Daniel Scholl Observatory

Daniel Scholl Observatory was a 19th-century astronomical observatory built by Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It no longer stands today, but for eight decades it was the college's window on the night sky, equipped with one of the finer refracting telescopes of its era.

About Daniel Scholl Observatory

The observatory was commissioned by Franklin and Marshall College and named after Daniel Scholl of Maryland, whose daughter donated the funds needed to build it. Construction began in 1884 and the building was dedicated on June 16, 1886, at a total cost, including equipment, of $13,579, a considerable sum for a college observatory at the time.

History

Beyond its role in teaching astronomy, the observatory served as an official Pennsylvania weather station starting in 1889. In 1925, the entire building was moved about 200 yards north on campus to make way for a new dormitory. It continued to stand for another four decades before being razed in 1966, and no trace of the original building remains on campus today.

Telescopes & research

The observatory's main instrument was an 11-inch refracting telescope built by the Repsold firm of Hamburg, Germany, fitted with a lens by the renowned optician Alvan Clark & Sons of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It sat under a steel dome supplied by Grubb & Sons of Dublin, Ireland, and was rounded out with a chronometer, chronograph, transit instrument, and precision clock, a full observatory tool kit for its time.

Location & getting there

Daniel Scholl Observatory stood on the Franklin and Marshall College campus in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Since the building was demolished in 1966, there's no physical site to visit, but the college's campus in Lancaster remains open to explore.

Visiting Daniel Scholl Observatory

The observatory itself has not existed since 1966, so there's nothing to tour today. Anyone interested in its history is better served by Franklin and Marshall College's own archives and campus history resources than by visiting in person.

See your named star from here

Daniel Scholl Observatory's 11-inch refractor is long gone, but the coordinates behind a named star don't depend on any one telescope still standing. Name a star through star-register.eu and you'll get precise RA/Dec coordinates that work with any working telescope today. Explore the stars already named by others in our catalogue.