Reading Nature, Observing Science: Examining Material Practices in the Lick Observatory Archives and Kenneth S. Norris PapersMain MenuIntroduction to the Lick Observatory ArchivesThe Lick Observatory: Imaging the CosmosThe Lick Observatory: Eclipse ExpeditionsEclipse Intro page (first in a path)Introduction to Kenneth S. Norris PapersKenneth S. Norris Papers: Natural History in PracticeKenneth S. Norris Papers: Pedagogy and ConservationConnections: In Relation to NatureThese images demonstrate the different constructions of nature in the two archivesConnections: Materials of ObservationVisualization of the ConnectionsVisualizes the connections between all the contentReading Nature, Observing ScienceCaptions and information for the cases of objects on display at UCSC Special CollectionsAlex Moore6cd84a9f7efd71803c15562e48a509db9e0bb5a6Christine Turkb279a3dcf419860f915007f04f08e6fc0f8662ceDanielle Crawford22ce6a14f83c9ff73c3545a665951a092258f08e
Great Spiral Nebula (M51), photographer unknown (likely James Keeler), 1899.
1media/UA36/UA36_Bx463B_spiral1899.jpg2016-05-11T22:14:56-07:00Craig Dietrich2d66800a3e5a1eaee3a9ca2f91f391c8a689349091848This is a four-hour exposure of the Great Spiral Nebula using the 36" Crossley reflector. Note the loss of detail described by Perrine or "faint nebulosity" described in the letters here; compare with the image of the spiral galaxy from 1914. N.B.: Astronomers did not yet understand the difference between nebulae and galaxies, believing that they were of the same nature. Most thought that all of these distant structures were contained within the Milky Way galaxy itself. The difference was confirmed in the 1920s; the work of one of the Lick's astronomers, Heber Curtis, contributed in part to this development.plain2016-06-06T16:03:25-07:001899Lick ObservatoryChristine Turkb279a3dcf419860f915007f04f08e6fc0f8662ce
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12016-06-01T17:58:36-07:00Christine Turkb279a3dcf419860f915007f04f08e6fc0f8662ceCase 5: Photographing and Printing the CosmosChristine Turk34The middle and bottom shelves of case 5 display documents, images, and objects related to the early astrophotographic work of the Lick Observatory. How can we obtain "objective" representations of a galaxy or a nebula? How was Lick astronomers' idea of objective representation negotiated through aesthetic concerns? How is our idea of the reality of the cosmos--then, as now--a matter of aesthetic expectations created by certain standards and conventions of cosmic representation? Click the above link to read more.gallery2016-06-06T13:36:36-07:00Christine Turkb279a3dcf419860f915007f04f08e6fc0f8662ce
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12016-06-06T10:45:12-07:00Great Spiral Nebula, photographer unknown (likely James Keeler), 1899.2plain2016-06-06T15:49:05-07:00This is a four-hour exposure of the Great Spiral Nebula using the 36" Crossley reflector. Note the blurriness and "loss of nebulosity," or the lack of nebular glow, described by Perrine's article, in comparison with the glass plate image of the spiral nebula from 1914. N.B.: Astronomers did not yet understand the difference between nebulae and galaxies, believing that they were of the same nature. Most thought that all of these distant structures were contained within the Milky Way galaxy itself. The difference was confirmed in the 1920s; the work of one of the Lick's astronomers, Heber Curtis, contributed in part to this development.