Flagstaff It Is- The Founding of Lowell Observatory
In 1894, wealthy Boston mathematician Percival Lowell sent his assistant, A.E. Douglass, west to the Arizona Territory to choose a location for an astronomical observatory. Lowell had become fascinated with the planet Mars, and he wanted to build his own observatory to study the Red Planet and other astronomical objects. Douglass arrived in Arizona on March 7 and spent the next six weeks testing potential sites in Tombstone, Tucson, Tempe, Prescott, and Flagstaff. On April 16, Lowell sent Douglass a letter stating, in part, “Flagstaff it is.” Following a month of preparations, Lowell arrived in Flagstaff from Massachusetts on May 28 and immediately began observing with borrowed 12-inch and 18-inch telescopes.
This collection consists primarily of letters and telegrams between Douglass and Lowell from 1894 to 1901. Topics include Douglass’ reports from the various locations where he was testing sites, weather and atmospheric conditions, travel plans, moving the observatory to Mexico and back to Flagstaff, finances, and astronomy.
Lowell fired Douglass in 1901 over differences of opinion regarding Lowell’s use of data to prove his theories. Douglass moved to Tucson in 1906 and began teaching at the University of Arizona. He remained active in astronomy and also invented dendrochronology, the science of using tree rings to determine their ages.
LanguageEnglish