Jump to content

Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory

Coordinates: 43°39′47.47″N 79°23′40.6″W / 43.6631861°N 79.394611°W / 43.6631861; -79.394611
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 206.47.191.132 (talk) at 17:29, 5 February 2008 (→‎The move: typo?). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The observatory as it was originally built. The main building on the right, with the "dome" visible. The roof of the smaller buried building is just visible over the fence. Painted by William Armstrong in 1852.
The newer observatory before it was moved, looking to the southwest. This image is the same orientation (although a different direction) as the one below; the reduction in size and general realignment made during the move is evident.
The "Old Observatory" looking east-southeast. The dome has been sealed for some time.

The Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory, also known as the Louis Beaufort Stewart Observatory, is a small observatory located on the grounds of what is now the University of Toronto. The observatory was originally part of a worldwide research project run by Edward Sabine, constructed in 1840 in order to determine what was causing fluctuations in the magnetic declination. Measurements from the Toronto site demonstrated that sunspots were responsible for this effect on Earth's magnetic field.[1] When this project ended, the observatory was taken over by the Canadian government, greatly expanded in 1855, and operated as a meteorological station for over fifty years. The observatory is considered to be the beginning of astronomy in Canada, as it was the first scientific institution in the country.[2] Although modified and even moved, it remains the oldest building on campus.

Sabine's study

It had long been noticed that compasses tended to "wander" from north over different locations and periods of time, which affected navigation to varying degrees. It was also believed that the same effects might be causing weather to change, so that studying the magnetic variance might lead to better weather prediction. In 1839 the British Government and the Royal Society in London established a program under Sabine's direction to better understand this effect, setting up four magnetic observation stations in Capetown, St. Helena, Hobart, Tasmania, and (eventually) Toronto. Teams of Royal Artillery officers were sent out to make the measurements.

The team assigned to Canada originally planned to build their observatory on Saint Helen's Island off Montreal, but the local rocks proved to have a high "magnetic influence", and the decision was made to move to Toronto instead. The team arrived in 1839, and set up camp at Fort York in a disused barracks while construction started on new buildings. A ten-acre plot of land on King's College was eventually secured. At the time, the college itself was located where Queen's Park stands today; the observatory was given land in what was then an unused field to the west.

The observatory, officially Her Majesty's Magnetical and Meteorological Observatory at Toronto, was completed the next year. It consisted of two log buildings, one for the magnetic instruments, and a smaller semi-buried building nearby for "experimental determinations". The main building also had a small "dome" connected to it on its northern end, containing a theodolite used to make astronomical measurements for the accurate determination of the local time. The buildings were constructed with as little metal as possible, and what it did use was made of brass or copper, non-magnetic materials.[3] A small barracks was built nearby to house the crew.

Using the measurements from the Toronto and Hobart sites, Sabine noticed both short term fluctuations over the period of hours, and longer term variations over months. He quickly concluded that these were due to the number of visible sunspots. He published two introductory papers on the topic in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, the first in 1851, a collection of early measurements, the second in 1852 correlated with Heinrich Schwabe's sunspot measurements, which had been made widely available in Alexander von Humboldt's Cosmos, also published in 1851.[4] With further data collected from the Toronto site, he was later able to demonstrate conclusively that the eleven-year sunspot cycle was the cause of a similar variation in the Earth's field.[3] He published a third and conclusive paper on the topic in 1856, On Periodical Laws discoverable in the mean effects of the larger Magnetic Disturbances. In this paper, he singled out the Toronto site for particular praise.[5]

Meteorological Service

In 1853 the Royal Society's project was concluded, and the observatory was to be abandoned. The fledgling colonial government had a lengthy debate on the issue, and eventually decided to take over operations. While the other three sites soon disappeared, the Toronto observatory was instead upgraded, expanding its mission to become a meteorological station under the direction of the Ministry of Marine and Fisheries. Along with this expansion, it was decided to replace the original cabins with a permanent structure.[6]

The current building was designed in 1853 by local architect, Frederick Cumberland, who was also working on the design of University College, which was being built just north of the Observatory to replace King's College. The new design, built of stone, consisted of a single building with an attached tower containing the theodolite. The new building was completed in 1855, located directly opposite the entrance of today's Convocation Hall. University College was completed in 1857, making the new Observatory the oldest remaining building on campus. Among its other uses, in 1880 measurements from the site were used as part of the effort to develop standard time.[7] It remained the official time keeper for Canada until 1905, when that responsibility was transferred to the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa.

