“We are excited to bring to life a number of classic images from the early years of astronomy and include some of the worlds best known observers, astronomers and observatories. Through modern technology enjoy watching our historic images and videos from the past 150 years unfold into the present. Sharing these revitalized memories ensures that the legacy endures, making history tangible and personal again for new generations.” – Al Paslow – In Sky Books.
Click on the pictures below and bring your past to life.
Old Allegheny Observatory – An amazing view of the Observatory from the horse and buggy days via this video.
Journey back in time with us to around the year 1900. The place is Pittsburgh, PA the observatory houses the 13 inch Fitz-Clark refractor telescope, which was eventually torn down and moved to a new location in Riverview Park.
In this animation – you’ll see a carriage rolling up to the great observatory and greeting the astronomer at the door. A vistor arriving, or a distinquished colleague? In any case this is a beautiful rendition of a famous scence at the original observatory.
John A. Brashear – workmen 1894 from the Time Capsule of John A. Brashear
This picture was found in a time capsule left at a corner wall at his factory in Pittsburgh’s northside during the buildings demolition. The small brass box containing the discolored photograph was opened by the Minnifield Construction Company and Al Paslow who documented the images on March 24, 2015. The historic picture has been cleared of spots and other signs of age. Click on the picture to witness a wonderful reconstruction video as the gents enjoy a moment now lost to time… Read more about the time capsule — visit https://al-paslow.smugmug.com/Other/John-Brashear-Time-Capsule
John A. Brashear at the 31 inch Keeler Telescope at Allegheny Observatory
A very unusual picture with famous Brashear inspecting one of his instruments. The telescope, was one of three. Two, were built for the new observatory, including this plate glass mirror example. The telescope was eventually dismantled and put in storage. In recent times it was replaced by a 24 inch that is used much more often. However, to those of us who remember the Keeler 31 inch – seeing this video will bring back quite possibly a more wonderful time when we were young. (click to watch.)
Eugene M. Antoniadi – Famous Planetary Observer
Eugène Michel Antoniadi (1870-1944) was a renowned Greek-French astronomer, famous for his detailed Mars observations, particularly debunking Martian “canals” as illusions, publishing the definitive La Planète Mars (1930), and creating the Antoniadi scale for atmospheric seeing. He mapped Mars extensively, named its features, and used the powerful Meudon Observatory twin refracting telescope to reveal its complex surface, leaving a legacy in planetary astronomy and atmospheric quality assessment still used today.
Here we see a short video of Antoniadi in his travels.
Alvan Clark & Sons – manufacturers of precision astronomical optics and refracting telescopes.
Alvan Clark & Sons was an American firm, founded in 1846 in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, that became the premier maker of objective lenses for large refracting telescopes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The firm was started by Alvan Clark (a former portrait painter) and his sons, George Bassett Clark and Alvan Graham Clark. They were renowned for their unmatched skill in grinding and polishing lenses, which represented the first significant American contribution to astronomical instrument-making. Watch are amazing video as the three men converse as never before witnessed in our day and time.