*************************************************************************** * * * ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER FOR THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY * * * * Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy * * in the Astronomische Gesellschaft * * * * Number 36, May 5, 1999 * * * * Edited by: Wolfgang R. Dick * * * *************************************************************************** Contents -------- 1. Gerhard Scholz: The Great Refractor on the Telegrafenberg - 100 years old 2. Michael J. Crowe: History of Astronomy Meetings at Notre Dame 3. Joseph S. Tenn: History of Astronomy Meeting in Toronto 4. Symposium announcement: Scientific Instruments: Originals and Imitations 5. Symposium announcement: Portraiture and Scientific Identity 6. Conferences 1999/2000 Erratum: ENHA 12, Item 9 (New Books) Acknowledgements Imprint ........................................................................... Item 1 ENHA No. 36, May 5, 1999 ........................................................................... The Great Refractor on the Telegrafenberg - 100 years old --------------------------------------------------------- By Gerhard Scholz, Potsdam Foundation and scientific purposes One of the most renowned scientific achievements in the first years of the Astrophysical Observatory Potsdam was the introduction, encouraged by the first Director, H.C. Vogel, of the photographic plate for the determination of radial velocities of stars. Observations in those days were carried out with a 30-cm refractor, which rather limited the application to bright stars; in order to include fainter stars in this prestigious programme, more powerful telescopes were required. The idea to construct what in those days was considered to be a huge astronomical telescope had already been discussed shortly after the founding of the Observatory in 1874. In 1889 a double refractor, with apertures of 32.5 and 23.5 cm and a focal length of 3.4 m, had just been mounted in the "Photokuppel" (Photo-dome) to the west of the main Observatory building; it was used mainly for cartography of northern- hemisphere stars as part of the Observatory's contribution towards the Carte du Ciel which had been planned by the Paris congress of astronomers in 1887. Although this instrument was very practical and successful for taking photographic records of star fields, it was too small to take over the spectroscopic observations of radial velocities. Plans for a new and larger double refractor had been proposed by Vogel in 1890. The preference for a refractor rather than a reflector was due to the relatively primitive technology of the latter at that time, whereas the necessary technical experiments with large lenses could be carried out in the Observatory's own laboratories. The dimensions of the lenses were carefully calculated according to the laboratory tests of the properties of the different kinds of glass. The large telescope, called the Great Refractor, was completed just before the turn of the century, and was inaugurated in the presence of Emperor Wilhelm II on August 26, 1899. Architecture The buildings of the Observatory, founded 25 years previously, already comprised a main building with three domes, the Photo-dome, a Director's private house, three houses for observers, and a machine shop. The dome of the Great Refractor was added in a manner that preserved the harmony and uniform style of the architecture originally created by the Court Councillor P. Spieker. The whole ensemble, including the building and the instrument, are now officially protected monuments. The erection of the building for the Great Refractor was accompanied by that of two more houses, (i) the Beamtenwohnhaus for the castle warden, the telescope mechanic and other auxiliary staff and guests of the Observatory, and (ii) the engine house for a gas-driven generator. Dome, mechanical details, mounting The mechanical parts of the telescope, in particular the German mounting, were constructed in Hamburg by Repsold & Soehne and installed in a dome having an inner diameter of 21 m and a height of 18 m. The moving parts of the telescope weighed 7 tons. The dome, whose total weight was 200 tons, was manufactured by Bretschneider & Kruegner in Pankow. The moving mechanism of the dome and the observer's lift, which is technically unique, were made in Berlin by Hoppe. The electrical work, including the driving motors, was carried out by Siemens & Halske. Optical equipment The Great Refractor has two objectives: objective diameter focal length wavelength of correction 1. 80 cm 12.2 m 425 nm 2. 50 cm 12.5 m 600 nm Both objectives are doublets of crown and flint glass, and were made by the optics firm Steinheil (Munich). The blocks of raw optical glass were supplied by Schott (Jena). With its diameter of 80 cm for the larger objective, the Great Refractor is the world's fourth largest, whereas its colour correction optimized for photographic plates is unique. The tube of the 50 cm objective, fixed parallel to that of the main tube and corrected for the visual colour range, was initially used as a guiding telescope. The two objectives possessed different qualities: 1. The 80 cm objective revealed zonal chromatic errors and an irregular astigmatism which could not be removed even after several retouches. After the final retouch in 1942 the quality of the lens was considered good, and useable for many observational projects. 2. The 50 cm objective was rather good from the start, and has been improved even further by re-touches carried out personally (in 1911 and 1914) by the famous optician Bernhard Schmidt, making it one of the best (and most valuable) refractor objectives of this size in the world. Research When the 80 cm lens was first brought into service, its condition required the invention of methods for testing astronomical optics. Several methods of them, such as the Hartmann test, are still in use today. The astronomical observations concentrated especially on spectroscopy of close binaries. From these observations the existence of interstellar matter could be inferred. Unfortunately, the efficiency of the spectroscopic observations made with that telescope was affected by the length of the tube and by size and weight of the spectrograph which the telescope could carry. So, the use for the investigation of spectroscopic binaries was quite limited. However, for observations of visual double stars the long focal length of the telescope proved to be an asset, thus making it particularly suitable for the absolute determination of stellar masses. In 1968 the scientific profile of the institute was changed and the observations were stopped. Preservation In order to save the Great Refractor in Potsdam as an important scientific monument of the astronomical history and taking its 100th birthday as an occasion, a reconstruction of the instrument has just going on. The government of Brandenburg, the Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam, and the "Foerderverein Grosser Refraktor Potsdam e.V." support this task. Author's address: Dr. Gerhard Scholz Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam Sonnenobservatorium Einsteinturm Telegrafenberg A31 D 14473 Potsdam Germany Tel.: +49-331-288-2309, Fax: +49-331-288-2310 E-Mail: GScholz@aip.de ........................................................................... Item 2 ENHA No. 36, May 5, 1999 ........................................................................... History of Astronomy Meetings at Notre Dame ------------------------------------------- By Michael J. Crowe, Notre Dame, IN All persons attending the Fourth Biennial History of Astronomy Workshop to be held at the University of Notre Dame on July 1 to July 4, 1999 (cf. ENHA No. 31, Item 2) are invited to participate in a free one-day conference at Notre Dame on July 1 (9am to 5:15pm) entitled: "Perspectives on the Question of Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life." The presentations in this short conference should be of interest to many historians of astronomy. For more information, including the program for this mini-conference, see http://www.nd.edu/~histast4/minicon.html For those wishing to arrive one day early so as to attend this one-day conference, the same low cost housing as for the History of Astronomy Conference will be available. We will also be able to provide free transportation from the South Bend Airport for those wishing this. The program for the History of Astronomy Workshop is now available. It features ca. 50 presentations, including some by internationally prominent historians of astronomy. Ten speakers are coming from abroad. To see the program and to secure other information about the workshop and to register, see the workshop website: http://www.nd.edu/~histast4 The program itself can be seen at http://www.nd.edu/~histast4/schedule.html Author's address: Professor Michael J. Crowe Program of Liberal Studies University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Phone: 219-631-6212 E-mail: Michael.J.Crowe.1@nd.edu ........................................................................... Item 3 ENHA No. 36, May 5, 1999 ........................................................................... History of Astronomy Meeting in Toronto --------------------------------------- By Joseph S. Tenn, Rohnert Park, CA, USA The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) will hold its "111th Annual Meeting" jointly with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) and the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) in Toronto, Canada on 1-7 July 1999. Three history sessions will be presented by the ASP history committee: I. Amateur Contributions to Astronomy - Invited lectures for the general public: Sunday morning, 4 July. II. General History of Astronomy - invited lectures for the general public: Sunday afternoon, 4 July. III. General History of Astronomy - contributed papers for those particularly interested in the history of astronomy: Monday, 5 July. The programs for sessions I and II are available at http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/people/faculty/tenn/ASPHistory/ 1999long.html along with the papers contributed to date for session III. Both oral and poster papers are solicited for the third session. Poster papers will be displayed Sunday as well as Monday. ***DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF TITLES AND ABSTRACTS IS 14 MAY 1999*** The nonhistory portions of the meeting, other than the weekend, will consist mostly of lectures of interest to amateur astronomers. The weekend sessions are for the interested public and will include many talks on current developments in astronomy as well as on history. There will be a tour of the historic David Dunlap Observatory Monday evening. For further information regarding the overall ASP-RASC-AAVSO meeting see http://www.aspsky.org/subpages/mtng.html The ASP History Committee and sessions at this and previous meetings may be found at http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/people/faculty/tenn/ASPHistory/ If you wish to contribute a paper, please contact the author. Author's address: Joseph S. Tenn, Chair, ASP History Committee Dept. of Physics & Astronomy Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA 94928-3609 USA e-mail: joe.tenn@sonoma.edu Phone: +1 707 664-2594, fax: +1 707 664-2505 URL: http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/people/faculty/tenn/ ........................................................................... Item 4 ENHA No. 36, May 5, 1999 ........................................................................... Symposium announcement ---------------------- (From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 40, 30. April 1999, Item 1.) Scientific Instruments: Originals and Imitations. The Mensing Connection Museum Boerhaave, Leiden, The Netherlands October 15-16, 1999 This symposium is part of the Anton Mensing Scientific Instrument Project, a joint venture of the Museum Boerhaave, Leiden, the Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum, Amsterdam, the Utrecht University Museum and the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Chicago. It aims to trace, catalogue and research the instruments owned by Anton W.M. Mensing (1866-1936), director and owner of Frederik Muller & Co., auctioneers in Amsterdam. Ever since they were dispersed, there have been doubts on the authenticity of a section of the Mensing instruments; indeed, several have been proved to be forgeries. The symposium will address the problem of authenticity and historic scientific instruments. Programme Details Friday 15 October 10.00-10.45 Introductions P.R. de Clercq, London, United Kingdom W.F.J. Morzer Bruyns, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 10.45-11.30 Paris, Amsterdam, London: the Collecting, Trade and Display of Early Scientific Instruments, 1830-1930 A.J.Turner, Le Mesnil-le-Roi, France 11.30-12.00 Coffee 12.00-12.45 Recognizing Imitation Instruments G.L'E. Turner, Oxford, United Kingdom 12.45-14.30 Lunch 14.30-15.15 Why Make Fakes? O. Gingerich, Harvard Smithsonian , USA 15.15-16.00 Twenty Years of Scientific Instruments at Auction J. Collins, London, United Kingdom 16.00-16.30 Scientific and Technical Examination of Metal Objects P. Hallebeek, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Reception Saturday 16 October 10.00-10.45 A Chapter in Silver Faking: the Feeterse Clan K.A. Citroen, Aerdenhout, The Netherlands 10.45-11.30 Fakes among the Mensing Instruments J.C. Deiman, Utrecht, The Netherlands 11.30-12.00 Coffee 12.00-12.30 The Tale of a Forger of Scientific Instruments written by S.A. Bedini, Washington D.C., USA, and read by A.J. Turner 12.30-13.00 Replicating Instruments: Some Practical Aspects M. Brunold, Abtwil, Switserland 13.00-14.00 Lunch 14.00-15.30 Examination of imitation instruments 15.30-17.00 Final discussion Chair: R.G.W. Anderson, London, United Kingdom The registration fee is f 200 (approximately $95), and includes lunches and drinks as well as a copy of the proceedings, which will be edited by Peter de Clercq and published in the series of Museum Boerhaave Communications. For further details and registration, contact the local organizer: Agnes Rappard Museum Boerhaave Postbox 11280 2301 EG Leiden The Netherlands tel. +31 (0)71 5214 224 extension 602 fax +31 (0)71 5120 344 [Source: http://www.sic.iuhps.org/mtle1999/ . Reprinted with permission.] ........................................................................... Item 5 ENHA No. 36, May 5, 1999 ........................................................................... Symposium announcement ---------------------- (From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 40, 30. April 1999, Item 2.) Portraiture and Scientific Identity National Portrait Gallery, London 23-24 June 2000 Announcement and Call for Papers (and Portraits) This conference is being organised by the National Portrait Gallery and the British Society for the History of Science. The likely pattern of conference will be four plenary sessions and a number of shorter sessions with papers of 25 minutes. Professor Ludmilla Jordanova is responsible for the programme, and offers of short papers can be made to her at any time between now and 1 November 1999. This should take the form of a brief abstract of no more than one page, together with any supporting material thought appropriate, for example, a list of items already published on the topic. The final programme will be drawn up by Christmas 1999 and it will be circulated in the new year. A copy of the final programme can be sent to those who provide the Education Department of the National Portrait Gallery (St Martin's Place, London, WC2H 0HE) with a stamped addressed envelop marked 'BSHS conference'. The meeting is being held in association with a small exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, which will explore portraiture in relation to practitioners of science, medicine and technology since the seventeenth century in Britain. The exhibition will open in late March or early April and will close at the end of June 2000. It will contain works in all media, and suggestions of unusual, visually interesting items that might be included can be made to Professor Jordanova, who would be particularly interested to hear of relevant self-portraits and of portraits made within domestic settings. The practice of portraiture is one of the main themes of the exhibition, so preparatory sketches are of particular relevance. Professor Ludmilla Jordanova can be contacted at School of World Art Studies and Museology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, e-mail: l.jordanova@uea.ac.uk The BSHS website is at: http://www.man.ac.uk/Science_Engineering/CHSTM/bshs/ [Provided by Jon Agar] ........................................................................... Item 6 ENHA No. 36, May 5, 1999 ........................................................................... Conferences 1999/2000 --------------------- (From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 39, 8. April 1999, Item 7.) Further conferences in the years 1999 and 2000 were reported in previous issues