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Lowell Observatory

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
astronomical observatory located in Flagstaff, Ariz.; it was founded in 1894 by Percival Lowell , the American astronomer who popularized the idea that Mars might support intelligent life. Its original telescope, still in operation, is a 24-in. (61-cm) refractor; also located at the Mars Hill site are the 13-in. (33-cm) A. Lawrence Lowell photographic camera used by Clyde Tombaugh when he discovered Pluto, and a 16-in. reflector used in the visitors' night viewing program. Located at the newer nearby Anderson Mesa station are 72-in. (183-cm), 42-in. (107-cm), and 31-in. (79-cm) reflecting telescopes and a 24-in. (60-cm) Schmidt telescope used in the search for asteroids and other near-earth objects. Anderson Mesa is also the site of the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer program, a joint venture of the Lowell Observatory, the U.S. Naval Observatory, and the Naval Research Laboratory. Many discoveries of fundamental importance have been made by the observatory, especially by V. M. …
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Full text Article Lowell Observatory

From Astronomy Encyclopedia
Observatory founded in 1894 by Percival LOWELL at Flagstaff, Arizona, at an altitude of 2200m (7300ft). It is managed by a sole trustee who is a Lowell descendant, while an internal advisory board and director supervise day-to-day operations. It is famous for Lowell's investigations of Mars, Vesto…
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Full text Article Lowell Observatory

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
astronomical observatory located in Flagstaff, Ariz.; it was founded in 1894 by Percival Lowell , the American astronomer who popularized the idea that Mars might support intelligent life. Its original telescope, still in operation, is a 24-in. (61-cm) refractor; also located at the Mars Hill site…
| 280 words
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Full text Article Lowell Observatory

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
A privately owned observatory at Flagstaff, Arizona, at an altitude of 2210 meters, set up by the US astronomer Percival Lowell in 1895. For many years it was the site of the huge Clark Telescope, a 24-inch (60.96-cm) refractor that was the largest of its generation. The US astronomer Clyde W. …
| 111 words
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Full text Article Lowell Observatory

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
US astronomical observatory founded by Percival Lowell at Flagstaff, Arizona, with a 61-cm/24-in refractor opened in 1896. The observatory now operates other telescopes at a nearby site on Anderson Mesa, including the 1.83-m/72-in Perkins reflector of Ohio State and Ohio Wesleyan universities. In…
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Full text Article Lowell, Percival

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
US astronomer who predicted the existence of a planet beyond Neptune, starting the search that led to the discovery of Pluto in 1930. In 1894 he founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he reported seeing ‘canals’ (now known to be optical effects and natural formations) on the…
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Full text Article Tombaugh, Clyde William

From Chambers Biographical Dictionary
1906-97 US astronomer He was born in Streator, Illinois. Too poor to attend college, he built his own telescope, and in 1929 became an assistant at the Lowell Observatory. In 1933 he won a scholarship to the University of Kansas and received an MA in 1936. Percival Lowell had predicted the existence…
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Full text Article Lowell, Percival

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
1855–1916, American astronomer, b. Boston, grad. Harvard, 1876; brother of Abbott Lawrence Lowell and Amy Lowell. He visited Korea and Japan, where he acted as counselor and foreign secretary to the Korean Special Mission to the United States and wrote several books about East Asia. Becoming…
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(sā'rō tōlō'lō), astronomical observatory located on Cerro Tololo peak, Chile, with offices in La Serena, about 40 mi (64 km) to the west. Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), it is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), which also operates…
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Full text Article Lowell, Percival

From Astronomy Encyclopedia
Wealthy American diplomat and amateur astronomer from a distinguished family; he built the LOWELL OBSERVATORY and became famous for his observations of Mars and his theory that the planet was inhabited by intelligent beings. Lowell graduated from Harvard in 1876 with a distinction in mathematics. …
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Full text Article Tombaugh, Clyde William (1906-1997)

From The Hutchinson Dictionary of Scientific Biography
Place: United States of America Subject : biography, astronomy US astronomer whose painstaking work led to his discovery of Pluto. Tombaugh was born on 4 February 1906 in Streator, Illinois. He had a deep fascination for astronomy and constructed a 23-cm/9-in telescope out of parts of old machinery…
| 444 words
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