57 replies to this topic

[x-ray]

I have also reproduced some of the parts of the scope that tend to turn to dust over 100 years.  Anything made of what we would think of as plastic today wasn't.  They used things like celluloid and hard rubber.  The dial index cursors are one such item.  I made a few of these, if you need a pair I can send them to you.

Alan

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[mdbradshaw]

I extensively used the U of Illinois 12" while an astro student there, '91 to '95.  When built, it was the testbed for equipment which was going to be installed on the Yerkes 40" scope (spectroscopes, slits, etc).  It's on the historic landmark listing which mean that (at least in the early 90s) the building was literally falling apart because it was impossible to do even the most basic maintenance.  It's also the scope where they created photometry, and they used that photometer as a trigger to "turn on" the power at the 1933 world's Fair.

 

Doing a meridian flip with a 15 foot long telescope is a trip.  You literally give it a shove, then run over to the other side of the dome and catch it as it comes down.  Working with massive refractors is tons of fun.  I did get to stand next to the Yerkes 40 inch once, that's a whole different ballgame, and I worked for several years at Kitt Peak...Yerkes still felt BIGGER that things like the 4 meter.

[Ken Launie]

I extensively used the U of Illinois 12" while an astro student there, '91 to '95.  When built, it was the testbed for equipment which was going to be installed on the Yerkes 40" scope (spectroscopes, slits, etc).  It's on the historic landmark listing which mean that (at least in the early 90s) the building was literally falling apart because it was impossible to do even the most basic maintenance.  It's also the scope where they created photometry, and they used that photometer as a trigger to "turn on" the power at the 1933 world's Fair.

Being on the National Historic Register doesn't prevent maintenance in ANY way, and even though the criteria for National Historic Landmark status are stricter (no doubt it was granted because of Joel Stebbin's pioneering photometry work there), THAT shouldn't prevent it either. The list keepers want the structures preserved, after all. Radically modifying the outward appearance with additions, new windows, or inappropriate colors or materials can jeopardize state and federal National Register or Landmark listings, and the listing might be removed, but the changes are NOT prevented by that. I suspect the real reason things were decaying there was budgetary.

 

In general, local control of sites such as city zoning or Historic District rules (and in the case of U of I, the "Campus and Historic Preservation Plan") have precedence over the State and Federal ones. The only special protection afforded to National Register properties is that it's harder to use public money to threaten the property (say, building a highway or power line).

 

We live in a National Register house and haven't had issues with maintenance, repainting, etc.  

[PeteDCard81]

I fondly remember viewing Mars through the 10.5-inch refractor on top of Tate Hall on the U of Minnesota Minneapolis campus during the Great Opposition of Mars in August 1971. It was a public viewing night and line was long, stretching many flights of stairs up to the roof.

 

 

Mark

[mdbradshaw]

Being on the National Historic Register doesn't prevent maintenance in ANY way, and even though the criteria for National Historic Landmark status are stricter (no doubt it was granted because of Joel Stebbin's pioneering photometry work there), THAT shouldn't prevent it either. The list keepers want the structures preserved, after all. Radically modifying the outward appearance with additions, new windows, or inappropriate colors or materials can jeopardize state and federal National Register or Landmark listings, and the listing might be removed, but the changes are NOT prevented by that. I suspect the real reason things were decaying there was budgetary.

 

In general, local control of sites such as city zoning or Historic District rules (and in the case of U of I, the "Campus and Historic Preservation Plan") have precedence over the State and Federal ones. The only special protection afforded to National Register properties is that it's harder to use public money to threaten the property (say, building a highway or power line).

 

We live in a National Register house and haven't had issues with maintenance, repainting, etc.  

Ehem.  Let me rephrase that.

"Since it was a national historic landmark, it was basically impossible for us students to do things like replace the railing around the elevated walkway, or replace rotting steps, because it would have involved more time, money and paperwork than mere students had access to".  Better?  Fact is, it was falling apart because no one cared, and when any of us who used it asked, we were told to buzz off about it.  Reading up shows me that it WAS recently restored, which is great, because it was a dangerous building, ESPECIALLY since it was really only used at night, by a small group of students.  

[JoeInMN]

Reviving this old thread just to say that the U of M's public viewing nights have started up again for the fall semester, for anyone interested in having a look at this instrument...

Public Telescope Viewing

[Tom Dugan]

Just dropping in to point out that the "Guidescope(?) eyepiece" in the next-to-last 27 April pictures is a filar micrometer.

 

I was wondering whether one was around. I assume that can be swapped into the main scope if desired.

[NicoAdamsUMN]

Hey all. I'm a current PhD student at UMN trying to restore this telescope and create some better outreach materials around it, so I just wanted to say thanks for all the information and enthusiasm I found in this thread. It's astounding to me how much attention is given to this telescope relative to the amount we (until recently) knew about it!

 

My own discovery of this thread was driven by the need to give a 30 minute tour of the telescope. At the time I was asked, we didn't have anywhere near 30 minutes of information to share about it. A long day of googling led me here, and since finding this thread, I have asked the University of Minnesota's archives for information as well. They were extremely helpful and turned up nearly a book's worth of old news articles, photos and information.

 

For those interested in visiting, our public nights are currently up and running for spring semester. As long as school is in session, we give a guided tour of the telescope every Friday night starting at 8pm. Schedule here: http://www.astro.umn...reach/pubnight/.

 

I'm hoping that by the end of this semester, our materials on display and the quality of our tours will be greatly improved. I'm backed in this effort by two professors (one of astronomy, another of physics history) and the department communications manager, all of whom have wanted to improve our tours and outreach materials since "new Tate" opened in 2017 -- so my hopes are high that we'll make some real changes by the time summer comes around.

Edited by NicoAdamsUMN, 17 February 2020 - 06:53 PM.