Stull Observatory facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Stull Observatory |
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| Organization | Alfred University | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Alfred, New York, United States | ||||||||||||||
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Coordinates
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42°15′N 77°47′W / 42.250°N 77.783°W
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| Established | 1966 | ||||||||||||||
| Website http://merlin.alfred.edu/stull.html |
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The Stull Observatory is a special place where people study the stars and planets. It is an astronomical observatory owned by Alfred University. The observatory is named after Dr. John Stull. He helped create it in 1966.
You can find the Stull Observatory in Alfred, New York, in the United States. It is famous because it has seven different telescopes. These telescopes range in size from 8 to 32 inches. The biggest one is the Austin-Fellows 32-inch Newtonian Reflector. This telescope is one of the largest in New York state.
People can visit the observatory often to look through the telescopes. Students at Alfred University also use it. They can study astronomy or astrophysics there.
Contents
What is the History of Stull Observatory?
The story of Stull Observatory began a long time ago, in 1863. A scientist named William A. Rogers ordered a special telescope. It was a 9-inch refractor made by Henry Fitz. Rogers then gave this telescope to Alfred University.
How Was the Observatory Rebuilt?
Around the 1920s, the original observatory was taken down. The telescope was put away and almost lost forever. But in the late 1950s, Dr. John Stull found out about it. He was a physics teacher at the university.
Dr. Stull worked to bring the telescope back to life. In 1966, he and the university built a new observatory for it. This new place is what we now call the Stull Observatory.
What Telescopes Were Added Over Time?
When the Stull Observatory first opened, it had two domes. One dome held the 9-inch Fitz telescope. The other dome had a 16-inch Newtonian reflector. In 1970, the Fitz telescope was fixed up with a new metal tube.
A year later, in 1971, the 16-inch telescope was replaced. A bigger 20-inch "Metzger" Newtonian telescope took its place. In 1968, a heated classroom building was also built at the observatory.
More telescopes were added over the years. In 1969, a 16-inch Ealing "Educator" Cassegrain telescope, called the "Grindle," was bought. Then, in 1976, a 14-inch Newtonian telescope, known as the "Olson," joined the collection. A special "Rose" heliostat was added in 1978. A heliostat is a device that tracks the sun.
When Was the Largest Telescope Built?
The biggest telescope, the 32-inch Newtonian called "Austin-Fellows," was finished in 1992. In 1996, the observatory got a new computer system. This system helps control the telescopes better.
Since 1992, the observatory has also bought two 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes. They also have a lot of electronic equipment to help with observations.
