The Observatory of Bogota, Colombia, Founded 1803. By Peter Abrahams. Victor Lopez provided considerable assistance in obtaining and translating Spanish language documents for this text. Bogota Observatory, founded 1803, is the oldest permanent structure in the Americas that was designed for use of a fixed telescope for astronomical observations. There were some interesting predecessors. There were many naked-eye observatories of native Americans including the Mayans, the Incas, and the Aztecs. The lunar eclipse of 1578 was observed from Panama by Juan Palomares. Jaime Juan and Dr. Farfán observed the lunar eclipses of 1578, 1582 and 1584 from the Americas. 1631, mariner Roger Fry traveled to South America to perform observations for astronomer John Bainbridge of Oxford. He was captured by the Portuguese, and from prison in Brazil, Fry observed a solar eclipse and other phenomena, sending accounts back to Bainbridge. German astronomer Georg Markgraf accompanied a military and exploratory expedition to Dutch settlements in Brazil in 1638. By June, he was in the Pernambuco region, observing a lunar eclipse through inclement weather. He constructed an observatory and installed a quadrant, sextant, and a telescope seven Rheinland feet in length (possibly in addition to some smaller telescopes). Solar images were projected into a chamber and drawings of sunspots were made. Planetary positions were recorded, and the Magellanic clouds were noted to be without stars. The characteristics of Markgraf's observatory are unknown but it does not seem to have been permanent in any sense. Markgraf died in 1644 in Africa. The Observatorio de Montevideo, Uruguay, is cited as being founded in 1789. The scientific expedition of Malaspina sailed into Montevideo in September, 1789, with plans for extensive observations using instruments acquired in London by the Observatorio de San Fernando. The transit of Mercury of November 5, 1789 was observed by Alcalá Galiano and two other sailors from the balcony of the house of Doña Manuela Ruiz. Galiano kept a "Diario Astronomico en 1789 - Montevideo", which survives in Madrid's Naval Museum, and his measurements were used by Le Verrier. Instruments were set up at this house, and a small quadrant and a pendulum were installed a block away. This site constitutes the first Observatorio de Montevideo, which later acquired a permanent structure with two meridian telescopes, by Troughton & Simms and by Salmoiraghi; and a Zeiss photographic refractor. There are two persons responsible for the founding of Bogota Observatory. Jose Mutis is the central figure in early science in Colombia. Mutis was a physician named 'first botanist & astronomer' by King Carlos III for the Botanical Expedition of 1783, which was equipped with a Sisson quadrant, two Adams theodolites, two Emery chronometers. They were supplied in Spain with a transit instrument, a telescope by Herschel and two achromatic telescopes, but these were lost in transit. At the College of Rosario, Mutis taught mathematics, physics and, against the mainstream Dominican teachings, taught Copernican astronomy, possibly the first in America to do so. Francisco José de Caldas, born 1768 in Colombia, was a lawyer with an interest in astronomy. Circa 1785, he began measuring meridians and calculating latitudes & azimuths. To mark solstices, Caldas measured the amplitude of the ecliptic. He made a sundial, a quadrant 16 inches in radius of wood, octants, gnomons, sectors, and barometers. In 1796, he decided to devote himself to science, making many meteorological and geographical measurements, including the determination of local longitude using published ephemerides and astronomical phenomena including lunar eclipses and occultations of stars & of the moons of Jupiter. For the lunar eclipse of 1797, he used an achromat of 30 inches focus to derive longitude. He obtained lenses to build a telescope in 1799, that provided views of Saturn's rings and Jupiter's belts and moons. He wrote of his first observations with this refractor: "It was one o'clock in the morning and I could leave neither the sky nor my telescope. Saturn and Jupiter came and went in my imagination; the zones, the ring, the satellites, all of this filled my soul with pleasure and contentment." Caldas later purchased a larger achromat. The arrival of Alexander von Humboldt in Colombia gave a great impetus to science in the area. In 1801, Humboldt tutored Caldas in meteorology and astronomy, giving him star tables and catalogs, and teaching computation. Humboldt had a significant influence on Caldas the astronomer; instructing him on the use of tables of atmospheric refraction and the use of instruments. He provided Caldas with an octant and a quadrant, and star catalogs & ephemerides. Before leaving, Humboldt