Heliostat

Description:

A heliostat throws sunlight where it might be used for photography or scientific observations. This simple and inexpensive example was designed in the mid-1870s by Rueul Keith, a mathematician who worked for the U.S. Naval Observatory. It was made by Edward Kubel, a German mechanic who arrived in Washington, D.C., in 1849, and went to work making and mending instruments needed by such agencies as the U.S. Coast Survey, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Army Medical Museum. It was made for Samuel Pierpont Langley, the third Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and used in the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. A tag reads: “EDWARD KUBEL / MATH. INST. MAKER / WASHINGTON, D.C.”

Ref: D. J. Warner, “Keith’s American Heliostat,” Rittenhouse 10 (1996): 58-64.

Date Made: late 19th century

Maker: Kubel, Edward

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: District of Columbia

Subject: Science & Scientific Instruments

Subject:

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences, Astronomy, Science & Mathematics, Optics

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: PH.314879Accession Number: 211531Catalog Number: 314879

Object Name: heliostat

Measurements: overall: 24.1 cm x 14 cm x 28 cm; 9 1/2 in x 5 1/2 in x 11 inoverall: 13 1/8 in x 11 3/4 in x 5 3/8 in; 33.3375 cm x 29.845 cm x 13.6525 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-44ed-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1184598

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