The History of Astronomy at UNC

Astronomy has been a tradition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the oldest state university in the United States, from its very beginning. At a meeting of the Board of Trustees in December 1792 Samuel McCorkle presented a "Plan of Education" which included Natural Philosophy and recommended "the procurement of apparatus for Experimental Philosophy and Astronomy." This apparatus included a quadrant, an instrument for accurately measuring angles between objects in the sky, and a telescope. Although the plan of education was adopted, no appropriation was made by the Trustees for the astronomical instruments.

The University was fortunate to have as its first President, Joseph Caldwell who came to the University of North Carolina in 1796 as a Professor of Mathematics. Caldwell was also interested in the development of astronomy at the University. In 1823 he recommended to the Board of Trustees that books and scientific instruments be purchased to enrich the University intellectually. He specifically urged the purchase of "an Astronomical Clock, a Transit Instrument, and an Astronomical Telescope." Transit instruments are primarily used to determine the longitude, latitude, and local time in a particular place. Furthermore, since these were relatively expensive and since the man ufacture of such instruments should be strictly supervised, he offered to go to Europe, where quality instruments and cheaper books were available, as an agent for the University and at his own expense.

Impressed with Caldwell's enthusiasm the Board of Trustees appropriated six thousand dollars to be divided equally between books and scientific apparatus. Caldwell traveled through England in 1824 and purchased the following astronomical instruments: from Simms of London a 3-inch meridian transit with a 44-inch focal length and an altazimuth telescope with a 2.5-inch aperture and a 33-inch focal length; a portable 2.75-inch telescope with a 52-inch focal length manufactured by Dolland; a Hadley's quadrant manufactured by Wilkinson of London; an armillary sphere made by W. and S. Jones, an instrument for determining relative positions of objects on the celestial sphere; and a portable reflecting circle manufactured by Harris. Caldwell also purchased a sidereal clock with a mercurial pendulum made by Robert Molyneux which was needed for astronomical observations. Most of these instruments are still in the possession of the University. Two instruments, the sextant and portable reflecting circle, never arrived at the University and were presumably lost in shipment.

Upon Caldwell's return from England, the meridian circle and the clock were placed in the University Library which also served as Caldwell's study. The first use of this instrument was the determination of the longitude and latitude of Chapel Hill by Caldwell, Elisha Mitchell, Professor of Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology, and James Phillips, Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. Since the telescope's field of view was restricted to what could be seen through the windows of South Building, Caldwell wished that an observatory could be built to house all the astronomical equipment he had purchased in Europe. As the Trustees had no such plans, Caldwell decided in 1830 to build an observatory at his own expense. The building, completed in 1831, was approximately twenty feet square and twenty-five feet high and was constructed of stone and brick.

The observatory was described by Charles Phillips: "The house had a high basement of stone on which rested walls of brick, ending in a low parapet... Through the center of this single-roomed building arose a pillar of masonry which rested on an independent foundation, and bore on its top the Altitude and Azimuth Instrument. The slit through the northern and southern faces and through the flat top of the house afforded a vertical range of 180 degrees for the Transit. The Altitude and the Azimuth Telescope stood on a circular disk of sandstone which capped the pillar. It was protected from the weather by a slight structure of wood which was drawn forwards and backwards, on a railway in the plane of the Meridian by a windlass and rope. . . The pillar which supported it was built so that in the main and only room of the Observatory, it afforded a shoulder on which stood the supports of the Transit. The Astronomical clock was fastened to the eastern wall of this room." Charles Phillips, the son of James Phillips, also reported that Caldwell, Mitchell, and his father observed eclipses, comets, and other celestial phenomena; all records of these observations, unfortunately, have been lost. Caldwell was reimbursed $430.29 1/2 for the construction of the Observatory in 1835, just a few days before he died.

