General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Metal housing/ Metal and synthetic working parts

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

48.3 cm

Width

19.0 cm

Height

17.5 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Astronomy

Category

Research

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

University

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Toronto

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

Unknown

Canada

An instrument used at the David Dunlap Observatory at the University of Toronto, one of Canada's most important astronomical observatories. The David Dunlap Observatory opened in 1935 as the result of a bequest from the wife of David Dunlap. The telescope was a 74 inch (188 cm) reflector built by Grubb Parsons of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England. The 74 inch was then the largest telescope in Canada (surpassing the 72 inch telescope of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria) and became the second largest in the world after the 100 inch Hooker Telescope of the Mt. Wilson Observatory outside Los Angeles. DDO's reputation grew and following WWII, it began to graduate most of the astronomers produced in Canada with University of Western Ontario far behind. Beginning in the 1960s a number of other astronomy departments were created but UofT/DDO held its place, a position it probably still holds. The DDO had a good technical staff which gave them an advantage and, with most of the 1940s to early 1970s top astronomers coming from UofT, grants from NRC and then ENSERC were almost guaranteed and allowed UofT's top astronomers -- Hogg, van den Berg, Fernie, Bolton, Kamper, Martin, etc. to acquire or build some of the best equipment available in university observatories. For optical observatories, only the DAO had technical staff and budgets that surpassed those of DDO. In 2007, citing increasing light pollution, the University of Toronto announced plans to sell the Observatory property. In June 2008, it was sold to Corsica Development Inc., a subsidiary of Metrus Development Inc. and the Observatory was closed. In 2009 the Observatory buildings and 80% of the site were designated a cultural heritage landscape. Also in 2009 Corsica and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Toronto Centre announced an agreement allowing the RASC to provide public education and outreach programs at the observatory, and to operate the 188 cm telescope.

Function

A device which supplies and regulates power to a device, in this case an astronomical instrument.

Technical

An example of accessory equipment used with an astronomical analytical instrument, possibly the Grant Spectrum Line Measuring Comparator (2008.0178) This piece of equipment is marked 'Las Campanas' and may have been used at the Las Campanas Observatory. Las Campanas is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Carnegie Institution for Science. From 1971 to 1997, the University of Toronto operated a 60-cm telescope in the desert mountains of north-central Chile at Las Campanas. This small instrument, known as the Helen Sawyer Hogg 60-cm telescope, provided optical astronomers with a distinctive window to the southern skies. It was the only telescope in the Southern Hemisphere operated by Canada. Further, it and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope were the only Canadian telescopes at sites enjoying predominantly clear skies. UTSO [University of Toronto Southern Observatory]was located on Cerro Las Campanas, near the southern edge of the Atacama Desert (the driest in the world), where the air is clear and the atmospheric turbulence is low. During a good year, 85% of the nights are usable and 65% are photometric. As a small telescope with good equipment at a clear, dark site with excellent seeing conditions, the HSHT filled a unique and very productive niche [Ref. 2].

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Black lettering on front reads University of Toronto/ Las Campanas' and 'SINE CORRECTOR/ Power Supply'/ Black lettering on electrical cord reads 'Canada Wire F 16/3 SPT-3 60-C VW-1 GREEN CONDUCTOR FOR GROUNDING ONLY'

Missing

Unknown

Finish

Metallic grey housing/ Black painted and metallic parts/ Multicoloured synthetic parts

Decoration

University of Toronto coat of arms containing Latin motto 'VELUT ARBOR AEVO' [As a tree with the passage of time]