Telescopes and the Popularization of Astronomy in the Twentieth Century Gary Leonard Cameron Iowa State University
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Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2010 Public skies: telescopes and the popularization of astronomy in the twentieth century Gary Leonard Cameron Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Cameron, Gary Leonard, "Public skies: telescopes and the popularization of astronomy in the twentieth century" (2010). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 11795. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11795 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Public skies: telescopes and the popularization of astronomy in the twentieth century by Gary Leonard Cameron A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: History of Science and Technology Program of study committee: Amy S. Bix, Major Professor James T. Andrews David B. Wilson John Monroe Steven Kawaler Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2010 Copyright © Gary Leonard Cameron, 2010. All rights reserved. ii Table of Contents Forward and Acknowledgements iv Dissertation Abstract v Chapter I: Introduction 1 1. General introduction 1 2. Research methodology 8 3. Historiography 9 4. Popularization – definitions 16 5. What is an amateur astronomer? 19 6. Technical definitions – telescope types 26 7. Comparison with other science & technology related hobbies 33 Chapter II: Perfecting ‘A Sharper Image’: the Manufacture and Marketing of Telescopes to the Early 20th Century 39 1. Introduction 39 2. Early telescope making: artisans, ‘gentleman-scientists’, & basic principles 40 3. The refracting telescope: problems and solutions 59 4. Telescopes in early 19th century America 65 5. Resurrecting the reflector: silver-on-glass mirror technology 75 6. Sources of telescopes in late-19th and early-20th century America 83 7. Conclusion 104 Chapter III: Rich-man’s Hobby: The State of Amateur Astronomy Prior to 1920 108 1. Introduction 108 2. The amateur astronomer to 1910: organizing amateurs 110 3. Example biographies of amateurs 114 4. Biographies of amateur astronomers: American ‘Grand Amateurs’ 116 5. Middle-class amateurs 123 6. ‘Working-class’ amateurs 130 7. Economics of Victorian America: incomes, expenses, and hard facts of telescope ownership 135 8. Astronomy’s public face: popular books, magazines, and public observatories c.1900 139 9. Conclusion 150 Chapter IV: Poor-man’s Solution: Amateur Telescope Making 1920–1940 154 1. Introduction 154 2. Amateur telescope making in the early 20th Century 155 iii 3. Russell Porter, Albert Ingalls, and “The Poor Man’s Telescope” 163 4. 1926: amateur telescope making takes off 174 5. ATMs and their telescopes 180 6. Commercial telescope makers of the 1920s and 30s 183 7. Growth of amateur and public astronomy in the 1930s 186 8. Conclusion 195 9. Postscript: the notable failure of the Porter Garden Telescope 198 Chapter V: War and a Revolution: Commercial Telescopes for the Hobbyist 1940–1960 202 1. Introduction 202 2. Instruments of war: the military applications of optical equipment 205 3. ATMs to the rescue: the “Roof Prism Gang” & the Harvard College Observatory Optics Lab 212 4. The new telescope makers I: Post-War commercial telescope companies 218 5. The new telescope makers II: ‘the Japanese are coming!’ 241 6. The new telescope makers III: innovative ATMs 243 7. The changing faces of amateur astronomy: families, ‘juniors’, women, and minorities 247 8. Cooperative ventures: Post-War astronomy clubs, observatories, & ‘star parties’ 256 9. Conclusion 260 Chapter VI: Other Modes and Models: Popularization of Astronomy in Europe & Japan 264 1. Introduction 264 2. Amateur astronomy in Britain, Western Europe, Russia, and Japan 265 3. Comparison of commercial telescope availability in Europe & Japan 280 4. Amateur telescope making in Europe & Japan 288 5. Public observatories & state support of astronomy popularization across Europe 293 6. Japanese commercial telescopes: a success story 296 7. Conclusion 297 Chapter VII: Conclusion 299 Appendix 1: Beginner’s Telescope Prices, 1850–1960 309 Appendix 2: Relative Values of the US Dollar and British Pound from 1800 to 2000 311 Appendix 3: Currency Exchange Rates 317 Bibliography 318 iv Forward and Acknowledgements My first telescope was a Christmas present in 1974: an imported 2.4-inch refracting telescope. Within a few years, I became an active member (the youngest at the time, I believe – age 14) of the Des Moines Astronomical Society. I never lost my interests in astronomy, but there has been a certain ‘evolution’ in them. I took astronomical observing fairly seriously from an early age: I still have a number of sketch- drawings of the moon, planets, nebulae, and galaxies as seen through the assortment of telescopes I’ve owned over the years. I was a frequent attendee of amateur astronomy conventions held all over the United States, and got to know a number of leaders in the American amateur astronomical community, as well as commercial telescope manufacturers, vending their wares in the convention exhibit halls. I even participated in the hobby of amateur telescope making, and produced a number of good instruments. Thus, the subject of this dissertation, the role of telescopes in the popularization of astronomy, is very much something I personally experienced. I would like to thank my major professor, Amy Bix, as well as my committee members, James Andrews, David Wilson, John Monroe, and Steve Kawaler. I would also like to thank the staff at the Smithsonian, particularly those at the National Museum of American History Archives and Library, and all the members of the Antique Telescope Society, Tom Williams in particular. Finally, I would like to thank my friends Allison, Lori, Mike, Kaya, and Sara, my sister Viki, brother Randy (who bought me my first ‘Christmas telescope’), and my mother Ruth, whose patience and encouragement meant so much, and whom I greatly miss. v Dissertation Abstract Sputnik and the ‘Space Age’ have been cited as major factors in the growth of amateur astronomy in the 20th century. However, although the growth of popular astronomy magazines, public planetaria, and the popularity of science fiction contributed to the popularization of astronomy, I contend that the greatest growth in amateur astronomy coincides more with the availability of inexpensive telescopes after World War II. Circa 1900, the average purchaser of an amateur-grade astronomical telescope was a wealthy doctor, lawyer, or the like. Hand-crafted refracting telescopes made by such firms as Alvan Clark & Sons, maker of telescopes for professional astronomical observatories, were the ideal. Even relatively small instruments, of only 3-inch aperture, cost the equivalent of $3,000 today. A series of articles appeared in Scientific American in 1926 providing detailed instructions on making Newtonian reflecting telescopes. The articles, the work of two ‘technological cheerleaders’, Russell Porter and Albert Ingalls, proved popular. The resulting home-made telescopes were effective instruments, but cost a fraction the price of a commercial telescope of similar size. By 1940 there were at least 30,000 active amateur astronomers and ‘ATMs’ (amateur telescope makers), of diverse social classes, in America. The Second World War created an opportunity for ATMs. Modern war requires all kinds of optical instruments, and the government was eager to find skilled workers to produce them. World War II became an ‘advanced school’ of telescope making where ATMs learned mass-production methods. ATMs founded a host of new telescope making vi companies in the 1950s using mass-production techniques to produce modestly-priced astronomical telescopes: Newtonian telescopes in the 3 to 4-inch range sold for as little as $25 ($150 today). These telescopes were marketed in the same way as automobiles, TVs, and other consumer products. Countries outside the United States never experienced the ‘ATM movement’ in any major way, nor shared American production techniques. Only Japan adopted the same methods as American commercial telescope manufacturers in the 1950s. Huge numbers of small, mass-produced telescopes were being exported from Japan by the late 1950s, and hundreds of thousands of average Americans were involved in amateur astronomy by 1960. 1 Chapter I: Introduction 1. General introduction The year 1910 saw one of the most high-profile events in modern astronomy to that point: the much heralded return of Halley’s Comet. Newspapers and magazines across America and elsewhere contributed a good deal of ‘hype’ to the event, not all positive and some of which caused panic among the public. Much the same thing would occur 76 years later on the next visit of Halley’s Comet, but with a significant difference. The mid-1980s event saw a major sales campaign among commercial telescope manufacturers tied to Halley’s return that was totally lacking in 1910. The reasons for this difference have to do with tremendous changes, not so much in efforts at astronomy popularization in the mass-media, but in the nature of the hobby of astronomy and in telescope manufacturing and sales technique. The typical amateur astronomer of 1910 was a member of the well-to-do professional elite of American society, and telescope manufacturers were there to cater to them. No crude and utilitarian instruments for these lovers of science: only the finest in precision, hand-crafted, brass, steel, and glass would do. In 1910 astronomy was either one of two things: a profession for trained scientists or a hobby for the educated well-to-do. The general public did have an interest in astronomy. Popular-level books on astronomy were many, and went through many editions and reprints. British astronomy popularizer Richard A.