400 Years of the Telescope

We flew to Boston, specifically to the Harvard Observatory, to interview Dr. Owen Gingirich, who is not only a brilliant and lively historian, but also a captivating writer on the movers and shakers of astronomy’s early years. In preparing for our interview, Dr. Gingerich ushered us up narrow winding steps into the historic campus dome. There, he gripped the majestically long telescope and swung it to and fro as if it were newly greased; Kris shoved the large rolling wooden bench, or “observing chair” into place, and Dr. Gingerich perched himself upon its plush burgundy cushions, where the likes of Hubble and Shapely sat, decades ago. After the interview, Kris followed Dr. Gingerich into his office and beheld several books dating back 400 years, written by the great Copernicus, with faded inky notes in the margins from readers of the 15th century! What an archive this man has, all protected and locked in a fire-proof safe. We considered ourselves quite fortunate to see these magnificent documents from a time before uniform book-binding was the norm. Apparently in those days, the pages were purchased from the printer and the buyer bound them up with whatever was handy.

After a lovely dinner that included fresh oysters with Owen and his dear, witty wife, Miriam, we all strolled back to Harvard Yard, so we could spy the comet Holmes with Owen’s binoculars. We invited a few strolling college students to get a peek, and if we had more time, probably would have spent another hour randomly calling folks over to enjoy this celestial delight.