of ENHA. For a complete list of all conferences announced see the following URL: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/hist_astr/ha_meet.html April 16-18, 1999, Brussels, Belgium Reflections on XXth Century Sciences International Symposium held by the Academie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Fondation Ochs-Lefebvre. Eminent scientists will reflect on great advances in scientific knowledge in this century and will endeavour to relate the major achievements to one another across the specialization barriers. Reserved to professional scientists. Since attendance will be strictly limited to 220 participants, early registration is strongly recommended. Among the areas covered: Astrophysics and Cosmology Further information: Isabelle Schievekamp, Physics Dept., FUNDP, Tel.: +32 81 72 47 16, Fax: +32 81 72 47 07, e-mail: ochs@fundp.ac.be URL: http://www.scf.fundp.ac.be/~ischieve/ochs/ July 18-30, 1999, Birmingham, UK 22nd General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics International Association for Geomagnetism and Aeronomy Symposia: GA 6.01 Long and Short Term Variability in Sun's History and Global Change Papers should consider the historical records of long and short term solar variability. Lead Convener: Dr. Wilfried Schroeder, Hechelstrasse 8, D-28777 Bremen-Roennebeck, Germany. GA 6.02 400 Years of Geomagnetism The aim of this symposium is to commemorate the 400 years of "The Magnete" of William Gilbert. Lead Convenor: A. Orozco, Instituto de Geofisica UNAM, Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria Mexico, 20 DF CP 04510, Mexico, fax: 52 5 550 2486, e-mail: adolfo@tonatiuh.igeofcu.unam.mx URL: http://www.bham.ac.uk/IUGG99/ich.htm See also: http://weber.u.washington.edu/~hssexec/meetings/hss_meetings_iaga.html September 10-12, 1999, Cambridge, UK Women in the History of Science: biography, autobiography, tasks, results, problems. Open Conference/Workshop held by the Women's Commission of the DHS/IUHPS. Place: Newnham College To join the email list to receive further information, write to jm148@cam.ac.uk . URL: http://www.cilea.it/history/DHS/womenDHS.htm September 18-19, 1999, Oxford, UK Medieval Mathematics Place: Kellogg College, Oxford Further Information: Raymond Flood (e-mail: raymond.flood@conted.ox.ac.uk) and Eleanor Robson (e-mail: eleanor.robson@wolfson.ox.ac.uk) March 2000, Munich, Germany History of Geophysics and Space Physics. One day session during the Annual Meeting of the German Geophysical Society. Further information: Dr. Wilfried Schroeder, Hechelstrasse 8, D-28777 Bremen-Roennebeck, Germany. Announcement: http://weber.u.washington.edu/~hssexec/meetings/ hss_meetings_geophysics2.html April 10 - 12, 2000, Leeds, UK Science in the Nineteenth-Century Periodical - an interdisciplinary Conference Place: University of Leeds Deadlines: 1 June 1999 Further Information: Dr. J. R. Topham, School of Philosophy, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK, e-mail: j.r.topham@leeds.ac.uk (no file attachments please), tel: 0114-2228484 or 0113-2333280, fax: 0114-2228481 or 0113-2333265 Announcement: http://weber.u.washington.edu/~hssexec/meetings/19thcper.html ........................................................................... Erratum: ENHA 12, Item 9 (New Books) ------------------------------------ In ENHA No. 12, November 17, 1995, Item 9 (New Books), the author of a book was omitted by mistake. The entry should read correctly: DeVorkin, David H.: Science with a vengeance: How the military created the US space sciences after World War II. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1993. Pp. xxii, 404, ISBN 0-387-94137-1, $ 39.95 (pb) [paperbound edition of 1992 hardcover] ........................................................................... Acknowledgements ---------------- For information we thank all authors and in addition Jon Agar and Peter de Clercq. ........................................................................... Imprint ------- Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy (ENHA) Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy in the Astronomische Gesellschaft Editor: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick All items without an author's name are editorial contributions. Articles as well as information for the several sections are appreciated. Subscription for ENHA is free. Readers and subscribers are asked for occasional voluntary donations to the working group. Copyright Statement: The Electronic Newsletters for the History of Astronomy may be freely re-distributed in the case that no charge is imposed. Public offer in WWW servers, BBS etc. is allowed after the editor has been informed. Non-commercial reproduction of single items in electronic or printed media is possible only with the editor's permission. Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte / Working Group for the History of Astronomy: URL: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/astoria.html Chairman: Prof. Dr. Peter Brosche, Observatorium Hoher List der Sternwarte der Universitaet Bonn, D-54550 Daun, Germany, Tel.: +49(0)6592 2150, Fax: +49(0)6592 985140 Secretary: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick, Bundesamt fuer Kartographie und Geodaesie, Aussenstelle Potsdam, Postfach 60 08 08, D-14408 Potsdam, Germany, Tel.: +49(0)331 316 618, E-mail: wdi@potsdam.ifag.de Bank Acct. of the Working Group of the Astronomische Gesellschaft: Acct # 333 410 41, Sparkasse Bochum (BLZ 430 500 01) Contributions from foreign countries: acct # 162 18-203, Postgiroamt Hamburg, BLZ 200 400 20 Please sign with: "Fuer Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte" ***************************************************************************