In the early 1900s, Canada had no national observatory to provide essential information to scientists. Smaller observatories on the East coast and in central Canada were used for hydrographic maps and navigation. Telescopes were needed to follow stars, permitting precision time and geophysical studies, noted Science Tech of the Canada Science and Technology Museum. A national observatory was required, one that would provide larger, better-equipped facilities that not only would be the longitudinal reference point for Canada, but also permit study of “the natural phenomena of the Sun and stars.”
National Observatory Needed
An astronomer and surveyor with the Department of the Interior in 1898, Dr. Otto Klotz urged the construction of the Dominion Observatory. An agreement was made with a budget allotment of $16,000 for the building and equipment. Architect David Ewart was hired for the task. (He also developed several other striking Ottawa edifices - the Museum of Nature building, the early Royal Canadian Mint and the Connaught Building.) Changing the setting from near Parliament buildings to the Experimental Farm on the outskirts of the city, the construction of the Dominion Observatory got underway in 1902. A surveying colleague of Dr. Klotz, Dr. William Frederick King was appointed first Director and Chief Astronomer of the new observatory. Klotz and King were well-respected scientists at the top of their field, both being founders and directors of many scientific organizations in Canada.
Positional Astronomy on East-West Line
The reddish-brown, regal-style exterior was built of Nepean sandstone quarried near Ottawa. The complementing white trim was Credit Valley sandstone from southern Ontario. Plain brick formed the utilitarian interior walls.The building was placed on an exact east-west line, “for positional astronomy purposes,” said National Resources Canada, with the “transit house marking the prime meridian attached on the west side of the main building... built separately.”
Large Refracting Telescope
Before the building structure was begun, a 15-inch refracting telescope was ordered in 1901 from two companies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Warner & Swasey and John Brashear. Delivered in January of 1903, the price of the finished telescope was $14,625. The Dominion Observatory was completed in 1905 with the telescope in first use on April 17 of that year. The final price of the main building, equipment, furnishings and instruments was approximately $350,000.
Precision Time and Geophysics
The Dominion Observatory was used by many government departments for research aside from precision time and the Prime Meridian settings. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography stated that the observatory became “one of the most important seismological stations in the world; it issued bulletins on earthquakes and set up seismographs throughout Canada.” The station personnel also studied resources such as iron and the affect the ores had on gravity and the shape of the earth.
Dominion Observatory Anniversary
Regularly undergoing updates and changes to keep up with technology over the decades, the Dominion Observatory closed for business in 1970. Its duties were transferred to newer observatories across Canada. Many instruments and equipment pieces, including the large first telescope, moved to Technology Park of the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa. The telescope has been named the Sawyer Hogg Observatory, in honour of the renowned astronomy scientist, Helen Sawyer Hogg. The Dominion Observatory celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2005, marking Canada's place in the realm of science as an international leader in astronomy, gravity, geodesic, geomagnetic and seismological research.
Susanna McLeod - Intriguing Canadians, the art of cartoonists, and fascinating moments in Canada's history have kept Susanna McLeod writing for 16 years.
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