Spectral lens telescope, 1¼ in aperture, built by Tombaugh
File — Box-folder: 289
Scope and Content
From the Collection:
The Clyde W. Tombaugh Papers serve as a rich source for the history of astronomy as well as for research into Tombaugh's professional work and his personal life. The papers provide ample documentation of Tombaugh's work in astronomy and optical design, as well as illustrating his family life and his varied interests in education, religion, and environmental issues. Included in the collection are correspondence; biographical notes and curricula vitae; writings; speeches and lectures; research files; administrative files; teaching files; technical reports; high school and university papers; financial and legal records; telescope design drawings; files related to professional and non-professional organizations; subject files; photographs; audiovisual material; and printed matter.
Tombaugh's extensive correspondence files provide an unsurpassed source for understanding him as a person, for seeing the centrality of his astronomical interests to his personal as well as his professional activities, and for providing insight into his educational, environmental, political, and religious interests. The correspondence is separated into personal and professional correspondence (and further divided by institution within the professional correspondence). Reflecting the interconnections of his personal life and his professional work, there is considerable overlap of correspondents and topics among the several sets of correspondence. Because of this overlap, the researcher is advised that correspondence from a particular individual or on a particular subject may be located in more than one set of correspondence. Significant correspondents include George Abel, Ira S. Bowen, Charles F. (Chick) Capen Jr., James Christy, Pete Domenici, Audouin Dollfus, Frank K. Edmondson, James B. Edson, Krafft A. Ehricke, Henry L. Giclas, Walter A. Haas, Dorrit Hoffleit, J. Allen Hynek, Gerard P. Kuiper, Lincoln La Paz, C. O. Lampland, Frederick C. Leonard, David H. Levy, Brian Marsden, Patrick Moore, Frederick I. Ordway III, Roger L. Putnam, Dirk Reuyl, Elizabeth Roemer, Carl Sagan, Harrison Schmitt, Glenn T. Seaborg, Harlow Shapley, E. C. Slipher, V. M. Slipher, Hyron Spinrad, Bradford A. Smith, Alan Stern, G. Harry Stine, Otto Struve, Gerard de Vaucouleurs, Wernher von Braun, Fred L. Whipple, Albert G. Wilson, Latimer J. Wilson, and Fritz Zwicky.
Tombaugh's work in planetary astronomy is well documented, both in his professional career and in his early amateur work. Although the whole of Tombaugh's career is included, the amount of material varies greatly. The majority of the Professional Papers date from Tombaugh's tenure at New Mexico State University (NMSU). Also well represented is his work at White Sands Proving Ground. The files from Lowell Observatory, and his teaching at Arizona State Teachers College and University of California at Los Angeles, are of a much more modest scope.
Specific topics that are well documented in the collection include Pluto, Mars, telescopes and optics. The discovery of Pluto is documented primarily through correspondence, both personal and professional. Additional documentation is provided by Tombaugh's numerous articles and lectures about his recollections of the discovery, as well as a modest number of handwritten notes from the planet search, copies of planet search plates, and printed matter from the time of the discovery. The original photographic plates from the planet search, including the Pluto discovery plates, and related documents are held by the Lowell Observatory Archives, in Flagstaff, Arizona. Although Tombaugh did not focus his later research on Pluto, as the planet's discoverer he did make an effort to keep current with ongoing research on the ninth planet. Correspondence, subject files, and printed matter all provide insight into the development of scientific knowledge about Pluto, evolving theories, and the recurring debate on Pluto's status as a major planet. Of particular note are the files from the conference "Pluto - The Ninth Planet's Golden Year" held at NMSU in February 1980 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Tombaugh's discovery.
The planet Mars sparked Clyde Tombaugh's imagination as a young man and continued to be a primary interest for the rest of his life. Included in his papers are sketches and notes from his observations of the red planet, as well as writings, research projects, printed matter, and extensive subject files. The geology of Mars, and the question of the Martian canals, were of significant interest to Tombaugh, and his papers reflect this focus.
