For most of human history, our eyes served as the recording device for our observations of the night sky. Later, developments in photography began to…
Contributors: Department of Astronomy
View the items in Instrument collection
Telescopes are the eyes on the universe and an observatory typically has a variety of telescopes, some permanently mounted other portable. Telescopes…
View the items in Telescopes
The "old astronomy" was dominated by the precise measurement of the positions of the stars and the determination of time. At Illinois, astronomy was…
View the items in Sextants and accessories
One of the oldest responsibilities of an astronomer was the measurement of time. Before telegraph and radios, each observatory had special equipment…
View the items in Time
In addition to equipment attached to the telescope, astronomers, especially in the "new astronomy," often had laboratory equipment that could be found…
View the items in Physical apparatus
This collection contains photographs of the Observatory from a variety of sources. Included are postcards, images from publications, and photographs…
Contributors: Department of Astronomy, Personal collection of Michael Svec
View the items in Photographs