Cosmic Connections

UNC Asheville Astronomy, OLLI and Yerkes Observatory combine history, art and science in undergrad research

By UNC Asheville

August 28^th, 2023

This summer, three UNC Asheville astronomy students got a chance to hold pieces of the night sky — and pieces of history — in their hands.

Ava Tomkins, Phoebe Gittis, and Josh Ward completed undergraduate research at the birthplace of modern cosmology: Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, home to the largest refracting telescope in the world and about 180,000 archival photographic glass plates taken by astronomers around the turn of the 20th century.

Roughly the thickness of a window pane, the plates are coated in an emulsion and exposed to the light of a portion of sky an astronomer wished to capture and study. Developed using dark room techniques, the plates are then like film negatives with the brightest celestial objects showing as dark, opaque spots and the darkest parts of space remaining clear.

The result is nebulae clouding and stars speckling across the plane of glass — a snapshot of the night sky as it was decades ago.

“Even the best telescopes in the world can't look into the past in that way. If you have a proper way of scanning those plates, collecting data from them, measuring the positions and brightness of stars that they captured, then you compare that to images of the sky taken tonight or in the future and see what things in the sky have changed,” said Britt Lundgren, associate professor of astronomy and physics and 2023 astronomer-in-residence at Yerkes.

Scanning the plates and using computer coding, the UNC Asheville students measured and cataloged the range in brightness of objects captured on the plates. This was the focus of their research — determining how useful the archival plates would be to upcoming astronomical studies at Rubin Observatory in Chile.

Yerkes Observatory 40-inch refractor telescope. University of Chicago Photographic Archive, [apf6-01199], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Undergrad research projects like these give students a taste of the process of science in an academic research setting, Lundgren said, helping them see if pursuing a master’s or Ph.D. degree holds interest for them.

“I learned that the process of scientific research can be long and sometimes defeating, but there are always great breakthroughs along the way that push you further and further,” Tomkins said. “If I were to continue down the path of astronomy, I now have the skills I need to guide me through it.”

Additionally, the students utilized the multiple telescopes at Yerkes, including the “Great Refractor,” a 64-foot-long, 6-ton telescope in the main observatory dome. This telescope operates using lenses to capture light, rather than mirrors as modern telescopes do.

"The Yerkes refractor is 130 years old and has been closed off to the public for a number of years. After careful restoration it's being used again for public observations, and it was a huge treat to be able to put our eyes to it,” Lundgren said. “We'd all seen the Ring Nebula many times with smaller telescopes, but through the 40-inch refractor it just looks enormous."

Lundgren and the students were so surrounded by history, Tomkins said she felt like she was in a time capsule. The building itself is considered a significant and unique piece of architecture.

The Yerkes Future Foundation plans to continue restoring the observatory to serve as a place where history, art and science can meet. Lundgren said she hopes to continue to bring students to study at the observatory.

Planetary nebula (M57, NGC 6720) in the constellation Lyra, or Ring Nebula, on a glass plate in the archives. University of Chicago Photographic Archive, [apf6-03693], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

“If I were to continue down the path of astronomy, I now have the skills I need to guide me through it.”

A New Legacy of Women in Astronomy

The ties between Yerkes and UNC Asheville were enhanced thanks to a happy, almost cosmic, coincidence during a seminar at UNC Asheville’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). A connection was discovered among OLLI member Erik Vedeler, UNC Asheville Astronomy and the historic Yerkes Observatory.

During a presentation on women in astronomy at OLLI, Lundgren showed a historical photograph of Albert Einstein’s visit to Yerkes. The photo is significant not only for Einstein’s presence but also for the number of women employees of the observatory pictured, who were then unnamed.

Lundgren grew up not 30 minutes from Yerkes, sneaking her telescope onto the grounds as a kid, and had often wondered about who the women in the photograph were.

Vedeler, a retired NASA engineer himself, came forward after the presentation because his great-grandfather George C. Blakeslee, who appears on the far right in his famous Einstein photo, was one of the most prolific staff photographers at Yerkes. His family had a copy of the photo with the names of the women on the back.

“I was glad to know that their stories existed; sometimes it's hard to find that information,” Lundgren said. “What was even better than that was to know his family had this deep connection with so many people at the observatory. His very existence as a person wouldn't have happened if some of his grandparents hadn't met there.”

Due to her chance meeting with Vedeler, who is now an adjunct lecturer in the Physics and Astronomy Department, Lundgren learned of the Yerkes Future Foundation’s efforts to change the narrative of women among the astronomy staff at Yerkes.

Albert Einstein, the staff and faculty of Yerkes Observatory, and other visitors. University of Chicago Photographic Archive, [apf6-00415], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

“It is pretty surreal knowing that I have shared a space and walked the same halls as the greatest minds of our time, whether they be male or female.”

At the time of that photo, men largely dominated the field while women were often delegated “unskilled” computer jobs, performing the measurements and calculations that support research, even if they held similar education as the male astronomers. They were also frequently undercredited for their contributions.

Yerkes and the University of Chicago, where Lundgren earned her undergraduate degree, are working to collect biographical data about these women and their accomplishments as they renovate the facility for research and community use.

“It was incredibly significant to work where previous generations of women dedicated themselves to science and its progress,” Tomkins said. “History tends to forget the power that women have over every facet of progress; women in STEM are especially neglected but we must not forget that they worked twice as hard to get to their position and be recognized for their achievements.”

The majority of women who worked at Yerkes in the past went unacknowledged. Now, a palpable effort is made to stress the importance of mentioning past women staff as equal to their male counterparts and encouraging female-identifying and non-binary students to study astronomy, Lundgren said. The current astronomy work at Yerkes is led by women, Amy Steele and Amanda Bauer, whom the students got to work alongside.

“It is pretty surreal knowing that I have shared a space and walked the same halls as the greatest minds of our time, whether they be male or female,” Tomkins said. “It is empowering and inspiring to see first-hand that the trend of women working at Yerkes has only amplified.”

Students, Erik Vedeler, Britt Lundgren and Yerkes staff spend some time in the main dome of historic Yerkes observatory.

Learning from Living History

Much like studying the plates to see how the night sky has changed, exposure to historical methods of research can inform the students' understanding of modern astronomy and see how much progress has been made, especially in the social aspect of the field for women.

Lundgren said it is a testament to OLLI’s accomplished membership that these pieces came together for her and the students to witness living history through Vedeler’s family story.

“OLLI really facilitated all of this to happen by bringing together really valuable expertise of retired folks in our region. Cross-pollinating that with the university, not only with the faculty but with students, is a really lovely thing,” Ludgren said. “Who knows, there are probably all kinds of coincidental relationships that could happen with more interaction. I feel very lucky that any of this happened at all.”

Erik Vedeler visited Yerkes to tour and share some of his family history with students and staff.

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