Talk:Yerkes Observatory

Make up your minds: is it 100 or 102 cm?
Oh, dear ...

Tried to clear this up. Use of convert function gives slightly rounded numbers. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ozzie42 (talk • contribs) 22:26, 10 October 2020 (UTC)

Claim that Frederick Law Olmsted designed the grounds of Yerkes Observatory is misleading
Closer to the truth, I believe, that the grounds were designed by the architectural firm, Olmsted Brothers, comprised of John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. in 1906, three years after the death of the senior Olmsted. See: I'll update the article myself when I have time; other editors are welcome to confirm these references and update as well. Gosgood 15:16, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
 * PROPOSAL FOR THE PURCHASE OF THE YERKES OBSERVATORY SITE IN WILLIAMS BAY, WISCONSIN prepared by Aurora University. The proposal cites John Olmsted as the landscape architect. See Historic Yerkes Landscape page 5.
 * Treemendous,Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine See The Trees at Yerkes Observatory, at the bottom of the page.

102 cm (40 inch) refractor at the Yerkes Observatory
The 102 cm (40 inch) refractor at the Yerkes Observatory is a landmark telescope and there is practically nothing about it in this article. This is a major oversite and i hope someone gets around to writing an article on it re: it's history, construction, place in the world as the worlds largest refractor...etc. 64.0.112.58 (talk) 16:03, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

Largest refracting telescope ever used?
The article claims it is 'the largest refracting telescope ever used'. I hate to be a stickler, but what about the Swedish 1 meter solar telescope finished in 2002? -- Chetvorno TALK 18:06, 30 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Refracting telescopes are made of large pieces of glass whose edges are rounded in order to make small visible areas larger at a certain point (like a magnifying glass). While I have not read the whole article about the Swedish telescope, I find it highly unusual that they would make a refracting telescope which was dedicated to looking at the sun (it does not take up a small area comparatively).  Even the eight inch refracting telescope that I used had to be covered so that only a 2 inch diameter or less of the area of the glass be available to accept the light from the sun.  It is a large magnifying glass; have you ever used a magnifying glass to start a piece of paper on fire with the light from the sun focused onto it?  Please reread that article and tell me if you think that this is a huge magnifying glass that they use to look at the sun with or not.


 * Dangerous text striken from this summary. The telescope cap for viewing the sun via a refracting telescope with had (iirc) 6 layers of mylar covering it. -- carol (talk) 23:34, 30 June 2008 (UTC)


 * That cap with the ~2 inch diameter opening in it (the F-stop) was to make that telescope safe for viewing the moon with. Without that cap on, I could feel my eye being damaged from the intensity of that light -- light which is the moon reflecting sunlight, if I might add to this treatise which could be titled The Swedes do not have a one meter refracting telescope which is dedicated to looking at the sun with! -- carol (talk) 23:37, 30 June 2008 (UTC)
 * The Yerkes telescope is a 40 inch magnifying glass and since the time that these giant refracting scopes were made they started to use curved mirrored surfaces which need less length (which is possibly the real reason that this is the largest refracting telescope ever made). So, the eight inch refracting telescope I used was 12 feet long, but the 8 inch reflective telescope was approximately 2 foot long. This is the main reason that really large refracting telescopes are so old.  And I don't think that it is an issue of refracting telescopes providing an inferior view compared to reflecting telescopes; I think it is an issue of efficiency and the best surface for the application intended and evolution of the science.  A few decades later and they are making telescopes that look more like beehives than this tradtional model.... -- carol (talk) 21:06, 30 June 2008 (UTC) and edited by carol (talk) 23:34, 30 June 2008 (UTC)


 * 1 meter = 39.37 inches, slightly less than the 40 inches in the large refractor at Yerkes, but it seems very close. H Padleckas (talk) 04:27, 24 October 2015 (UTC)

"Chain Reaction" image
Someone who does not have a Wikipedia account has removed the image from "Chain Reaction" on the grounds that "Free images of this observatory exist, undermining any need for using a copyrighted image. It is being used to decorate/illustrate what an observatory looks like. The Licensing tag does not cover this usage." It is not being used to illustrate what an observatory looks like. Observatory roofs are not typically venues for gunfights. It does show Yerkes from an unusual point of view, but the reason I added it was to illustrate the item about its use in "Chain Reaction." It is a trivial but amusing incident in the history of Yerkes observatory. It's worth mentioning, and, having been mentioned, is worth illustrating. I don't believe anyone has ever staged a movie chase scene at Mt. Palomar or Lick.