sold Caldas a John Bird 18 inch quadrant, equipped with a micrometer, for 400 pesos, funds beyond Caldas' means but supplied by a Cartagena lawyer. Caldas promptly used the quadrant to observe the 1802 summer solstice, and had plans to make a chart of the southern sky, to measure atmospheric refraction, and to derive the longitude. Maps were made using eclipses of the sun & moon; and Galilean occultations. Caldas observed the transit of Mercury of Nov. 9, 1802, timing the final two contact points; and also lunar eclipses and the solar eclipse of February 1803. He acquired a telescope and a chronometer through Mutis, which were mostly used to measure latitude. He kept a journal of astronomical observations, which seems to have been lost. However, he did not develop a consistent program of astronomical research. As time passed, he became more devoted to botany and a major Botanical Expedition. The Bogotá observatory was conceived by Jose Mutis and built with the intention that Caldas be director. The site chosen was the garden of the Botanical Expedition. It is close to the equator, and in 1803 there was no other observatory at a higher elevation. It may be the last of the traditional tower observatories, and was designed by cathedral architect Domingo Petres. The 56 foot octagonal tower, diameter 27 feet, has instrument rooms in successive stories. A second 'staircase' tower is 72 feet tall. There were telescopes in upper rooms of both towers. On May 24, 1802, the construction of the building began, and it was completed August 20, 1803. Caldas was appointed Director in 1805, and in December 1805 began programs of astronomical observation, meteorological projects, teaching local students, and he helped start a weekly scientific journal. Mutis died in 1808, leaving Caldas the directorship of the Observatory. During July of 1810, political unrest in Colombia reached a critical point. Caldas was forced to abandon scientific work, become a military engineer, and engage in production of maps and armaments. In December, 1814, Simon Bolivar captured the Observatory and took hostage Caldas' caretaker. Caldas was an advocate of independence from Spain and allowed activists to meet at the observatory. As a consequence of this, he was arrested by Spanish troops and executed in 1816. Caldas is a national hero to Colombians, probably a unique example of an observatory director elevated to heroic status. The instruments of the observatory included those provided by King Carlos for Mutis' Botanical Expedition of 1783, which had never been taken from their boxes: a Sisson quadrant, two Adams theodolites, two Emery chronometers; without the transit, two achromatic telescopes, and Herschel reflector that were lost in transit. Caldas acquired four Dollond achromatic telescopes, three Dollond reflectors, a graphometer, theodolite, a sextant, octants, globes, small telescopes, assorted other instruments, and in 1806 a Graham astronomical clock. Stroobant lists a 90mm meridian telescope and an 85mm equatorial telescope. Many of these instruments have been lost or destroyed. After Caldas was shot by order of the Spanish military in 1816, scientific work ceased until 1823, when a group led by French chemist Boussingault arrived, and used the observatory for meteorological work. This was followed by more inactivity, until the late 1820s, when came more meteorological studies; and in the 1830s, the publication of astronomical almanacs. In 1848, the observatory was used as classrooms for military engineers, until a military coup of 1854. The new regime had no use for the facility and rented it out as an ice cream parlor. But in 1859, classes resumed and an almanac was published. During 1862, the observatory was occupied by the army as a strategic site from whence to shoot and shell any opponents. A new director in 1866 made observations of lunar occultations of stars and planets. This was interrupted in May 1867, when the observatory was transformed into a prison for the recently overthrown president. Fortunately, various plans to assault the building and rescue him were not undertaken. 