Happy Birthday, James Lick Observatory!
TBerk
On This Day: 02Jan09
1888 – The 91-cm refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory near San
Jose, California, USA, at the time the largest telescope in the world,
was used for the first time.
berk
Here is the wiki entry;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lick_telescope
The James Lick Telescope is an antique refracting 36 inch (91.44 cm)
telescope built in 1889 that can still be viewed through today.
Also called the "Great Lick Refractor" or simply "Lick Refractor", it
is the third-largest refracting telescope in the world, surpassed by
the Yerkes Observatory 40-inch and the 1 meter Swedish Solar
Telescope, and was the largest until 1897. It is located at the
University of California's Lick Observatory atop Mount Hamilton at an
altitude of 4,209 feet (1,283 m) above sea-level.
The telescope is housed inside a dome which is powered by hydraulics
to raise and lower the floor, rotate the dome, and drive the clock
mechanism to track the Earth's rotation.
The original hydraulic system still operates today, with the exception
that the original wind-powered pumps to fill the reservoirs have been
replaced with electric pumps.
James Lick is himself entombed below the telescope's observing room's
floor.
Here are some excerpts from the July 1902 description of the telescope
(out of copyright):[citation needed]
The height of the marble floor of the main building above mean sea-
level is 4209 feet.
On a closely connected peak half a mile to the east of the
Observatory, and 50 feet higher, are the reservoirs from which water
for household and photographic purposes is distributed. A spring about
350 feet below and one mile to the northeast of the Observatory
supplies excellent water.
Another peak seven eighths of a mile to the east is the summit of
Mount Hamilton; it is 180 feet higher than the Observatory, and
supports the reservoirs supplying power for moving the dome, raising
the movable floor, and winding the driving clock of the great
telescope.
This system receives its supply from the winter rains falling on the
roofs; the water being pumped to the reservoirs on the higher peak by
means of windmills.
The movable floor in the dome is the first of the kind to be
constructed. It is 60 feet in diameter, and can be raised or lowered
through a distance of 16 1/2 feet, its purpose being to bring the
observer within convenient reach of the eye end of the telescope...
<more>
lal_truckee
>
> On This Day: 02Jan09
> Jose, California, USA, at the time the largest telescope in the world,
> was used for the first time.
>
> berk
> Here is the wiki entry;
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lick_telescope
Open for public viewing during the summer - look on its web sites. Well
worth the effort, it's a magnificent instrument, and very 19th century.
Yemini Eminies
19th century America. You have to wonder how America in that century was on
to that. Einstein was a child basically and the idea of cowboys and
astronomy don't mix well.
"lal_truckee" <lal_t...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:hhpac2$2g0$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
> On 1/2/10 5:57 PM, TBerk wrote:
>>
>> On This Day: 02Jan09
>> 1888 � The 91-cm refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory near San
Davoud
> It just goes to show that the science of astronomy was alive and well in
> 19th century America. You have to wonder how America in that century was on
> to that. Einstein was a child basically and the idea of cowboys and
> astronomy don't mix well.
?? Some years ago, when I lived in West Texas, I knew a cowboy -- a man
who herded cattle on horseback, wearing chaps and spurs and the whole
movie stereotype thing -- and who was an avid and knowledgeable amateur
astronomer. Not surprisingly, his interest in astronomy came from
spending nights camped out under the Big Sky.
Davoud
--
I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that
you will say in your entire life.
usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm
Davoud
>
> > It just goes to show that the science of astronomy was alive and well in
> > 19th century America. You have to wonder how America in that century was
> > on
> > to that. Einstein was a child basically and the idea of cowboys and
> > astronomy don't mix well.
Davoud:
> ?? Some years ago, when I lived in West Texas, I knew a cowboy -- a man
> who herded cattle on horseback, wearing chaps and spurs and the whole
> movie stereotype thing -- and who was an avid and knowledgeable amateur
> astronomer. Not surprisingly, his interest in astronomy came from
> spending nights camped out under the Big Sky.
I forgot to mention SAA's "own" Chris L Peterson, astronomer and (I
think) cowboy. Sort of, at least, I think. Maybe.
Yemini Eminies
"Davoud" <st...@sky.net> wrote in message
news:030120100840371852%st...@sky.net...
> Yemini Eminies wrote:
>
>> It just goes to show that the science of astronomy was alive and well in
>> 19th century America. You have to wonder how America in that century was
>> on
>> to that. Einstein was a child basically and the idea of cowboys and
>> astronomy don't mix well.