This is not one of these split-second "popular culture" sightings, either. The portions of the film in and around Yerkes must be something like six or seven minutes' worth, maybe not quite as integral to the film as the scenes of Mt. Rushmore in North by Northwest, but important nevertheless. The first appearance of one the film's main characters, the Maggie McDermott, occurs when the hero and heroine find her at the eyepiece of the big refractor.

I've added the following fair use rationale to the image page, but am repeating it here.

The fair use rationale for this image according to the four factors is:

1) The purpose and character have been fundamentally transformed. In the movie, this image is a dramatic incident in the lives of the characters, who are engaging in a life-threatening gunfight. In the article, the image documents an amusing but non-dramatic moment in the history of Yerkes Observatory, namely the use of this dignified temple of science as a movie set.

2) The image is copied from a published work and is therefore on stronger ground regarding fair use then had it been copied from a nonpublished work.

3) The amount and substantiality of the portion taken is one frame from a two-hour movie, thus representing approximately 1/170,000 or 0.0006% of the work. Furthermore, the cinematic meaning of the frame relies on action and sound, both absent from the silent, still frame.

4) The effect of the use upon the potential market is negligible. It is not credible that anyone would decide not to buy the DVD of Chain Reaction as a result of the publication of this image in Wikipedia. Dpbsmith (talk) 01:43, 11 September 2008 (UTC)


 * You seem to want to re-write the copyright laws, you may want to re-think that. It does not matter how little impact your use of someone else work has -- it still belongs to them so you have to pass Wikipedia's requirements for usage.
 * There are several problems with your submission:
 * -Illustrating a "trivial but interesting moment in Yerkes' observatory's history" is by definition trivia. Just because it was used for a "significant chunk of a popular movie" does not mean this would be relevant or significant to Yerkes Observatory. There is no supporting reference as to why this would be significant, other than the fact that you noticed it (see also WP:OR).
 * -It fails WP:NONFREE Item 8 - Significance criteria. It does not "significantly increase readers' understanding" of Yerkes' observatory.
 * -It fails WP:NONFREE Item 10 - Image description page criteria. It does not have a "copyright tag that indicates which Wikipedia policy provision is claimed to permit the use". The tag used to support it is for "critical commentary and discussion of the cinema and television", its use is nether critical commentary or discussion of the cinema and television.
 * I will leave it to other editors to delete it. 75.196.92.3 (talk) 17:47, 11 September 2008 (UTC)(comment left at users talk page and refer to text there)

Focal length
there is no mention of thee focal length of the primary lens. He telescope is mentioned in the page of worlds longest telescopes. ''' — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.94.232.102 (talk) 15:10, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Focal length
there is no mention of thee focal length of the primary lens. He telescope is mentioned in the page of list_of_the_longest_optical_telescopes.

''' — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.94.232.102 (talk) 15:16, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

New Proposal to Save Yerkes Observatory Made Today
Contact: Chuck Ebeling 262-581-6229 ceebeling@hotmail.com

Press Points – Saving Yerkes Observatory – May 2, 2018

1.	A new foundation, the Yerkes Future Foundation (YFF), today sent an “Expression of Interest” letter to David Chiaro, associate VP of the University of Chicago, indicating that concerned citizens of the Geneva Lake areas have come together as a cohesive organization with the desire to work with the university regarding the transfer of ownership of Yerkes Observatory, including its contents and associated land. The university had previously announced it plans to close Yerkes on Oct. 1, 2018 and is open to proposals regarding its future.

2.	The chair of YFF is Dianna Colman, a local Geneva Lake area resident, who heads a group of founding members.

3.	It was on this day 125 years ago that the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 opened, and one of the displays was the revolutionary new 40-inch telescope – then and now the world’s largest operating through-the-lens telescope – which would be installed at the new Yerkes Observatory near the shores of Geneva Lake, Wisconsin, in 1897.

4.	The goals of YFF are to preserve the historic features of both the observatory building and the site and at the same time make the facility open to the public, available for youth development and continuing education as a science center.

5.	A public meeting is planned by YFF to introduce and discuss its Expression of Interest, to be held Monday, May 14, at George Williams College of Aurora University, at Williams Bay, Wisconsin, at 7 pm in the Seabury Room in Beasley Campus Center.