1868 brought director Jose Gonzalez Benito, who made variable star observations and taught meteorology, astronomy, paleontology and geology. The first of six Annals of the observatory was published in 1882. Julio Garavito became director in 1891, and despite being equipped with antiquated instruments, was active in both observation and theory. Studies included mathematical optics, lunar motion, Newtonian mechanics, and criticism of relativity. Further civil unrest caused problems at the National University, and engineering classes moved to the observatory. Garavito died in 1920, after which the government attempted to engage foreign scientists as replacements, which offended the proteges of Garavito, and as a result the observatory ceased to function for a decade. The building was not maintained, instruments deteriorated or were lost, and only meteorological work was continued. In 1930, new director Jorge Lleras, a student of Garavito, brought the observatory back to life. He resigned in 1949, replaced by Ruiz Wilches, who directed the construction of a new observatory in 1952, Observatorio de la Ciudad Universitaria, with a 4 element apochromatic refractor, of 20 cm aperture and 3 meter focal length, previously used at the Observatory of Marseilles, France. The 1803 observatory is today on the grounds of the residence of the President of Colombia. It is still the offices for the national observatory, and houses the largest astronomical library in the country. The building is intact and in good condition; however, there have been no astronomical observations for over 70 years. ========================= Bibliography, Bogota Observatory: Alcacer, Antonio de. Fray Domingo de Petres, arquitecto capuchino. Puente del Comun, 1958. Amaya, Jose Antonio. Celestino Mutis y la Expedicion Botanica. Madrid, 1986. (Annular Eclipse.) Modern Astronomy, Nov.-Dec. 1974, pp76-77. (Visit to Bogota). Appel, John Wilton. Francisco Jose de Caldas: a scientist at work in Nueva Granada. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 84:5. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. 1994. (154 pp.) Bateman, Alfredo D. Francisco Jose de Caldas, el hombre y el sabio: su vida, su obra. Cali: Banco Popular, 1978. (427pp.) Bateman, Alfredo D. El Observatorio Astronomico de Bogota; monografia historica con ocasion del 150 aniversario de su fundacion. Bogota: Universidad Nacional, 1954. (189pp.) Bateman, Alfredo D. Paginas para la historia de la ingenieria colombiana. Bogota: Editorial Kelly, 1972. (634pp.) Caldas, Francisco Jose de. Descripcion del Observatorio astronomico de Santafe de Bogota. From journal: Semanario del Nueve Reino de Granada, 1808; ed. Francisco Jose de Caldas. Reprinted: Semanario del Nueve Reino de Granada; Bogota: Ministerio de Educacion de Columbia, 1942. Caldas, Francisco Jose de. Obras completas de Francisco Jose de Caldas. Bogota: Impr. Nacional, 1966. (531pp.) Corradine, Alberto. Historia de la arquitectura colombiana. Cundinamarca: Biblioteca de Cundinamarca, 1989. Donnelly, Marian. A Short History of Observatories. Eugene: U. Oregon, 1973. Gutierrez, Ramon. Fray Domingo Petres: y su obra arquitectonica en Colombia. Bogota: Banco de la Republica, 1999. (191pp.) Keenan, Philip. The Earliest National Observatories in Latin America. Journal for the History of Astronomy 22 (1991) 21-30. Lleras, Jorge Alvarez. Resena Historica del Observatorio Astronomico y Meteorologico de Bogota, desde el ano de 1803 hasta el presente. Bogota: Aguila Negra Editorial, 1931. McConnell, Anita. Instruments for South America. pp113-118. In: Dragoni, Giorgio; and Anita McConnell and Gerard L’E. Turner; ed. Proceedings of the eleventh International Scientific Instrument Symposium, Bologna U., Italy, Sept. 9-14, 1991. Bologna: Grafis edizioni, 1994. 256p. Sluiter, Engel. The First Known Telescopes Carried to America, Asia, and the Arctic, 1614- 39. Journal for the History of Astronomy 28:2 (1997) 141-145. Steuart,John. Bogota in 1836-7: being a narrative of an expedition to the capital of New- Granada, and a residence there of eleven months. N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, 1838. (312pp.) Stroobant, P., J. Philippot, E. Delporte, & E. Merlin. Les Observatoires Astronomiques et les Astronomes. Bruxelles: Hayez, 1907. ------------------------------------------------------------- Early Observatories in South America. González, Ariosto D., ed. El primer observatorio de Montevideo. (Etchecopar, Carlos A. El pasaje de Mercurio observado en Montevideo el 5 de noviembre de 1789.) (Montero, Carlos Pérez. La casa del Observatorio y el Montevideo de la época.) Montevideo: Instituto Histórico y Geográfico del Uruguay, 1955. 148pp., 72 plates. North, J.D. Georg Markgraf: An Astronomer in the New World. pp. 394-423 in: E. van den Boogaart et al. (eds.), Johann Maurits van Nassau-Siegen: 1604-1679: A Humanist Prince in Europe and Brazil. The Hague, 1979. Reprinted, pp. 215-234: North, J.D. The Universal Frame: Historical Essays in Astronomy, Natural Philosophy and the Scientific Method. London: Hambledon, 1989. Nunis, Doyce B., ed. The 1769 transit of Venus: the Baja California observations of Jean- Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche, Vicente de Doz, and Joaquín Velázquez Cárdenas de León. Los Angeles: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 1982. 185 pp. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- home page: http://home.europa.com/~telscope/binotele.htm 2 November 2005