The Bradley Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Agnes Scott College. It is located in Decatur, Georgia, 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Atlanta, Georgia, (USA). The observatory's largest telescope, the Beck Telescope, is a vintage 30 inch (750 mm) Cassegrain reflector built in 1930. The mount was built by Warner & Swasey, and the optics were built by Fecker. The telescope was originally owned and operated by an amateur astronomer, Mr. Henry Gibson. He offered the telescope for sale in Popular Astronomy magazine in 1947, seeking to upgrade his own telescope. Agnes Scott purchased it in 1947 for about $15,000 after an offer from the Soviet Union was declined for reasons related to the Cold War. For many years, the Beck telescope was the largest in the Southeast United States, only superseded when the Fernbank Observatory opened in 1972 with its 36-inch (910 mm) telescope.[4]
 Bradley Observatory entrance and dome. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Organization | Agnes Scott College | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Location | Decatur, Georgia | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 33°45′54.84″N 84°17′38.98″W / 33.7652333°N 84.2941611°W[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Altitude | 315.27 m (1034.37 ft)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Established | 1950 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | bradley.agnesscott.edu | ||||||||||||||||||||
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  Location of Bradley Observatory | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Related media on Commons | |||||||||||||||||||||
The observatory was originally built in order to house the Beck telescope and was dedicated in 1950.[5] It also houses classrooms, an observing plaza, faculty offices, and a 70-seat planetarium. The observatory is a contributing structure within the National Register South Candler Street-Agnes Scott College Historic District. Dr. Chris DePree served as Director of Bradley Observatory from 1997-2021. The current observatory director is Dr. Alexandra Yep.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Agnes Scott College. "Bradley Observatory - Facilities". Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved October 16, 2007.
- ^ U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey traverse station at Bradley Archived February 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 16, 2007.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ Lecture by Chris De Pree, "Sixty Years of Amateur Astronomy," November 9, 2007
- ^ Bradley Observatory. "Bradley Observatory homepage". Archived from the original on November 26, 2005. Retrieved December 16, 2005.
External links
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- Official website
- Atlanta Clear Sky Clock Forecasts of observing conditions covering Bradley Observatory.