Although the Observatory built by Caldwell is reputed to be the first observatory connected with a university in America, it had a short life due to the inferior materials used in its construction. The bricks began to crumble shortly after completion and the planks in the roof alternately swelled and shrank so that the roof began to leak. It became necessary to remove the instruments and tradition reports that the building, now completely abandoned, was burned as a student prank in 1838. The field stones were later used to construct a kitchen at the rear of President Swain's house.

After the burning of the Observatory Elisha Mitchell installed the i nstruments on the top story of a wooden, barn-like structure; four large windows were cut in each sloping roof and two in each end wall to permit observations. Mitchell is reported to have made observations intermittently until his untimely death in 1857.

The next mention of the telescope is an anecdote related by Charles Phillips during the occupation of Chapel Hill by northern troops in 1865. "The last observation in which old Meridian Transit was used was made by the Yankee soldiers. . . The old tele scope was lying on a shelf in what was then 'The Philosophical Room,' now [1884] Professor Hooper's Greek room. It was covered thickly with dust, the accumulation of many years of repose. So it was thought to be a safe refuge for valuables from the curios ity of those northern marauders. My father and I unscrewed the object glass so carefully as not to leave a mark on the dust, and slipped our watches into the tube and thought ourselves smart and secure. But those curious, prying creatures were not respect ful of that sacred dust. They found those watches, confiscated them and so thought to mark time with them in other Latitudes and Longitudes. But their commanding officer marred their calculations, and by restoring them, enabled me to time the transit of m any a young astronomer across the blackboard."

After Mitchell's death astronomy appeared to be offered primarily fox cultural enrichment with no observations made; the University catalogue of 1891-1892 describes astronomy: "This subject is pursued as a branch of liberal education. The course is chiefly descriptive, though enough mathematics is included to render the subject intelligible."

The eminent astronomer Harlow Shapley was responsible for the next major development in astronomy at the Unive rsity. John Motley Morehead, a distinguished alumnus, wished to give an unusual gift to the University. Since he was interested in astronomy he wished to donate either a planetarium or an observatory. He sought Shapley's advice who replied that North Caro linians were "the most astronomically ignorant people in all America." Morehead retorted "Amend your statement, Dr. Shapley, to read 'of all the people in America, North Carolinians are the most ignorant of astronomical matters,' and we'll build a planetarium." The statement was amended and Morehead Planetarium was opened in 1949. More than 2,300,000 people have visited the Planetarium, including the United States astronauts who have used the facilities for celestial navigation. The Planetarium was modern ized in 1969 with the installation of a Carl Zeiss Model VI projector.

The addition of Morehead Observatory, a gift to the University from the John Motley Morehead Foundation, marks the return of observational astronomy to the University of North Carolina. The main instrument of the Observatory is a 24-inch Boller and Chivens Cassegrain reflector with Cer-vit optics. Auxiliary equipment includes a 4 x 5 inch camera for direct photography, a Cassegrain spectrograph, a single-channel photoelectric photometer, and a spectrum comparator. The telescope is housed in a thirty-foot dome manufactured by Observa-Dome Laboratories. The Observatory dome is unique in that it is sheathed with 3/16-inch copper to match the original Morehead Building dome.

In 1973 the University, recognizing the increasing role of Astronomy in the modern curriculum of students, changed the name of the Department of Physics to the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The astronomy faculty are: Morris S. Davis, Morehead Professor of Astronomy whose interests are celestial mechanics, astrometry, and the use of computers for analytical developments; Wayne A. Christiansen, Assistant Professor of Astronomy, who is interested in theoretical radio astronomy and the origin and evolution of galaxies; and John H. Baumert, Morehead Observatory Fellow and Instructor, whose interests are the kinematics and physical properties of late-type stars.

Morehead Observatory, under the direction of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is used as an educational and research tool. Students at the University have the opportunity to visit and use the facilities through their courses and the public has the opportunity to view celestial wonders during observing sessions established for them; in the first year of operation 3146 people toured the Observatory. Current research conducted at Morehead Observatory includes photographically monitoring brightness variation s of quasistellar and BL-Lacertae type objects, timings of lunar occultations, and photoelectric photometry of carbon stars and flare stars.

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