The problem of constructing reflecting telescopes for astronomical use occupied Tombaugh throughout his life. His work on telescopes for his own personal use, and for friends and colleagues, is well represented by design sketches, log books, and related correspondence. The "16-Inch Club" that Tombaugh formed for amateur telescope-makers who wished to obtain the materials to grind large telescope mirrors is documented in his general personal correspondence, as well as in the Telescopes and Optics subseries within the Personal Papers series. An extensive set of design drawings exist for the tracking telescopes used to photograph rockets and missiles at White Sands Proving Ground; these are supplemented by research files and technical reports.
Also found in the Tombaugh Papers are descriptions of the NMSU Department of Astronomy's first telescopes, the 12-inch Fecker and the 16-inch Rhodes telescope, and information on their acquisition for Tombaugh's research projects and their eventual transfer to the University for general research use. Tombaugh's active involvement in the design of other telescopes acquired by the Department of Astronomy and in the planning of the department's several observatories is illustrated through his correspondence, administrative files, files on the telescopes and observatories, and in the drawings and blueprints found in the oversize materials.
The collection is an excellent source for studying the development of the astronomy research program at NMSU and the formation of the academic Department of Astronomy, with particular focus on Tombaugh's involvement in both of these areas. Tombaugh's satellite search project, transferred to NMSU in 1955, can be viewed as the beginning of astronomy research at the university, and this project and later ones, particularly the planetary patrol, are amply documented in his research files. In the early 1960s as the astronomy research program became firmly established, Tombaugh was asked to begin teaching some astronomy and geology courses. These courses opened the way to the establishment of a full-fledged graduate level Department of Astronomy, and correspondence and administrative files in the NMSU subseries of the Professional Papers show the planning and development of the program.
An oral history project of Tombaugh's family, friends, and colleagues was carried out by Herbert A. Beebe to preserve personal recollections of Tombaugh and his work at Lowell Observatory, White Sands Proving Ground, and New Mexico State University. Those interviewed were Patricia Tombaugh, Reta F. Beebe, Tom Bruce, Henry Giclas, Walter Haas, Bernard McNamara, Robert Millis, Arthur Scott Murrell, Cecil Post, William L. Reitmeyer, Jimmie C. Robinson, Charles L. Seeger, Alan Stern, Bradford A. Smith, and Lou Ann Youngblood. Transcripts, as well as audiotapes, of these oral history interviews, are included in the Tombaugh Papers.
Tombaugh's extensive correspondence files provide an unsurpassed source for understanding him as a person, for seeing the centrality of his astronomical interests to his personal as well as his professional activities, and for providing insight into his educational, environmental, political, and religious interests. The correspondence is separated into personal and professional correspondence (and further divided by institution within the professional correspondence). Reflecting the interconnections of his personal life and his professional work, there is considerable overlap of correspondents and topics among the several sets of correspondence. Because of this overlap, the researcher is advised that correspondence from a particular individual or on a particular subject may be located in more than one set of correspondence. Significant correspondents include George Abel, Ira S. Bowen, Charles F. (Chick) Capen Jr., James Christy, Pete Domenici, Audouin Dollfus, Frank K. Edmondson, James B. Edson, Krafft A. Ehricke, Henry L. Giclas, Walter A. Haas, Dorrit Hoffleit, J. Allen Hynek, Gerard P. Kuiper, Lincoln La Paz, C. O. Lampland, Frederick C. Leonard, David H. Levy, Brian Marsden, Patrick Moore, Frederick I. Ordway III, Roger L. Putnam, Dirk Reuyl, Elizabeth Roemer, Carl Sagan, Harrison Schmitt, Glenn T. Seaborg, Harlow Shapley, E. C. Slipher, V. M. Slipher, Hyron Spinrad, Bradford A. Smith, Alan Stern, G. Harry Stine, Otto Struve, Gerard de Vaucouleurs, Wernher von Braun, Fred L. Whipple, Albert G. Wilson, Latimer J. Wilson, and Fritz Zwicky.
Tombaugh's work in planetary astronomy is well documented, both in his professional career and in his early amateur work. Although the whole of Tombaugh's career is included, the amount of material varies greatly. The majority of the Professional Papers date from Tombaugh's tenure at New Mexico State University (NMSU). Also well represented is his work at White Sands Proving Ground. The files from Lowell Observatory, and his teaching at Arizona State Teachers College and University of California at Los Angeles, are of a much more modest scope.
