Object Details
- Young, William J.
- Description
- This meridian circle was installed in the new observatory at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1865, and used by Maria Mitchell, her students, and successors. An inscription reads "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 this instrument 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
- Credit Line
- Vassar College
- ca 1865
- ID Number
- 1980.0318.01A
- accession number
- 1980.0318
- catalog number
- 1980.0318.01A
- Object Name
- transit, astronomical
- astronomical transit
- axis, meridian circle
- 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
- place made
- United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
- Science & Mathematics
- National Museum of American History
- Subject
- Astronomy
- Record ID
- nmah_1183760
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-30d9-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
