Although Shattuck Observatory may no longer be useful for research purposes, it has supplied astronomical and meteorological information to the College and National Weather Service and provided students enrolled in introductory astronomy courses a look at the night sky since it opened during Fall term 1854.
Of the five main telescopes located on campus, the observatory is home to the oldest, according to the Dartmouth College Shattuck Observatory Meteorological Records. The observatory's current telescope was built in 1871 and is 10 meters long with a 9.5-inch diameter lens, according to records stored in Rauner Special Collections Library.
Construction of the observatory began after astronomy professor Ira Young, Class of 1828, led persistent efforts to improve the College's astronomical and meteorological capabilities. In 1852, Boston physician George Shattuck, Class of 1803, gave the College $7,000 to construct an observatory under the stipulation that the Board of Trustees match his gift and grant an additional $4,000, according to the records.
After it opened in 1854, the observatory began sending monthly meteorological data to the Smithsonian Institution and later to the U.S. Weather Bureau, which was renamed the National Weather Service in 1970. Although most data collection was discontinued in the 1960s, Rauner maintains the data from 1854 to the present in a collection of 73 boxes, which span 46.5 linear feet.
The observatory's original telescope was purchased from a German manufacturer in 1854, but it was traded to a Massachusetts research institution when its technology became outdated, according to Gregory Feiden GR '13, the graduate student responsible for conducting public astronomical viewing sessions and a former teaching assistant of introductory astronomy courses.
A world-renowned optician built the second telescope with the design of two "mated" lenses to focus the light, according to physics and astronomy professor Robert Fesen. These two lenses had to rest directly on top of each other without touching to enable the telescope to work.
"At the time it was installed, Shattuck's telescope was the 13th biggest in the world," Fesen said. "Its lenses were fantastically round, separated by postage stamps to keep them from touching."
Although the design of the observatory a white-domed building located on top of the hill behind Wilder Hall appears to be physically impressive, Fesen said he prefers to take his introductory astronomy classes to the two viewing sheds adjacent to the structure.
"Because of the jet stream clouds on the East Coast, you only get about 30 good viewing nights a year in Hanover," Fesen said. "The small viewing opening in the observatory's dome doesn't allow you to move the telescope to another point in the sky if a cloud is coming."
The newer viewing sheds have roll-off roofs that allow for all-over observation of the night sky and are home to newer telescopes with 12-inch lenses, he said. Fesen utilizes the older observatory for overflow purposes.
"The telescopes in the sheds are so much more modern and easier to use, but with 150 students in some of my summer labs, I can't line them up 30 deep to wait," Fesen said.
Manipulating the telescope at the observatory is also a challenge because its body tube has to be moved by pulling rope chords, a slow and inefficient process compared to the computerized directing capabilities of the telescopes in the other viewing sheds, according to Feiden.
A modern tracking mechanism was attached to the observatory's telescope three years ago to make it easier to use, but there are no other major upgrades planned for the future, Feiden said.
"There really wouldn't be a benefit to putting a more modern telescope in here because of the cloud cover and lights from downtown Hanover," Feiden said. "It's still serving its purpose for the introductory courses."
In addition to the observatory and two sheds, there are two other viewing domes with telescopes located on the roof of Wilder, according to Fesen. These are used in more advanced classes because the roof does not have a railing and is therefore not conducive to hosting large groups of students.
Dartmouth also owns a 25-percent share in two more powerful telescopes located in the Michigan-Dartmouth-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Observatory on Kitt Peak in Arizona, according to physics and astronomy professor Ryan Hickox. This partial ownership entitles the College to roughly 90 days of telescope access per year. These telescopes outfitted with 1.3-meter and 2.4-meter lenses are used for more serious undergraduate and graduate research purposes.
The viewing capabilities of the Arizona telescopes under "good viewing conditions" are about 100 times better than those in Hanover under the same conditions, according to Hickox. As a result, the physics and astronomy department regularly takes students to Arizona for research projects.
The Arizona telescopes offer students the added opportunity to conduct their own research, according to Hickox. Most major telescopes are operated by a professional technician that will look for objects researchers request, he said.
"Our capabilities are very good for a strong research institution," Hickox said. "There aren't many other places where undergraduates can get access to operate telescopes like that."
In addition, Dartmouth owns a 10-percent share of an 11-meter lens telescope in South Africa, one of only four telescopes in the world of that size, Fesen said. Construction of the telescope was completed in 2005, and it is now beginning to collect meaningful data, he said. The telescope's capability is about 10 times greater than those in Arizona.
"Because South Africa is five to six hours ahead, we can have an evening class here and transmit live images from the telescope into the classroom," Fesen said. "Within a year we're hoping to be able to do just that."
The College offers public viewing sessions at Shattuck Observatory weekly on Friday nights during the Fall, Spring and Summer terms, according to Feiden. The viewing sessions run "as long as the weather is good" from the viewing sheds and usually have about 30 people in attendance.
"We get a lot of parents and kids that come out before bedtime," Feiden said. "Usually we'll look at planets Venus, Mars and Saturn are particularly good right now. Saturn's probably the most brilliant thing you'll ever see through a telescope."
