That guidlines JQA gave for the observatory are slightly odd... The importance of the observatories to navigation were very firmly established by the time JQA came along. They were also subject to some security in terms of trying to limit the sale of high-tech observation equipment. Guiseppe Piazzi sought to acquire the "circle" (a telescope mounted with vernier scaled altitude/azimuth circles) for his new observatory at Palermo, he had a devils time getting approval for it from Great Britain, who didn't want to sell such high tech stuff out of the country. He succeeded - and ultimately discovered Ceres with it -- with the help of Gauss. JQA was ambassador to UK during the period Piazzi was seeking to acquire his circle. Whether that had come up in discussioins, and whether accurate measurement to aid navigation and give a competitive lead were major conversation items, it would surprise me that, 20 yrs later, he didn't at least realize how important the Naval Observatory would become to our naval competitiveness.
Tara, where do you get these snippets of history that few (like me) know anything about. Sure I can search and find the answers but that isn't fair to the rules.
Thanks for the entertainment, knowledge and enjoyment Tara. You are amazing.
That guidlines JQA gave for the observatory are slightly odd... The importance of the observatories to navigation were very firmly established by the time JQA came along. They were also subject to some security in terms of trying to limit the sale of high-tech observation equipment. Guiseppe Piazzi sought to acquire the "circle" (a telescope mounted with vernier scaled altitude/azimuth circles) for his new observatory at Palermo, he had a devils time getting approval for it from Great Britain, who didn't want to sell such high tech stuff out of the country. He succeeded - and ultimately discovered Ceres with it -- with the help of Gauss. JQA was ambassador to UK during the period Piazzi was seeking to acquire his circle. Whether that had come up in discussioins, and whether accurate measurement to aid navigation and give a competitive lead were major conversation items, it would surprise me that, 20 yrs later, he didn't at least realize how important the Naval Observatory would become to our naval competitiveness.
Tara, where do you get these snippets of history that few (like me) know anything about. Sure I can search and find the answers but that isn't fair to the rules.
Thanks for the entertainment, knowledge and enjoyment Tara. You are amazing.
Interesting questions as always. The answers are usually surprising.
Always interesting facts rarely shared be History teachers.
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Wonderful nuggets of history. Thanks Tara!
Thank you Tara 😊😉
Thank you, Tara.
These are fun Tara! Thanks
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