October 18, 2002: Volume 56, Number 6

A tribute to Dudley Observatory; Mandeville show includes lectures and films

The Mandeville Gallery at the Nott Memorial is celebrating the sesquicentennial of the Dudley Observatory with an exhibition titled "Reaching for the Stars -- The Story of the Dudley Observatory."

The show, which runs through December 22, is accompanied by a series of lectures, films and observing nights at the Union College telescope in the F.W. Olin Center. All events are free and open to the public.

Events open with a reception on Sunday, Oct. 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the gallery. There will also be safe solar observing, weather permitting, outside the Nott.

The exhibition traces the history of the local astronomical institution from its ambitious beginning in Albany in 1852 through its current endeavors in support of astronomy and astronomical research. Objects range from telescopes to space dust collection devices as well as photographs, paintings, prints, letters, maps and rare books.

The Sesquicentennial Lecture Series will include three lectures on Sunday afternoons about the history of the Dudley Observatory and astronomical breakthroughs during its time.  The first lecture, "Star Wars, Stellar Motions and Space Dust: The Dudley Observatory 1852-2002" will be by George Wise of the Observatory on Sunday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. in the Nott Memorial.

The film series portion of the exhibition starts on Friday, Nov. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in the Olin Center Auditorium. Several films will be shown including Powers of Ten, The Trouble with Tribbles, and Trials and Tribble-ations.

One of the oldest organizations in the U.S. dedicated to the support of astronomical research, the Dudley Observatory was chartered by the state in 1852, largely funded by Blandina Dudley of Albany in memory of her husband, Senator Charles E. Dudley.

In its first century, the Observatory's astronomers made internationally important advances in astronomy – charting the precise motions of stars and compiling influential catalogs of the stars. In the 1950s, the Observatory turned to research in the area of micrometeorites, tiny dust particles that continuously bombard the earth from space. In the 1970s, the mission turned to the support of research in astronomy, astrophysics and the history of astronomy. The Dudley library contains one of the world's finest collections of historically significant  texts, which are made available to scholars studying the history of astronomy and astrophysics. Locally, grants are awarded to schools and local communities to fund educational programs, trips to planetariums and museums, scholarships to Advanced Astronomy Camp and Advanced Space Camp, and radio and television programming. On the national level, the Fullam and Pollack Awards fund innovative research in astronomy and the history of astronomy.

For more information see www.union.edu/gallery

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