Specific topics that are well documented in the collection include Pluto, Mars, telescopes and optics. The discovery of Pluto is documented primarily through correspondence, both personal and professional. Additional documentation is provided by Tombaugh's numerous articles and lectures about his recollections of the discovery, as well as a modest number of handwritten notes from the planet search, copies of planet search plates, and printed matter from the time of the discovery. The original photographic plates from the planet search, including the Pluto discovery plates, and related documents are held by the Lowell Observatory Archives, in Flagstaff, Arizona. Although Tombaugh did not focus his later research on Pluto, as the planet's discoverer he did make an effort to keep current with ongoing research on the ninth planet. Correspondence, subject files, and printed matter all provide insight into the development of scientific knowledge about Pluto, evolving theories, and the recurring debate on Pluto's status as a major planet. Of particular note are the files from the conference "Pluto - The Ninth Planet's Golden Year" held at NMSU in February 1980 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Tombaugh's discovery.
The planet Mars sparked Clyde Tombaugh's imagination as a young man and continued to be a primary interest for the rest of his life. Included in his papers are sketches and notes from his observations of the red planet, as well as writings, research projects, printed matter, and extensive subject files. The geology of Mars, and the question of the Martian canals, were of significant interest to Tombaugh, and his papers reflect this focus.
The problem of constructing reflecting telescopes for astronomical use occupied Tombaugh throughout his life. His work on telescopes for his own personal use, and for friends and colleagues, is well represented by design sketches, log books, and related correspondence. The "16-Inch Club" that Tombaugh formed for amateur telescope-makers who wished to obtain the materials to grind large telescope mirrors is documented in his general personal correspondence, as well as in the Telescopes and Optics subseries within the Personal Papers series. An extensive set of design drawings exist for the tracking telescopes used to photograph rockets and missiles at White Sands Proving Ground; these are supplemented by research files and technical reports.
Also found in the Tombaugh Papers are descriptions of the NMSU Department of Astronomy's first telescopes, the 12-inch Fecker and the 16-inch Rhodes telescope, and information on their acquisition for Tombaugh's research projects and their eventual transfer to the University for general research use. Tombaugh's active involvement in the design of other telescopes acquired by the Department of Astronomy and in the planning of the department's several observatories is illustrated through his correspondence, administrative files, files on the telescopes and observatories, and in the drawings and blueprints found in the oversize materials.
The collection is an excellent source for studying the development of the astronomy research program at NMSU and the formation of the academic Department of Astronomy, with particular focus on Tombaugh's involvement in both of these areas. Tombaugh's satellite search project, transferred to NMSU in 1955, can be viewed as the beginning of astronomy research at the university, and this project and later ones, particularly the planetary patrol, are amply documented in his research files. In the early 1960s as the astronomy research program became firmly established, Tombaugh was asked to begin teaching some astronomy and geology courses. These courses opened the way to the establishment of a full-fledged graduate level Department of Astronomy, and correspondence and administrative files in the NMSU subseries of the Professional Papers show the planning and development of the program.
An oral history project of Tombaugh's family, friends, and colleagues was carried out by Herbert A. Beebe to preserve personal recollections of Tombaugh and his work at Lowell Observatory, White Sands Proving Ground, and New Mexico State University. Those interviewed were Patricia Tombaugh, Reta F. Beebe, Tom Bruce, Henry Giclas, Walter Haas, Bernard McNamara, Robert Millis, Arthur Scott Murrell, Cecil Post, William L. Reitmeyer, Jimmie C. Robinson, Charles L. Seeger, Alan Stern, Bradford A. Smith, and Lou Ann Youngblood. Transcripts, as well as audiotapes, of these oral history interviews, are included in the Tombaugh Papers.
Dates
- 1908-2000
Language of Materials
From the Collection:
English.
Access and Use Restrictions
This material may be examined by researchers under supervised conditions in the Search Room.
Extent
From the Collection: 150 linear feet, approximate
Repository Details
Part of the New Mexico State University Library Archives and Special Collections Repository