278 



HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY. 



autumn of 1854. In February, 1853, a large equatorial 

 telescope was ordered from Henry Fitz, of New York ; 

 and during the summer of the same year, a meridian 

 circle was ordered from Berlia The main building for 

 the observatory is 32 feet square, and it is surmounted by 

 a hemispherical dome, 23 feet in diameter. The dome 



OB8ERVATOBY OF MICHIGAN "UNIVERSITY. 



has an opening 32 inches wide, extending from near its 

 base to the zenith, and the opening is closed by a single 

 curved shutter, which slides in a groove, so that it may 

 be made to travel over to the opposite side of the dome. 

 A pier, whose foundations are laid ten feet beneath the 

 surface of the earth, rises through the center of the build- 

 ing to the height of 20 feet from the ground, and upon 

 this rests the great equatorial. On the east and west 



