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Paper: |
Through the Lens of History: The Unusual Circumstances Leading to the
Acquisition of the Lowell Spectrograph |
Volume: |
471, Origins of the Expanding Universe: 1912-1932 |
Page: |
165 |
Authors: |
Schindler, K. S. |
Abstract: |
In 1900 Lowell Observatory assistant Andrew Douglass advised his
employer Percival Lowell to purchase a state-of-the-art spectrograph from instrument\newline
maker John Brashear of Pennsylvania. Lowell agreed with Douglass's
suggestion, realizing that such an instrument was critical for the Observatory
staff's research. However, the purchase also fulfilled a little-known
obligation between Percival Lowell and Brashear that dated back to an accident
occurring in 1895. If not for this unusual incident that led to the purchase
of the spectrograph, the future of Lowell Observatory and, on a larger scale,
unmasking of the nature of the expanding universe, would likely have played out
much differently. |
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