Shattuck Observatory

Shattuck Observatory is the astronomical observatory of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. It is a small building with three wings and a two-story dome (20 foot diameter). Its foundations are granite blocks; the building itself is brick. It is notable as the oldest scientific building on campus. These days the observatory is primarily used for instructional purposes, but is open for public observation of the stars on Friday evenings and of the sun on Sundays. For scientific work the university has shares in the MDM Observatory on Kitt Peak and the Southern African Large Telescope in South Africa.

The observatory was built in 1854 for Ira Young, Professor of Natural Philosophy, to designs drawn up by his brother Ammi B. Young, then supervising architect of the United States Treasury Department. Its construction and equipment costs were covered by a gift of $7,000 by Dr. George C. Shattuck, Dartmouth class of 1803, who stipulated that the Trustees match the gift with an additional $4,000. In 1955 the building was renovated and its original dome replaced, but otherwise the building remains substantially unaltered since its first construction.

Directors

* Edwin Brant Frost

Telescopes

* 9.4-inch equatorial telescope
* 4-inch Troughton & Sims meridian circle
* 8-inch Meade LX200

References

* [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.nh0027 Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)]
* [http://ead.dartmouth.edu/html/da9.html History of Dartmouth College (George C. Shattuck) Observatory]

External links

* [http://www.dartmouth.edu/~physics/news/observing.html Public Observing] at Shattuck Observatory.

See also

* List of astronomical observatories