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The Washburn Observatory at UW-Madison has been holding public viewing nights since 1881, making it one of the oldest programs in the world. On Wednesday, skies cleared to provide ideal conditions to use the telescope that was installed in 1879 to look at Arcturus, a red giant star.
Rachel McClure, a third-year graduate student in astronomy at UW-Madison, needs to stand on a set of steep steps in order to position the telescope at the Washburn Observatory to see Betelgeuse, a bright star that on Wednesday evening was low on the horizon.Â
Eric Barber and daughter Madeleine, 5, look through the historic telescope that was installed in 1879 at Washburn Observatory. Free public viewing sessions will be held beginning at dusk every Wednesday during June, July and August.
Visitors at Washburn Observatory take in the views from a balcony around the dome as they wait for the sky to darken Wednesday.
During a 30-minute time exposure, parts of the Milky Way, the Large and Small Magellan Clouds (at bottom), and star trails appear to rotate in the night sky in 2017 above the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) in the remote, desert highland of the Karoo near Sutherland, South Africa.Â
Jim Lattis, who helps manage the Washburn Observatory and is director of the UW Space Place Outreach Center and co-author of a book on the history of astronomy at UW-Madison, looks out at the dome of the observatory, constructed in 1878. The facility is named after former Gov. Cadwallader C. Washburn, who made a fortune in milling and provided the private funding for the project.
Centered inside a 90-foot diameter dome, the 1890s-era refracting telescope at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay towers over visitors, in this image from 2020. The University of Chicago that year transferred ownership of the facility to the Yerkes Future Foundation, a preservation group that is restoring the facility with plans to reopen the historic research center.
Visitors climb up the stairs at Washburn Observatory on Wednesday during one of the free public observing nights at the historic UW-Madison facility, which now also has an elevator.
A life-size bust depicts former Wisconsin Gov. Cadwallader C. Washburn, who was elected to one term in 1872. Washburn, who made a fortune in flour milling, provided the private funding for the observatory's construction.
The visitor's log at Washburn Observatory at UW-Madison.
A clock drive is used at Washburn Observatory to help the telescope keep pace with a star or planet as the Earth rotates. Without the motor-controlled mechanism, an object would, in short order, move out of the eye piece.
Photos: Washburn Observatory
Washburn Observatory
Rachel McClure, a third-year graduate student in astronomy at UW-Madison, needs to stand on a set of steep steps in order to position the telescope at the Washburn Observatory to see Betelgeuse, a bright star that on Wednesday evening was low on the horizon.Â
Washburn Observatory
Eric Barber and daughter Madeleine, 5, look through the historic telescope that was installed in 1879 at Washburn Observatory. Free public viewing sessions will be held beginning at dusk every Wednesday during June, July and August.
Washburn Observatory
Visitors at Washburn Observatory take in the views from a balcony around the dome as they wait for the sky to darken Wednesday.
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Visitors at Washburn Observatory take in the views from a balcony around the dome as they wait for the sky to darken at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis., Wednesday, May 18, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Washburn Observatory
A life-size bust depicts former Wisconsin Gov. Cadwallader C. Washburn, who was elected to one term in 1872. Washburn, who made a fortune in flour milling, provided the private funding for the observatory's construction.
Washburn Observatory
The visitor's log at Washburn Observatory at UW-Madison.
Washburn Observatory
Jim Lattis, who helps manage the Washburn Observatory and is director of the UW Space Place Outreach Center and co-author of a book on the history of astronomy at UW-Madison, looks out at the dome of the observatory, constructed in 1878. The facility is named after former Gov. Cadwallader C. Washburn, who made a fortune in milling and provided the private funding for the project.
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A room in the Eastern wing at Washburn Observatory that was added in 1881 at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis., Thursday, May 19, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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A photograph of professor Joel Stebbins is on display at Washburn Observatory at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis., Thursday, May 19, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Washburn Observatory
A clock drive is used at Washburn Observatory to help the telescope keep pace with a star or planet as the Earth rotates. Without the motor-controlled mechanism, an object would, in short order, move out of the eye piece.
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James Lattis, director UW Space Place, faculty associate, astronomy College of Letters and Science outside Washburn Observatory at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis., Thursday, May 19, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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A photograph of Washburn Observatory from 1882 is on display at the facility at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis., Thursday, May 19, 2022. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Washburn Observatory
The Washburn Observatory at UW-Madison has been holding public viewing nights since 1881, making it one of the oldest programs in the world. On Wednesday, skies cleared to provide ideal conditions to use the telescope that was installed in 1879 to look at Arcturus, a red giant star.
Washburn Observatory
Visitors climb up the stairs at Washburn Observatory on Wednesday during one of the free public observing nights at the historic UW-Madison facility, which now also has an elevator.
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.