In 1881 the director of the observatory, Charles Carpmeal, suggested that a quality telescope be added to the observatory. He felt that direct solar observations would lead to a better understanding of sunspot effects on weather, it still being believed that there was some direct connection. Coincidentally, the Canadian government (having formed in 1867) was interested in taking part in the major international effort to accurately record the Transit of Venus in December 1882. This led to the purchase of the 6-inch Cooke Refracting Telescope, which was mounted on a large stone pillar that raised it high enough up the tower to have a reasonable field of view. Ironically, the new telescope was unable to take part in the transit measurements due to bad weather.[8][2]

The move

Louis B Stewart Observatory, looking north-northeast with Hart House in the background. Now used as the UTSU's office.

By the 1890s, the observatory was being crowded by the rapidly growing university. Electrification of the tramways along College Street, just to the south, and the large amounts of metal being used in the modern buildings surrounding the site threw off the instruments. A new magnetic observatory was opened in 1898 in Agincourt, a suburb northeast of the city.[9]

By 1907, the new university buildings completely surrounded the observatory; dust from the construction clogged the meteorological instruments, and the use of electric lighting at night made useful astronomical work impossible. The Meteorological Office decided to abandon the site, and move to a new building on the north end of campus on Bloor Street. The Cooke Refractor moved with the Meteorological Office, and later to the new David Dunlap Observatory north of the city. The instrument was later donated to the Canada Science and Technology Museum in 1984.

Ownership of the now-disused Observatory building was turned over to the University. The University was aware of the problems with the site, and was originally going to simply abandon it. However, Louis Beaufort Stewart campaigned for it to be saved, eventually arranging for it to be re-constructed on a more suitable site, and made part of the Department of Surveying and Geodesy he belonged to. A new site just east of the main University College building (south of Hart House) was selected. Demolition work was carried out in 1907, the stones simply left in place over the winter, and a smaller building was constructed out of them in 1908.[10]

The Department of Surveying and Geodesy used the observatory until the 1950s. The lower portions of the now-smaller office area were used for a variety of purposes over the years, including a police substation, a phone switchboard, and today the University of Toronto Students' Union (UTSU)'s head office.[7]

There are plans to develop the site directly next to the Observatory as the Polaris Climate Change Observatory.[11]

References

  1. ^ J.G. Hodgins (1910). "The Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory, Toronto". L.K. Cameron / Schools and Colleges of Ontario. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b The Discovery Channel (1999). "Astronomy in Canada". The Discovery Channel. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b Canadian Space Agency (2005). "Canada's First Magnetic Observatory". Canadian Space Agency. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Morley K. Thomas (1970). "Brief History of Meteorological Services in Canada". Volume 9 Number 1. Canadian Meteorological Service. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Lieut.-Col. Sabine (1854). "On Periodical Laws Discoverable in the Mean Effects of the Larger Magnetic Disturbances". Royal Society of London. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Thiessen, A. D. (1940)
  7. ^ a b University of Toronto Museum of Scientific Instruments. "The Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory". University of Toronto Museum of Scientific Instruments. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Beattie, B. (1982)
  9. ^ Natural Resources - Canada (2005). "Geomagnetism". Natural Resources - Canada. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Brad Faught. "Heavens Above: The Stewart Observatory has always inspired lofty dreams". University of Toronto Magazine. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Polaris Climate Change Observatory - Toronto

Further reading

43°39′47.47″N 79°23′40.6″W / 43.6631861°N 79.394611°W / 43.6631861; -79.394611

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Toronto_Magnetic_and_Meteorological_Observatory&oldid=189294562"