Princeton University. Dept. of Astrophysical Sciences.
Princeton University Department of Astrophysical Sciences records, 1835-1988 (bulk 1867-1966).
Original observation records, correspondence, and teaching documents of Princeton astrophysicists from 1835-1988. Observational records includes astrophysical observations and measurements recorded by Princeton professors from 1867 to 1940, as well as photographs taken through Observatory telescopes. Faculty members whose work is documented include Stephen Alexander, Raymond S. Dugan, N. G. Parke, Newton L. Pierce, and Charles A. Young; phenomenal observations and some record books for astrophysical events such as the Eros asteroid, the Transit of Venus, the Total Lunar Eclipse of 1891, and various comets and satellites. Includes correspondence of Dugan, Lyman Spitzer, Jr., and John Q. Stewart; documents the department's relationship with the U. S. Navy during World War I and undergraduate astronomy courses. Also includes astrophysical texts, oversized telescopic observations, and glass plates of the Princetonia asteroid.
Astronomy was studied at Princeton beginning in 1787, where it was originally grouped with mathematics and natural philosophy. In 1840, astronomy became its own disclipline and Stephen Alexander became Princeton's first Professor of Astronomy and Chairman of the Astronomy Department. Princeton opened the Halsted Observatory in 1872, and in 1934 the FitzRandolph Observatory opened to replace the Halsted Observatory. In 1962 the Astronomy Department officially changed its name to Astrophysical Sciences to signify its expanded programs in plasma physics, atomic and molecular physics, and astrophysics.
Alexander, Stephen, 1806-1883.
Dugan, Raymond Smith, 1878-1940.
Pierce, Newton Lacy, 1905-1950.
Spitzer, Lyman, 1914-1997
Stewart, John Quincy, 1894-1972
Young, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1834-1908.
Asteroids -- Observations.
Astronomy. -- Observations
Astronomical observatories -- History.
Astronomical observatories -- Photographs.
Astronomical observatories -- Records and correspondence.
Astrophysics -- Study and teaching.
Eclipses, Lunar
Eros (Asteroid) -- Observations.
Venus (Planet -- Transit -- 1874.
Glass negatives. aat
Logs (records). aat aat
Textbooks. aat
Photographs. aat
Astronomers -- New Jersey -- Princeton.
Parke, N. G.
Astronomy -- Study and teaching.
AIP-ICOS
Princeton University. Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, 1 Washington Road, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA