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Astronomy In California 1850 – 1950:
Telescope Makers, Telescopes, and Artifacts
Astronomy in California 1850-1950 integrates Chabot Observatory's own 117-year history into California's rich astronomical history with a display of telescopes, artifacts,
and the histories of their makers.
The Chabot Observatory telescopes were made by the renowned American telescope makers Alvan Clark & Sons (Cambridgeport, Massachusetts) and the John A. Brashear Company (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). The Clark telescope is an 8-inch (20-cm) refractor built in 1883, and the Brashear telescope is a 20-inch (50-cm) refractor built in 1915. These two telescopes have served the Oakland community and the people of California for 117 years (1883-2000).
During this time some of the largest telescopes in the world were placed in California, beginning with the 36-inch Clark refractor at Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, a short distance south of Chabot Observatory. In 1917, Mount Wilson Observatory opened with 60-inch and 100-inch reflector telescopes designed and figured by George W. Ritchey. Finally, in 1948, Mount Palomar Observatory opened in Southern California with its 200-inch reflector and 48-inch Schmidt Camera.
Many optical craftsmen and philanthropists made these observatories possible, and in the process, they made California an important astronomy state. They were Anthony Chabot of Oakland, who donated Chabot Observatory; Alvan Clark & Sons, who built Chabot Observatory's first telescope in 1886 and the famed Lick 36-inch refractor in 1888; James Lick, whose donation made the great Lick telescope possible; and John Brashear, who built Chabot's 20-inch refractor, still California's second-largest refracting telescope. The very large reflecting telescopes that followed in 1917 at Mount Wilson Observatory and in 1948 at Mount Palomar were made possible by the energy and vision of George Ellery Hale; the philanthropic generosity of Andrew Carnegie and his Institution; and the genius and skill of George W. Ritchey, whose successful 24-inch reflector built at Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin was the mother of all the great reflector telescopes built in California.
The Exhibition
- The Comet Seeker, By Henry Fitz (1808-1863), American Telescope Maker
- Reflecting Telescope, By the John A. Brashear Company, American Telescope Maker
- Refracting Telescope, By the John A. Brashear Company, American Telescope Maker
- Ritchey Reflecting Telescope, By George W. Ritchey, American Telescope Maker
- The Porter Garden Telescope, By Russell W. Porter, American Telescope Maker
- Aluminized Astronomical Mirror, By John Donovan Strong, California Institute of Technology
- Schmidt Camera, By Charles A. & Harold A. Lower, California Telescope Makers
- Lick Observatory Radial Velocity Program Artifacts
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