Sproul Observatory was an

astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxi ...

observatory owned and operated by Swarthmore College. It was located in Swarthmore,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and named after

William Cameron Sproul William Cameron Sproul (September 16, 1870 – March 21, 1928) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1897 to 1919 and as the 27th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1919 ...

, the 27th Governor of Pennsylvania, who graduated from Swarthmore in 1891. The 24" telescope was moved from Sproul Observatory to

Bentonville, Arkansas Bentonville is the tenth-largest city in Arkansas, United States and the county seat of Benton County. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers adjacent to the east. The city is the birthplace of and world headquarters locatio ...

in July 2017

History

In 1907, William Cameron Sproul communicated to the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College his desire to donate funds for the purchase of equipment for an astronomical observatory. Sproul was a successful businessman who graduated from Swarthmore in 1891 and a trustee to the college. At the time of the gift, he was serving as

Pennsylvania State Senator The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ever ...

for the 9th District and went on to become the 27th Governor of Pennsylvania. The telescope was built in 1911 by the John A. Brashear Company in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. When the telescope was installed at the observatory in 1913, it was the largest on the East Coast of the United States and one of the largest in the world. From 1986 to 2004, the computer science department was given office and lab space in the observatory building. In 2009, Swarthmore College added the Peter van de Kamp Observatory to the newly built Science Center. The new observatory contained a more technologically advanced 24" reflecting telescope and replaced the Sproul Observatory for education and public outreach purposes. In 2017, the telescope was dismantled and moved to the Eighth Street Market in

to be restored, upgraded and used for public outreach. The book collection of the Sproul Observatory was donated to an astronomy center in

Magdalena, New Mexico Magdalena is a village in Socorro County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 938 at the 2010 census. "The Lady on the Mountain" is a rock formation on Magdalena Peak overlooking Magdalena. Spanish soldiers saw the profile of a woman o ...

. In 2017, Swarthmore unveiled plans to renovate Sproul Observatory which will transform the observatory into the James Hormel and Michael Nguyen Intercultural Center at Sproul Hall which will bring the Intercultural Center, Interfaith Center, Religious and Spiritual Life Center and the Office of International Student Services in one building.

Directors

# John A. Miller (1923–1938) #

Peter van de Kamp Piet van de Kamp (December 26, 1901 in Kampen (Overijssel), KampenLaurence W. Fredrick, Peter van de Kamp (1901–1995)', Publications of the Astronomical Socitiey of the Pacific 108:556–559, July 1996 – May 18, 1995 in Amsterdam), known a ...

(1937–1972) #

Wulff-Dieter Heintz Wulff-Dieter Heintz (3 June 1930 – 10 June 2006) was a German astronomer who worked the latter part of his career in the United States. He was Professor Emeritus of Astronomy at Swarthmore College. He specialised in the characterisation of bina ...

(1973–1982) # Sarah L. Lippincott (1982–)

Planetary discovery controversies

Under the direction of

this observatory made numerous claims of planetary systems and discoveries based on astrometry using the

photographic plates Photographic plates preceded photographic film as a capture medium in photography, and were still used in some communities up until the late 20th century. The light-sensitive emulsion of silver salts was coated on a glass plate, typically thinn ...

made with the

refractor telescope A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens (optics), lens as its objective (optics), objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptrics, dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope d ...

. These plates were found to have a systematic error that was misinterpreted as the effect of a planetary system on the parent star. This error was identified as early as 1973 and confirmed by the observatory in the 1980s.

References

External links

Sproul Observatory

Swarthmore College Bulletin, March 2001, pp 30–33, ''Barnard's Wobble''

{{Coord, 39.90308, -75.3553, type:landmark_source:GoogleMaps Satellite, display=title Astronomical observatories in Pennsylvania Swarthmore College Planetary systems 2017 disestablishments in Pennsylvania

History

Directors

Planetary discovery controversies

See also

References

External links