6.	This proposal is being made by YFF “with a genuine concern for all aspects of the Yerkes entity but also with a deep respect for the Village of Williams Bay, its citizenry, the greater Geneva Lake community and the future, science, astronomy and architectural students who will benefit from the open and enhanced environment of Yerkes Observatory.”

7.	The YFF believes an endowment of at least 10 to 15 million dollars will be needed to preserve and operate the observatory, depending on deferred capital expenses necessary to have the building and grounds meet minimum standards. 8.	The YFF encourages the University of Chicago to give their proposal prompt and thoughtful consideration and looks forward to entering a dialog with the university leading to a good result.

Orphaned references in Yerkes Observatory
I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Yerkes Observatory's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "MPC-object": From 1093 Freda:  From 1108 Demeter:  From 1503 Kuopio:  From 1541 Estonia:  From 1330 Spiridonia:  From 1277 Dolores:  From 1239 Queteleta:  From 1046 Edwin: </li> <li>From 1045 Michela: </li> <li>From 1058 Grubba: </li> <li>From 3789 Zhongguo: </li> <li>From 1079 Mimosa: </li> <li>From 1136 Mercedes: </li> <li>From 1024 Hale: </li> <li>From 993 Moultona: </li> <li>From W. Albert Hiltner: </li> <li>From 1252 Celestia: </li> <li>From 1061 Paeonia: </li> <li>From 1009 Sirene: </li> <li>From 1270 Datura: </li> </ul>

Reference named "springer":<ul> <li>From 1726 Hoffmeister: </li> <li>From 1270 Datura: </li> <li>From 1033 Simona: </li> <li>From 1079 Mimosa: </li> <li>From 1058 Grubba: </li> <li>From 1832 Mrkos: </li> <li>From 1503 Kuopio: </li> <li>From 789 Lena: </li> <li>From 1541 Estonia: </li> <li>From 1213 Algeria: </li> <li>From 2253 Espinette: </li> <li>From 4090 Říšehvězd: </li> <li>From 1252 Celestia: </li> <li>From Walter Scott Houston: </li> <li>From 1798 Watts: </li> <li>From 1045 Michela: </li> <li>From 1776 Kuiper: </li> <li>From 1046 Edwin: </li> <li>From 1312 Vassar: </li> <li>From 1277 Dolores: </li> <li>From 1009 Sirene: </li> <li>From Cornelis Johannes van Houten: </li> <li>From 1027 Aesculapia: </li> <li>From 993 Moultona: </li> <li>From 1108 Demeter: </li> <li>From 1136 Mercedes: </li> <li>From 2009 Voloshina: </li> <li>From 1781 Van Biesbroeck: </li> <li>From 1239 Queteleta: </li> <li>From 1330 Spiridonia: </li> <li>From 2227 Otto Struve: </li> <li>From 1093 Freda: </li> <li>From 1846 Bengt: </li> <li>From 1167 Dubiago: </li> <li>From 1061 Paeonia: </li> <li>From 1024 Hale: </li> <li>From 1804 Chebotarev: </li> <li>From 6349 Acapulco: </li> <li>From 1626 Sadeya: </li> </ul>

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 18:10, 30 October 2019 (UTC)

No mention of Pluto?
The main page has a fact today that the first known photograph of Pluto was taken at Yerkes Observatory in 1909. I'm wondering why it isn't mentioned in the article, as it seems like a very interesting part of its history. Cheesycow5 (talk) 22:31, 20 August 2021 (UTC)

Photo is presumably of the son, not the father?
The description of the photo of two men at a lens is titled "Alvan Clark polishes the big Yerkes objective lens in 1896". This implies it is the father, Alvan Clark, and the hyperlink points to him: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvan_Clark. But his page says he died in 1887 - 9 years before the stated photo date. I think it will be the son and, indeed, his page has that same picture and description (minus the link): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvan_Graham_Clark.

I think the picture Description should change from Alvan Clark to Alvan Graham Clark (or similar) and the link be pointed to that son's page.

I'll double check dates and change it in a few days if no one shouts otherwise.

Gordon Panther (not logged in on this computer and not got signon to hand). 92.14.11.71 (talk) 00:36, 2 April 2023 (UTC)

Current status
Under Notable staff it says "Dr. Amanda Bauer was the first astronomer hired by the Yerkes Future Foundation, which took over the observatory, its restoration and operation from the University of Chicago in 2020." I think that event should be included in the timeline under Current status, preferably with a citation.--agr (talk) 15:37, 24 May 2024 (UTC)