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Allegheny Observatory
14 October 2008 08:38 pmIt's been a very long time since I'd been to Allegheny Observatory but last night I finally had a chance to go back when ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
_starlady_ arranged for a tour. Some comments in no particular order:
I got dressed up in my steampunk garb with the intention of having my picture taken with some 19th Century astronomical instruments. I took plenty of pictures but never posed to have myself in the frame. Once I was there, it seemed somehow. . . disrespectful.
Most of the other attendees were from _starlady_'s astronomy class. As she and the other guy at the observatory talked about Jupiter, the moon, the telescopes and such, they asked questions that I would have expected the astronomy students to know. Maybe they did know, but they seldom spoke up. I answered a few and held back on many others, hoping to give them a chance to earn their points. I had earned my astronomy credits 20 years before.
Way back then, I was taking Astronomy 11 at Pitt. I happened to miss the last class because of a false labor onadelheid_p 's part and thus also missed the announcement of when the final was. Once all the chaos of amg04 being born was over, I realized that I had completely missed the final as well. With my daughter a week old, I went up to the Observatory to try to ask the teacher to allow me to take the final. I was told to wait in the library while someone told him I was there to speak to him. When he finally came into the library, he didn't even acknowledge my presence, sat down and began reading. I had to approach him, remind him of who I was and try to convince him to give me a chance.
He wouldn't. I went to the dean's office and they deferred to his judgment. Having failed the course, I had to take it over. As I recall, I almost never went to class and only showed up for tests and got a B.
It was really cool to see the library again, without all that stress when I could really appreciate it. It's three stories hight with a glass skylight and even glass floors on the highest level. I would love to have a library like that.
I learned the story of the theft of the lens from the 1861 Fitz-Clark Refractor:
On July 8, 1872, the objective lens of the telescope was stolen and held for ransom. Samuel P. Langley, then the director of the observatory (and the Smithsonian Institution) refused to pay any money for the lens's return. Realizing that if the ransom were paid, it could pave the way for subsequent thefts of other scientific instrumentation.
Langley petitioned the University to purchase a new lens but the University refused.
"The Great Allegheny Lens Napping" dragged on for months until the local news published a list of when they had determined were the top five suspects. And while the kidnapper and Langley met (with the thief hiding behind a tree and the two yelling at each other across the field) he still refused to pay.
Eventually, the lens napper relented and sent a telegram indicating that the lens could be found in a hotel room in Beaver Falls. When the scope was recovered, it was found to be badly scratched. The University again refused to finance a new lens so, with little other option, it was then sent to Alvin Clark in hopes that the scratches could be polished out.
Much to the amazement of the staff the returned lens was ten times better than it was before the burglary.
We got a chance to observe through the Fitz-Clark Refractor even though the high clouds made it hard to see much. The bands of Jupiter and at least three of the Galilean moons were clearly visible. There was some debate as to whether the Great Spot was to be seen. The moon, being near full, was extremely bright, but there was some respectable viewing near the rim.
I have an Eye and Pyramid pin, specifically from Steve Jackson Games to go with the Illuminati card game. I wear it as a tie pin with my steampunk gear and on every occasion that I've gone out in public I've been asked if I am, in fact, a mason. I'm going to have to do something about that and, since my becoming a mason is unlikely, I'll need to find some other pin. I have a gear pin on preorder from Studio Foglio.
_starlady_ arranged for a tour. Some comments in no particular order:I got dressed up in my steampunk garb with the intention of having my picture taken with some 19th Century astronomical instruments. I took plenty of pictures but never posed to have myself in the frame. Once I was there, it seemed somehow. . . disrespectful.
Most of the other attendees were from _starlady_'s astronomy class. As she and the other guy at the observatory talked about Jupiter, the moon, the telescopes and such, they asked questions that I would have expected the astronomy students to know. Maybe they did know, but they seldom spoke up. I answered a few and held back on many others, hoping to give them a chance to earn their points. I had earned my astronomy credits 20 years before.
Way back then, I was taking Astronomy 11 at Pitt. I happened to miss the last class because of a false labor on
adelheid_p 's part and thus also missed the announcement of when the final was. Once all the chaos of amg04 being born was over, I realized that I had completely missed the final as well. With my daughter a week old, I went up to the Observatory to try to ask the teacher to allow me to take the final. I was told to wait in the library while someone told him I was there to speak to him. When he finally came into the library, he didn't even acknowledge my presence, sat down and began reading. I had to approach him, remind him of who I was and try to convince him to give me a chance.He wouldn't. I went to the dean's office and they deferred to his judgment. Having failed the course, I had to take it over. As I recall, I almost never went to class and only showed up for tests and got a B.
It was really cool to see the library again, without all that stress when I could really appreciate it. It's three stories hight with a glass skylight and even glass floors on the highest level. I would love to have a library like that.
I learned the story of the theft of the lens from the 1861 Fitz-Clark Refractor:On July 8, 1872, the objective lens of the telescope was stolen and held for ransom. Samuel P. Langley, then the director of the observatory (and the Smithsonian Institution) refused to pay any money for the lens's return. Realizing that if the ransom were paid, it could pave the way for subsequent thefts of other scientific instrumentation.
Langley petitioned the University to purchase a new lens but the University refused.
"The Great Allegheny Lens Napping" dragged on for months until the local news published a list of when they had determined were the top five suspects. And while the kidnapper and Langley met (with the thief hiding behind a tree and the two yelling at each other across the field) he still refused to pay.
Eventually, the lens napper relented and sent a telegram indicating that the lens could be found in a hotel room in Beaver Falls. When the scope was recovered, it was found to be badly scratched. The University again refused to finance a new lens so, with little other option, it was then sent to Alvin Clark in hopes that the scratches could be polished out.
Much to the amazement of the staff the returned lens was ten times better than it was before the burglary.
We got a chance to observe through the Fitz-Clark Refractor even though the high clouds made it hard to see much. The bands of Jupiter and at least three of the Galilean moons were clearly visible. There was some debate as to whether the Great Spot was to be seen. The moon, being near full, was extremely bright, but there was some respectable viewing near the rim.
I have an Eye and Pyramid pin, specifically from Steve Jackson Games to go with the Illuminati card game. I wear it as a tie pin with my steampunk gear and on every occasion that I've gone out in public I've been asked if I am, in fact, a mason. I'm going to have to do something about that and, since my becoming a mason is unlikely, I'll need to find some other pin. I have a gear pin on preorder from Studio Foglio.
