A Tour of Optical History at the Astronomical Lyceum by John Briggs
An online presentation hosted by Skyscrapers, Inc. on Zoom Saturday, February 6, 2021 Our forefathers in optics allowed a revolutionary ascendancy of American astronomy in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Astronomical Lyceum in New Mexico, originally built in 1936 as a theater and gymnasium, now houses a collection of telescopes, optics, archives, and literature from this ascendancy. Its volunteer staff find the artifacts and associated history surprisingly engaging for visitors of all interest levels. The presentation will include unusual items, large and small, created by some of the America's greatest early optical artists, including Henry and Harry Fitz, Alvan Clark and Sons, Carl and Robert Lundin, John A. Brashear, George Willis Ritchey, and the pioneer of astronomical spectroscopy and photography, Lewis Morris Rutherfurd. The collection includes artifacts originating right up through the Space Age, including from the amateur telescope making movement and its surprising influence. While time allows only an overview, the presentation hopes to remind participants how history of science and technology can be powerfully engaging and interesting for essentially anyone when offered in the right spirit. In some cases, the written remembrances of pioneers spell out the inspiration they had, often taken from the beauty of Nature. Arguably no one was more eloquent in such words than Albert A. Michelson. In other cases, the artistry in the artifacts themselves is a similar testimony, and intense pride-of-workmanship is dramatized by how instruments were signed. It is necessary and worthwhile that we and our students remain aware of these inspirations -- they are all lessons to be learned. John W. Briggs of Magdalena, New Mexico, has lived and worked at far-ranging observatories in various technical capacities, including Mount Wilson, Yerkes, National Solar, Maria Mitchell, Venezuelan National, Chamberlin, and South Pole Station. In the 1980s he was an assistant editor at Sky & Telescope magazine and built Bogsucker Observatory in Massachusetts. He is a past-president of the Antique Telescope Society and a member of many astronomical organizations including the Springfield Telescope Makers responsible for the annual Stellafane Convention in Vermont. He is currently nominated to serve on the board of the American Association of Variable Star Observers.
An online presentation hosted by Skyscrapers, Inc. on Zoom Saturday, February 6, 2021 Our forefathers in optics allowed a revolutionary ascendancy of American astronomy in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Astronomical Lyceum in New Mexico, originally built in 1936 as a theater and gymnasium, now houses a collection of telescopes, optics, archives, and literature from this ascendancy. Its volunteer staff find the artifacts and associated history surprisingly engaging for visitors of all interest levels. The presentation will include unusual items, large and small, created by some of the America's greatest early optical artists, including Henry and Harry Fitz, Alvan Clark and Sons, Carl and Robert Lundin, John A. Brashear, George Willis Ritchey, and the pioneer of astronomical spectroscopy and photography, Lewis Morris Rutherfurd. The collection includes artifacts originating right up through the Space Age, including from the amateur telescope making movement and its surprising influence. While time allows only an overview, the presentation hopes to remind participants how history of science and technology can be powerfully engaging and interesting for essentially anyone when offered in the right spirit. In some cases, the written remembrances of pioneers spell out the inspiration they had, often taken from the beauty of Nature. Arguably no one was more eloquent in such words than Albert A. Michelson. In other cases, the artistry in the artifacts themselves is a similar testimony, and intense pride-of-workmanship is dramatized by how instruments were signed. It is necessary and worthwhile that we and our students remain aware of these inspirations -- they are all lessons to be learned. John W. Briggs of Magdalena, New Mexico, has lived and worked at far-ranging observatories in various technical capacities, including Mount Wilson, Yerkes, National Solar, Maria Mitchell, Venezuelan National, Chamberlin, and South Pole Station. In the 1980s he was an assistant editor at Sky & Telescope magazine and built Bogsucker Observatory in Massachusetts. He is a past-president of the Antique Telescope Society and a member of many astronomical organizations including the Springfield Telescope Makers responsible for the annual Stellafane Convention in Vermont. He is currently nominated to serve on the board of the American Association of Variable Star Observers.