A 142-year-old astronomy building was serendipitously unearthed in Michigan (photos)

Elizabeth Howell
·4 min read
black and white photo of a circular building amid trees. in front of the building is a large group of people in suits and straw hats. some are standing up and some are leaning nearby the building
black and white photo of a circular building amid trees. in front of the building is a large group of people in suits and straw hats. some are standing up and some are leaning nearby the building

Sometimes, astronomy research requires looking down.

Michigan State University (MSU) found the foundations of its first telescope observatory building, built in 1881. Workers stumbled upon the archaeology while installing hammock posts near student residences.

The astronomy discovery hearkens back to the first U.S. telescopes rising across the country to study space. MSU needed this building to keep up with the fast-changing research, the university stated.

Related: The 10 biggest telescopes on Earth

At what is known as MSU today, students had been doing naked-eye observations for years before professor Rolla Carpenter successfully got funding for a building to house its first 5.5-inch telescope, according to the university

"In the early days of MSU's astronomy program, Carpenter would take students to the roof of College Hall and have them observe from there," Ben Akey, campus archaeologist and anthropology doctoral student, said in a statement. "But he didn't find it a sufficient solution for getting students experience in astronomical observation."

That's no surprise given how much astronomical activity was taking place in the 1870s and 1880s. The U.S. Naval Observatory had the largest refractor of the era built in 1873, according to the Library of Congress Telescopes were also built in the 1880s in areas such as Lick Observatory in California. Around the same time, Harvard College Observatory was using women "computers" to image the sky, too.

Astronomers of the era used telescopes for activities such as recording catalogs of nebula and star clusters, and measuring light spectra of stars to better learn about their composition.

a black and white picture of a telescope mounted on a long pole. on the left is a wooden window with shutter closed. behind is a picture of the moon on the wall and various small shelves and objects
a black and white picture of a telescope mounted on a long pole. on the left is a wooden window with shutter closed. behind is a picture of the moon on the wall and various small shelves and objects

Michigan State University's original 5.5-inch telescope pictured in 1909. It is still on display at the university today. (Image credit: Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections)

MSU's first astronomy building was circular and about 16 feet (5 meters) in diameter, according to a winter 2004 article about the observatory in the university's alumni magazine. An iron track allowed the telescope to move in a complete circle and observe the sky through a roof opening.

Image 1 of 5

A person holds a long rod in one of two square holes dug into the grass. Three others take notes on paper or iPads.
A person holds a long rod in one of two square holes dug into the grass. Three others take notes on paper or iPads.

Michigan State University's campus archeology team at the observatory foundation dig site. Left to right: Mac Stevens, Kelly Sullivan, Morgan Manuszak, campus archeologist Benjamin Akey.

Image 2 of 5

A young woman uses a large mechanism to sift through soil. The image is taken from underneath the large sifter.
A young woman uses a large mechanism to sift through soil. The image is taken from underneath the large sifter.

Michigan State University archaeology crew member and senior Morgan Manuszak uses a screen to sift through materials found in soil at the dig site for the university's first observatory.

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Three iron screws, six flat glass shards and five red brick fragments on brown clipboard. A hand is holding the largest brick fragment. The clipboard lays on grass and a trowel is laying on the on the right side of the clipboard.
Three iron screws, six flat glass shards and five red brick fragments on brown clipboard. A hand is holding the largest brick fragment. The clipboard lays on grass and a trowel is laying on the on the right side of the clipboard.

Some of the artifacts recovered in proximity to the observatory foundation. Top row (left to right): Two partial iron square-cut nails, an iron eye bolt screw, and six shards of flat glass, which are likely from window pane. Bottom row: Several red brick fragments, which likely represent the remains of the observatory's brick walls.

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Stones and cement surrounded by dirt. They are being brushed off with brooms.
Stones and cement surrounded by dirt. They are being brushed off with brooms.

The foundation of Michigan State University's first observatory, which was built in 1881.

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A sepia-toned historical photo of a small hut in a grass field surrounded by pine trees.
A sepia-toned historical photo of a small hut in a grass field surrounded by pine trees.

The exterior of the first campus observatory at today's Michigan State University, circa 1900.

A college catalog from 1898-99 includes the facility, the article adds, while a civil engineering report in 1915 mentions a facility vandalism attack from which only the telescope survived. No other records unearthed at the time showed what happened to the observatory. The telescope itself was found in the mid-1970s in the campus physics-astronomy building and is on display today at MSU's Abrams Planetarium.

Akey said the new facility find would allow MSU's archeology students valuable on-campus experience to practice their craft at the university, which was founded in 1855 before the Civil War began. At the time the observatory was first active, MSU was known as State Agricultural College; it acquired its modern-day name in 1964.

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"With a campus this old, there's a lot of historic materials [and] archaeological materials that would be disturbed by all the ongoing construction on campus," Akey said in the statement.

MSU's infrastructure planning and facilities division, which manages construction, ensures "objects are not disturbed, and we get a chance to document and analyze some of them (the objects). It's a pretty cool job," Akey added.

Research is ongoing using old maps, archaeology finds and the book "Stars Over the Red Cedar" (Schuler Books, 2020) about the MSU observatory program by professor emeritus Horace A. Smith.

Astronomy research continues today at MSU in modern form, using a 24-inch telescope available since 1969.