>
> ?? Some years ago, when I lived in West Texas, I knew a cowboy -- a man
> who herded cattle on horseback, wearing chaps and spurs and the whole
> movie stereotype thing -- and who was an avid and knowledgeable amateur
> astronomer. Not surprisingly, his interest in astronomy came from
> spending nights camped out under the Big Sky.
>
> Davoud
That was the exception not the rule. I did say the science of astronomy, as
in people who studied astronomy and had the best available technology at the
time. Some how I have trouble thinking of a cowboy carrying around star
charts and binoculars.
Chris L Peterson
wrote:
>That was the exception not the rule. I did say the science of astronomy, as
>in people who studied astronomy and had the best available technology at the
>time. Some how I have trouble thinking of a cowboy carrying around star
>charts and binoculars.
Well, it's not so uncommon these days- I know a handful of ranchers who
do just that. There probably weren't many in the late 19th century, but
I don't really see how that is important. Do you imagine that most
Americans at that time were cowboys? That was just another job, held by
a small fraction of the population. There were plenty of academics then,
as well as professional and amateur scientists. America was at the
forefront of engineering and scientifically creative thinking around
then. It wasn't one giant Wild West!
_________________________________________________
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
Yemini Eminies
"Chris L Peterson" <c...@alumni.caltech.edu> wrote in message
news:ov02k5dcm93fvh833...@4ax.com...
Davoud
> >...the idea of cowboys and astronomy don't mix well.
Davoud:
> > ?? Some years ago, when I lived in West Texas, I knew a cowboy -- a man
> > who herded cattle on horseback, wearing chaps and spurs and the whole
> > movie stereotype thing -- and who was an avid and knowledgeable amateur
> > astronomer. Not surprisingly, his interest in astronomy came from
> > spending nights camped out under the Big Sky.
Yemini Eminies:
> That was the exception not the rule. I did say the science of astronomy, as
> in people who studied astronomy and had the best available technology at the
> time. Some how I have trouble thinking of a cowboy carrying around star
> charts and binoculars.
Well, I see you have two problems. First, you have mistaken this group
for sci.astro.professional. Second, with regard to a cowboy carrying an
optical instrument and star charts, you have a failure of imagination.
Are you aware that some airline pilots do the same thing, at least on
long-haul flights? A 747 pilot once invited me into the cockpit to do
some observing with him. Several hours into the flight we were at
39,000 ft and the seeing was *very* good!
Yemini Eminies
"Davoud" <st...@sky.net> wrote in message
news:040120101221034361%st...@sky.net...
Marty
> Give it a rest will ya ! I am not referring to present day "cowboys" !
>
Give it a rest will ya ! I am not referring to present day
"cowboys" !
OK... If you've ever been out in the sandhills of Western Nebraska,
you'd know that 19th century cowboys had very good reason to have at
least a basic knowledge of the night sky. In fact, I remember being
lost in modern day Kansas City, and being very frustrated by the fact
that it was cloudy, and I couldn't even figure out general
directions. And ~ once you learn the sky, human curiosity has a way
of making a guy wonder what he's seeing.
19th century cowboys were people just like us... they worked
hard at their job, they occasionally cut loose and had some fun, most
were so honest that a rancher could lay their pay out in envelopes
after a cattle drive and leave it for them to pick up, more of them
were black than you'd guess from the movies, and most were really
terrible shots with a 6 gun. :)
Marty
Ice Corrs
sight to behold. I am sure all knew at least how to navigate with polaris.
They would watch the circumpolar constellations do their round and wonder.
I suppose a compass would be quite expensive at the time but anyone who had
one would have dazzled the plains indians.
"Marty" <marty...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:8a872b73-c26a-42e6...@z41g2000yqz.googlegroups.com...
wsne...@hotmail.com
> It just goes to show that the science of astronomy was alive and well in
> 19th century America. You have to wonder how America in that century was on
> to that.
America was technologically advanced in the 19th Century, more so than
a typical European country. It also had a large frontier to settle.
Try not to let that confuse you.
> Einstein was a child basically and the idea of cowboys and
> astronomy don't mix well.
In the early part of the 20th century, Milton Humason was a mule
driver during construction on Mt. Wilson, worked on a ranch, but
eventually worked his way up and became an astronomer at Mt. Wilson,
despite a lack of formal education.
> "lal_truckee" <lal_truc...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
Marty
James Lick is himself entombed below the telescope's observing room's
floor.
I've always thought that it would be neat to be buried and
immortalized beneath some public work, such as James Lick beneath the
Telescope that carries his name. I've been considering forming some
kind of a trust to donate a new Landfill to my county...
Marty