Whitin Observatory
Whitin Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Wellesley College. Built in 1900, with additions in 1906, 1967, and 2010, it is located in Wellesley, Massachusetts and named after Wellesley College trustee Mrs. John Crane Whitin[1] (Sarah Elizabeth Whitin) of Whitinsville, who donated the funds for the observatory. Astronomer Sarah Frances Whiting was the first director of the new Wellesley College Astronomy Department.
The facilities include a 0.7m PlaneWave CDK700 reflector, a 12" Fitz/Clark refractor, a 6" Alvan Clark refractor, a Hale Spectrohelioscope, and Meade 8" SCTs.
History
In 1896, Wellesley College physics professor Sarah Frances Whiting met trustee Sarah Elizabeth Whitin at a traditional college ceremony, "Float Night." The conversation turned to a 12" refracting telescope Whiting had used that was being offered for sale, and as told in Wellesley College 1875–1975: A Century of Women:[2]
Whiting used the telescope in teaching her classes in astronomy to Wellesley students, one of the first of its kind.[3] It quickly became apparent that the Observatory would need to be expanded. Sarah Frances Whiting wrote in Whitin's obituary "An Appreciation," which appeared in The Wellesley College News[3]
According to Wellesley records, in 1942, before the U.S. entered World War II, "astronomy professor Helen Dodson and Barbara McCarthy, professor of Greek, teach a secret course in cryptography to (at least) ten students. The course was taught evenings at the Observatory, where late-night activity would not attract attention. Following graduation, most of these students went on to work for the [U.S. Navy] WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), working on Japanese and German codes."[4]
Faculty
Students
- Annie Jump Cannon, after whom the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy was named.
- Andrea Dupree
- Martha P. Haynes
- Pamela Melroy
- Nergis Mavalvala
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Annie Jump Cannon
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Astronaut Pam Melroy
Friends
- Margaret Lindsay Huggins, who bequeathed items to the observatory
-
Lady Margaret Lindsay Huggins
