One Hundred Fifty-Five Years

We were at the Detroit Observatory today for part of our convention activities, and we toured the facility to see the building and the two telescopes here. The building was beautifully restored back in 1996-1998 and it is just stunning. It was originally built back in 1854, which to me seems unimaginable, somehow. I will have to show you some of the telescopes later on. But the thing that jumped out at me tonight was these old wooden steps up to the observing floor for the large refractor. The texture, and the years of wear on the tread speak volumes to the work that has been done here. How many nights have astronomers walked these stairs to the cold dark observatory for a long night's work. These stairs are a hundred and fifty-five years old, and they are more beautiful for their old age. This is a large file, so please click on it to see more detail.