The Total Solar Eclipse of 1869 as Stimulus for Adoption of Physical-astronomy Techniques in the United States

Authors

Jennifer Lynn Bartlett, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for AstrophysicsFollow
Thomas Hockey, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for AstrophysicsFollow

Comments

First published in Physics in Perspective, v27 (2025) published by Springer Nature. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00016-025-00322-3

Document Type

Article

Publication Version

Published Version

Keywords

American astrophysics, astronomical spectroscopy, nineteenth century astronomy, solar eclipse expeditions, solar physics, total solar eclipse of 1869, United States Nautical Almanac Office

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Physics in Perspective

Volume

27

Issue

1

First Page

3

Last Page

25

Abstract

In the United States, techniques that would one day be called astrophysical were applied later than elsewhere and comparatively suddenly. Their entry into US main-stream astronomy was motivated by a quasi-stochastic phenomenon: a total eclipse of the Sun visible between the contiguous borders of that country. In reaction to the upcoming event, the US Nautical Almanac Office in particular invested time, workforce, and a great deal of money into the measurements of physical astronomy, especially spectroscopy. This occurred although none of its employees had ever expressed—at least, in writing—expertise or even interest in the subject beforehand. Once adopted, physical astronomy, and the investigations it enabled, moved slowly, but steadily, into the mainstream of American astronomy despite objections from traditionalists. In the twenty-first century, spectroscopy and other physical astronomy techniques are essential tools for all astronomers.

Department

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Original Publication Date

3-31-2025

Object Description

1 PDF File

DOI of published version

10.1007/s00016-025-00322-3

Repository

UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Copyright

©2025 The Author(s)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Bartlett, Jennifer Lynn and Hockey, Thomas, "The Total Solar Eclipse of 1869 as Stimulus for Adoption of Physical-astronomy Techniques in the United States" (2025). Faculty Publications. 6788.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facpub/6788