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Father James Curley of the
Physics Department at Georgetown College founded the Georgetown
Observatory in 1841. He chose a site on the College grounds, planned the
building and supervised its construction. Overcoming numerous difficulties
and delays, he saw the building finished by 1843.
During the 45 years of Father Curley's Directorship, he kept consistent
weather reports. With the cooperation of Sir George Airy, The Astronomer
Royal, he determined the exact longitude and latitude of many of the
principal buildings in Washington. His determination of the location of
Georgetown was so accurate that no correction has been necessary to this
very day. In 1888, Father John Hagen, S.J., became director. He was
responsible for the installation of the 12-inch equatorial telescope with
which for twenty years he observed and gathered data on variable stars.
This instrument is still in continuous use. It was Father Hagen who gained
for the observatory world-wide recognition in the field of astronomical
research.
In 1928, Father Paul A. McNally, S.J. began his term as director. Under
his direction the research efforts at Georgetown were focused on solar
eclipses. A series of field expeditions began at this time. These were
highly successful and contributed significantly to the observatory's
growing reputation.
Father Francis J. Heyden, S.J., came to Georgetown in 1945 from the Manila
Observatory, and in 1948 assumed directorship of the Observatory here.
From that time until the closing of the Astronomy Department in 1971, the
fame of the Observatory increased dramatically. The eclipse expeditions
were continued with great success, and research in solar and planetary
spectroscopy was begun. A graduate program was instituted, growing
eventually to be the largest such department in this country.
Despite the closing of the Department, interest in astronomy continued to
make itself felt. In 1972, under the sponsorship of Dr. James Lambert of
the Physics Department, the Georgetown University Astronomical Society was
founded. Under the leadership of Patrick Seitzer and Daniel Fliesch,
renovation of the Observatory was begun and the major instruments brought
back into active use.
The Society runs programs of astronomical interest throughout the academic
year, including public and private tours and observing sessions in the
Observatory, lectures, films and field trips in the Washington area. Since
the observatory was designated a historical landmark in 1973, the Society
has begun attempting to restore the buildings and grounds to a condition
befitting a national monument to science.
Text and pictures are from here.
