Fuertes Observatory facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fuertes Observatory |
|||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||||||||
| Organization | Cornell University | ||||||||||
| Location | Ithaca, New York (United States) | ||||||||||
|
Coordinates
|
42°27′10″N 76°28′28.16″W / 42.45278°N 76.4744889°W
|
||||||||||
| Altitude | 274 m | ||||||||||
| Established | 1917 | ||||||||||
| Website Fuertes Website |
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
The Fuertes Observatory is a special building where people study the stars and planets. It's located at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. A professor named L.P. Burnham designed the observatory, and it was finished in 1917.
At first, it was used by engineering students to learn about navigation and surveying. But today, the observatory is mostly for everyone to enjoy! Over two thousand people visit each year. They have open houses on clear Friday nights.
The Cornell Astronomical Society helps run the observatory. This group includes students and people from the local community. The observatory is named after Estevan Antonio Fuertes, who was an astronomer and helped build Cornell's very first observatory.
Contents
A Look Back: History of Fuertes Observatory
Before Fuertes Observatory, Cornell University had other places to look at the stars. But these old observatories had to be taken down to make room for new buildings on campus. So, plans were made to build a brand new observatory.
Construction of the Fuertes Observatory began in 1916. It was built with a large steel dome, about 24 feet wide. Strong metal beams were used to support a future telescope. This was a new way to build, different from the usual stone supports. The building was completed in the fall of 1917.
The first telescope inside the dome was a 4.5-inch refractor. It had been used in some of Cornell's older observatories. Later, in 1919, Professor Irving Porter Church got two special pieces of glass. These were shaped into a 12-inch lens by a company called Brashear & Co.
Professor Church worked hard to raise money for a new telescope. In 1922, a company called Warner & Swasey built the telescope's mount. After some changes to the dome, the telescope was installed. It was finished on October 16, 1922. It was officially named the "Irving Porter Church Memorial Telescope" in 1923.
The observatory also had a classroom, an office, and a special room for instruments. There's still a large display case in the lobby with many old astronomy pictures. Many old engineering tools were kept here too. These included special telescopes and other devices for measuring and telling time. The instrument room is now a museum where you can see many of these historic tools.
Amazing Telescopes at Fuertes
The main telescope at Fuertes is a 12-inch refracting telescope. It uses lenses to gather light and has a special clockwork system to track the stars. The main lens was made in 1920 by Brashear & Co. The telescope's mount was built by Warner and Swasey Co. in 1922.
This telescope was set up in the main dome on October 16, 1922. The observatory's older 4.5-inch telescope was attached to the 12-inch one. It now acts as a "finder scope" to help locate objects in the sky.
Fuertes Observatory also has other old telescopes. These include transit telescopes and zenith scopes. Civil engineers used these tools in the past to measure the Earth and keep track of time. You can see these interesting old instruments in a museum inside the observatory. It's in the east part of the building.
Visiting Fuertes: Public Access
Fuertes Observatory is open to everyone on Friday nights. The Cornell Astronomical Society hosts these open house events. If the sky is clear, you can look through the telescopes from dark until midnight.
Even if the weather isn't clear, you can still visit! Tours of the observatory and its historic telescopes are given no matter what. During the school year, there's often a talk or a documentary about astronomy before the observing starts. It's a great way to learn about space!
Other Observatories Nearby
- Clinton B. Ford Observatory, Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York
- Hartung-Boothroyd Observatory, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
- Kopernik Space Education Center, Vestal, New York
