Astronomy within the Stacks

Are you hoping to check out the Geminid meteor shower, which peaks in mid-December? Do you find enjoyment searching for constellations, such as Orion, or spotting Sirius, the Dog Star?

If you have an interest in studying the stars, you may be surprised to learn that Hagley Library holds fascinating collection materials on astronomy. Here are a just few out-of-this-world items that you can find within the Library’s stacks:

Hagley Library’s rare books collection contains examples of centuries-old publications on astronomy. Below is an image from our edition of Urania or, A Compleat View of the Heavens, written by John Hill and published in 1754.

Another work is Le Monde dans la Lvne by John Wilkins, published even earlier, in 1655. The illustration to the right is of a celestial sphere.

Contemporary space science is also represented within our published collections. One example is NASA’s Discovery Program: the first twenty years of competitive planetary exploration, written by Susan Niebur and published in 2023.

Moving along to our archival collection, one can find correspondence between Francis Gurney du Pont (1850-1904), who had an interest in astronomy, and telescope maker John A. Brashear within the Francis Gurney du Pont papers (Acc. 0504). From 1880 until 1903, the two corresponded about the finer details of telescopes, with a particular focus on their construction and physical functions.

Du Pont and Brashear's letters become increasingly flavored with updates on their children and spouses. Brashear injected occasional drawings and diagrams of telescope measurements and celestial bodies. Included in one his letters to du Pont is a sketch of Jupiter, shown below, from Brashear’s observances of 8:40 PM, December 4, 1880 taken from a 8 ¼" reflector telescope. This sketch can be found in Box 37 of this collection.

If these items and collections pique your interest, there are more astronomy-based records at Hagley, including the ILC Dover, Apollo program records collection, which focuses on the design and manufacture of space suits. Check out our finding aids database and online library catalog for more stellar selections.