Kenwood Astrophysical Observatory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kenwood Astrophysical Observatory was the personal observatory of George Ellery Hale, constructed by his father, William E. Hale, in 1890 at the family home in the Kenwood section of Chicago. It was here that the spectroheliograph, which Hale had invented while attending MIT, was first put to practical use; and it was here that Hale established the Astrophysical Journal. Kenwood's principal instrument was a twelve inch refractor which was used in conjunction with a Rowland grating as part of the spectroheliograph. Hale hired Ferdinand Ellerman as an assistant; years later, the two would work together again at the Mount Wilson Observatory.
Hale's work attracted the attention of many in the astronomical community, and when Yerkes Observatory was established in 1897, the Kenwood instruments were donated to the University of Chicago and moved to the Yerkes facility.
[edit] References
- "Obituary Notices: Associates:- Hale, George Ellery" (November 1938). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 99 (1): 323-324.
- Simmons, Mike (1983). History of Mount Wilson Observatory. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
- Steele, Diana (March 20, 1997). "Yerkes Observatory: A century of stellar science". University of Chicago Chronicle 16 (13).
