Watson’s Notebook

As a young student at the Detroit Observatory in the 1850s, James Watson learned about not just astronomy but also the fame it could bring. In his notebook, the ambitious Watson imagined a future of a myriad of accolades. While particular honorifics eluded him, he would go on to have a highly successful career in Ann Arbor, winning the LaLande Prize from the French Academy of Sciences and an honorary doctorate from Leipzig – all from using the Detroit Observatory’s refracting telescope.

Discovery of Neptune

On September 23, 1846, Franz Brünnow, who later became the director of the Detroit Observatory, went to the Royal Observatory at Berlin for the discovery of Neptune, a seminal moment in the history of astronomy. As Neptune was the first planet discovered based on prediction rather than chance, this finding marked new territory for astronomical discoveries.

The Observatory sits for a portrait

In September 1855, Jasper Cropsey, of the Hudson School of painters, visited President Tappan in Ann Arbor. During his visit, Cropsey painted the Detroit Observatory, creating the earliest extant image of the building. Viewers often notice the Observatory appears pink in Cropsey’s painting, most likely because the white stucco finish had not yet been applied to the underlying brick wall. The painting now hangs in the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

Statue of Nydia

Having studied Beethoven in his youth, Franz Brünnow, the Observatory’s first Director, was a gifted pianist. Brünnow, along with his wife Rebecca Tappan and Professor Andrew Frieze, performed in multiple amateur concerts to fundraise for the University’s 1862 purchase of a statue of Nydia, the visually impaired flower girl of Pompeii from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s The Last Days of Pompeii. The statue was sculpted by Randolph Rogers, who grew up in Ann Arbor, and is now displayed in the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

Watson’s first discovery

On September 14, 1863, astronomer James Craig Watson discovered his first asteroid, naming it Eurynome (79 Eurynome). Over the next 15 years, a total of 100 asteroids would be discovered worldwide – an impressive 21 of which were discovered by Watson. He discovered six in 1868 alone, an outstanding accomplishment made possible only by his rigorous mathematics, detailed charts, prodigious memory, and keen observing ability.

Raising Funds for the Detroit Observatory

On December 29, 1852, in an effort to gain funding for an observatory at the University of Michigan, Detroit lawyer and businessman Henry Walker arranged for President Tappan to meet at the Michigan Exchange Hotel with a group of prominent Detroit citizens. The group quickly contributed $7,500 (about $250,000 adjusted for modern times), with more funds soon following. Upon the Observatory completion, Tappan named it in recognition of these Detroiters who had made it possible.

Annette Waite Watson

In the nineteenth century, the vast majority of astronomers were men and little acknowledgement was given to the vital role their wives played in their work. James Craig Watson’s wife, Annette Waite Watson, accompanied him on many of his expeditions. She would mark time during astronomical events for the observers with a chronometer, or even sketch the event herself. These sketches were then published in the official expedition reports. Although seldom recognized, Annette’s work, and that of other historical women, contributed greatly to astronomical science.