Warner Observatory facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Warner Observatory |
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| Location | Rochester, New York | ||||
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Coordinates
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43°09′13″N 77°35′24″W / 43.15361°N 77.59000°W
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| Altitude | 511 feet (156 m) | ||||
| Established | 1882 | ||||
| Closed | 1893 | ||||
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The Warner Observatory was a special building in Rochester, New York. It was built in 1882 to help people study the stars and space. A rich man named Hulbert Harrington Warner paid for it. He wanted to support a famous astronomer named Lewis Swift.
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Exploring the Cosmos
The observatory had a very powerful telescope. This telescope was 16 inches (about 40 centimeters) wide. It was built by Alvan Clark and Sons, who were famous for making telescopes. At the time, it cost Mr. Warner almost $100,000. This was a huge amount of money back then! It was the fourth largest telescope in the United States.
What Lewis Swift Studied
Lewis Swift used this amazing telescope to look at space. He spent his time studying comets and nebulae. Comets are like icy space rocks that orbit the Sun. Nebulae are giant clouds of gas and dust in space where stars are born. One of the comets he studied was called 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR.
Open to Everyone
The Warner Observatory was special for another reason. It was the first observatory ever to be open to the public! On Tuesday and Friday evenings, people could buy a 25-cent ticket. They bought these tickets from Mr. Warner's Patent Medicine Store. Then, they could visit the observatory and look through the telescope. This was a big deal because it let regular people see the wonders of space.
The Observatory's Later Years
In 1893, Mr. Warner faced financial trouble and could no longer pay for the observatory. So, Lewis Swift moved the telescope to California. His new supporter, Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, was building another observatory there. Also, observing the stars in Rochester was becoming harder. The city was growing, and its lights made the sky too bright.
After the telescope left, the building was empty for a while. From 1901 to 1909, it was used as a school and a health center. In 1920, the building was closed up. Finally, in 1931, the Warner Observatory building was taken down.
