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Canada's Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and the rise of 20th Century Astrophysics and Technology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2016

James E. Hesser ,
David Bohlender  and
Dennis Crabtree
James E. Hesser
Affiliation:
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC, Canada, V9E 2E7 email: [email protected]
David Bohlender
Affiliation:
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC, Canada, V9E 2E7 email: [email protected]
Dennis Crabtree
Affiliation:
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC, Canada, V9E 2E7 email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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Construction of Canada's Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) commenced in 1914 with first light on 6 May 1918. As distinct from the contemporaneous development with private funding of major observatories in the western United States, DAO was (and remains) funded by the federal government. Canada's initial foray into ‘big science’, creation of DAO during the First World War was driven by Canada's desire to contribute significantly to the international rise of observational astrophysics enabled by photographic spectroscopy. In 2009 the Observatory was designated a National Historic Site. DAO's varied, rich contributions to the astronomical heritage of the 20th century continue in the 21st century, with particularly strong ties to Maunakea.

Keywords

General: history and philosophy of astronomy; Instrumentation: adaptive opticsspectrographs; Astronomical databases: miscellaneous
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 11 , General Assembly A29A: Astronomy in Focus , August 2015 , pp. 109 - 111
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2016