Browse Items (71 total)

Wood, metal, glass

Purchased by the Astronomy Club in 1985 at an estate sale, the clock was missing the dial and door but still retained the wooden case, paper instructions, wires, hands, pendulum, and clock mechanism. In 2011, Dr. Bruce Hannon…

Figure 1: Selenium cell in ice-pack attached to 12-inch refractor. Page 190.

Wooden box measuring 10 cm x 8 cm x2.5 cm, flips open to expose selenium cell. Cell measures 3.0 cm by 5.0 cm. Stebbins described the Giltay selenium cells he and Brown used in the selenium photometer as “Two wires are wound close together in a…

Gold medallion in 3.5 inches square leather case with green velvet. interior. Metal approximately 3 inches diameter, made of gold. Front contains left facing profile of Lord Rumford. Reads “Born 1753 * Benjamin Count Rumford * Died 1814.” Back reads…

The original medals were donated by Robert Stebbins, grandson of Joel Stebbins, to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Replicas were produced in 2015 for the University of Illinois Observatory.

Draper Medal awarded by the National Academy of…

Black glass ground plane surface, 3 3/8 diameter, 3 leveling screws, fine graduated adjustable spirit level, and mahogany case.

In the 1913 Keuffel & Esser catalog (page 413) the reflecting horizon cost $16. The reflecting horizon is an…

Model no. 89, no. 18. Box is 8 ¼ x 8 ½ x 12 inches and screwed closed. Unknown date but estimated around 1908. Used with the selenium cell photometer to measure current and with the photoelectric cell photometer. Visible in pictures of transit room. …

Metal, glass

Eyepiece with crosshairs, 12-inch tall, 11-inch long, tube 1-inch outer diameter, missing an objective lens.

Used with galvanometer to read the reflection off the mirror.

Metal, glass

In 1914, the Observatory was connected to a wireless apparatus to receive radio time signals. The apparatus consisted of one wire 650 feet long stretching from the Observatory to the Auditorium to Lincoln Hall. In 1964, the antenna…

Postcard looking down Mathews Avenue at the south side of the Observatory. Behind the Observatory are visible the weather station, a small observatory containing a 4-inch refractor, and several small brick piers for portable instruments. The…