Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory
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| Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory | |
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| (U.S. National Historic Landmark District) | |
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| Location: | Gaithersburg, Maryland |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1899 |
| Architect: | Smith,Edwin |
| Architectural style(s): | No Style Listed |
| Added to NRHP: | July 12, 1985 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 85001578[1] |
| Governing body: | Local |
The Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory, in Gaithersburg, Maryland is one of the system of six International Latitude Observatories and (as of 2007) the only National Historic Landmark in Gaithersburg, Maryland.[2] The building is in the National Register of Historic Places[3]. The GLO was constructed by Edwin Smith, chief of the Instrument Division of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.[4]
The Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory was one of six observatories — and one of the four original observatories built by 1899[5] — tracking the degree of "wobble" occurring on the earth’s north-south axis. The Observatory — along with observatories in Cincinnati, Ohio; Ukiah, California; Mizusawa, Japan; Charjui in Russian Turkestan; and Carloforte, Sardina, Italy — performed close in concert carrying out a program of star study designed to investigate and calculate the earth “wobble” or latitude variation.[4]
On the grounds of the Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory stands a plaque that reads:
- “This small framed structure played a key role in the scientific investigation of the Earth’s rotation. In 1898, the International Geodetic Association established a network of observatories to measure the wobble of the planet on its axis by plotting the locations of specific stars. This hilltop in Gaithersburg was chosen together with sites in California, Italy, Japan, and the Soviet Union. All five lay along the same latitude (39° 8’ N). The American Stations were supervised by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. The observatory’s roof was designed to part in the middle on two sets of tracks to expose the reflecting telescope inside to the night sky. Its slatted exterior walls stabilize the inside air to limit the effects of the temperatures on the accuracy of the telescope. The building’s white paint minimizes heat retention that creates air turbulence around the telescope at night, distorting the stars. Knowledge gained from the observations recorded here nightly until 1982 assisted scientists in the study of the Earth’s geophysical make-up and aided spacecraft orbiting the planer and navigating the universe.”
A second portion of the observatory was constructed to house the Photographic Zenith Tube. The observers used the Photographic Zenith Tube to capture picture data using the Zenith telescope as a guide of alignment and star track.[6] Unfortunately, time has not been very kind to this addition of the Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory as it no longer stands at the site.
[edit] External links
- 1989 Drawings of the Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory at the Library of Congress
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ PDF list of National Historic Landmarks in Maryland, at the National Park Service website
- ^ Montgomery County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- ^ a b National Park Service page about the Observatory
- ^ Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Volume XI, Number 66, 1899, pp 231-239
- ^ Geodesy: Latitude Observations with Photographic Zenith Tube at Gaithersburg MD, Special Publication 27, by Frank E. Ross, PhD. US Coast and Geodetic Survey, US Department of Commerce, 1915; this page contains a photograph of the building with the addition intact.
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ PDF list of National Historic Landmarks in Maryland, at the National Park Service website
- ^ Montgomery County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- ^ a b National Park Service page about the Observatory
- ^ Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Volume XI, Number 66, 1899, pp 231-239
- ^ Geodesy: Latitude Observations with Photographic Zenith Tube at Gaithersburg MD, Special Publication 27, by Frank E. Ross, PhD. US Coast and Geodetic Survey, US Department of Commerce, 1915; this page contains a photograph of the building with the addition intact.
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