Meridian Circle
Meridian Circle
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- Description
- This instrument was installed in the new observatory at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1865, and used by Maria Mitchell, her students, and successors. It is marked "Wm. J. Young Philadelphia, Pa." The telescope has a clear aperture of 4 inches, and a focal length of 5 feet. The circles at either end of the axis measure 30 inches in diameter. One is finely graduated to 3" of arc, and read by vernier; the other is used simply as a finder. Vassar College donated it to the Smithsonian in 1980, along with the observer's couch and the apparatus used to reverse the telescope.
- D. J. Warner, "William J. Young: From Craft to Industry in a Skilled Trade," Pennsylvania History 52 (1985): 53-68.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- transit, astronomical
- astronomical transit
- axis, meridian circle
- date made
- ca 1865
- maker
- Young, William J.
- place made
- United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
- Physical Description
- brass (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 26 in x 41 in x 60 in; 66.04 cm x 104.14 cm x 152.4 cm
- ID Number
- 1980.0318.01A
- accession number
- 1980.0318
- catalog number
- 1980.0318.01A
- Credit Line
- Vassar College
- subject
- Astronomy
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
- Science & Mathematics
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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