah Frances Whiting , American physicist and astronomer, was the instructor to several astronomers, including Annie Jump Cannon.-Biography:Whiting graduated from Ingham University in 1865....
was the first director of the new Wellesley College Astronomy Department.
The facilities include a 24-inch Boller and Chivens
Boller and Chivens
Boller and Chivens was an American manufacturer of high-quality telescopes and spectrographs founded about 1946 by Harry B. Boller and Clyde C. Chivens . Headquartered in South Pasadena, California, the company was acquired in 1965 by Perkin-Elmer...
reflector
Reflecting telescope
A reflecting telescope is an optical telescope which uses a single or combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century as an alternative to the refracting telescope which, at that time, was a design that suffered from...
with a CCD and retrofitted with a DFM control system, a 12" Fitz/Clark 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...
, a 6" 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, a Hale Spectrohelioscope, an MIT Haystack Small Radio Telescope, and six Meade 8" SCTs
Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope
The Schmidt–Cassegrain is a catadioptric telescope that combines a cassegrain reflector's optical path with a Schmidt corrector plate to make a compact astronomical instrument that uses simple spherical surfaces.-Invention and design:...
.
History
In 1896, Wellesley College physics professor Sarah Frances Whiting met trustee Sarah Elizabeth Whitin at a traditional college ceremony, "Float Night." The conversation turned to a 12" refracting telescope Whiting had used that was being offered for sale,and as told in Wellesley College 1875-1975: A Century of Women:
In the fall of 1898 she proposed to give, and the Trustees "voted to
accept with gratitude," "a 12" telescope and a simple building to house
the instrument." Then at a Trustees meeting the following May, "Mrs.
Whitin stated that she now proposes to construct the Observatory of
white marble in place of brick." When it was formally opened on October
8, 1900, Miss Hazard could report that it housed "a 12" refractor with
micrometer, polarizing photometer, and star and sun spectroscopes. A
Rowland concave grating spectroscope, of 6' focus, with its accompanying
heliostat, is set up in a room capable of being darkened completely. The
library is a beautiful room, and the dome by Warner and Swasey is all
that it should be.
It quickly became apparent that the Observatory would need to be expanded. Sarah Frances Whiting
Sarah Frances Whiting
Sarah Frances Whiting , American physicist and astronomer, was the instructor to several astronomers, including Annie Jump Cannon.-Biography:Whiting graduated from Ingham University in 1865....
wrote in Whitin's obituary "An Appreciation," which appeared in The Wellesley College News
I knew from the first that it was not large enough for the kind of work we wished to do, and that the nearest college residence hall was too far off for the astronomical staff to be present for the nightly vigil with the stars. Mrs. Whitin herself soon perceived this and of her own initiative began to think of an Observatory House, and an enlargement to the Observatory itself.
The beauty and costliness of what was already done seemed difficult to match. Various compromise building materials for the addition were discussed, but after many consultations with the architect, she declared that “marble and copper were good enough,” and by 1906 the observatory was doubled with increased equipment, and a house placed beside it, completing a harmonious group, and itself a lovely specimen of domestic architecture.
Faculty
- Sarah Frances WhitingSarah Frances WhitingSarah Frances Whiting , American physicist and astronomer, was the instructor to several astronomers, including Annie Jump Cannon.-Biography:Whiting graduated from Ingham University in 1865....
- Ellen Amanda Hayes
- Leah AllenLeah AllenLeah Brown Allen was an American astronomer and Professor of Astronomy at Hood College.She joined Lick Observatory as Carnegie Assistant in 1908. Professor Allen began teaching astronomy at Hood in 1928.-Education:* Hope Street School, 1902...
- John Charles Duncan
Students
- Annie Jump CannonAnnie Jump CannonAnnie Jump Cannon was an American astronomer whose cataloging work was instrumental in the development of contemporary stellar classification. With Edward C...
, after whom the Annie J. Cannon Award in AstronomyAnnie J. Cannon Award in AstronomyThe Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy is awarded annually by the American Astronomical Society to a woman resident of North America, who is within five years of receipt of a Ph.D., for distinguished contributions to astronomy or for similar contributions in related sciences which have immediate...
was named. - Martha P. HaynesMartha P. HaynesMartha Patricia Haynes is an American astronomer who specializes in radio astronomy and radar astronomy. She is a professor at Cornell University -Career:...
- Pamela MelroyPamela MelroyPamela Anne Melroy is a retired United States Air Force officer and a former NASA astronaut. She served as pilot on Space Shuttle missions STS-92 and STS-112 and commanded mission STS-120.-Early life and education:...