Doane University Boswell Observatory

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Doane University Boswell Observatory

Here is a view of campus looking north about 1898. Notice the time ball mounted on Merrill Hall, and the flag pole Thomas Doane placed on campus in 1895.

Boswell Observatory is the oldest extant building on Doane's campus. Built in 1883, the observatory is still functional, and sky-viewing is held regularly through the original, 8-inch equatorial telescope. Housed in the building are several pieces of science equipment relating to astronomy, weather recording, time-keeping, and surveying. Doane's original inland time ball, once mounted on Merrill Hall and operated by a clock in the observatory, is also on display.

09/11/2026

Don’t miss this special Homecoming open house! There is lots to see in this historic building!

03/05/2026

Introduction to Celestial Mechanics, by Moulton, Second Revised Edition, 1914, advanced editorial copy. This book was owned by Ernest W. Brown of Yale (has his signature), was part of our Perkins Library at Doane University and is now housed in the Boswell Observatory building on Doane’s campus, Crete, NE. This classic book was used by Katherine Johnson to help figure out how to return John Glenn back to Earth as depicted in the movie “Hidden Figures”.

02/27/2026

Check this out!

10/05/2025

More pictures from yesterday’s open house and sky viewing. Photos courtesy of John Reinert.

09/23/2025

Boswell Observatory will be open during Doane University’s 2025 Homecoming Weekend Saturday October 4, from 9 am to 2 pm. Stop in and see this great 19th century observatory building and the historic equipment! Boswell Observatory is the oldest building on Doane’s campus, built in 1883, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

09/22/2025

Happy Autumnal Equinox! Today I decided to take some photos at the Boswell Observatory near the passing of the Sun over our local meridian. This is an important day for timekeeping (at least in the old days). The local sidereal time (LST) was 12:00 when the Sun is at the meridian, but was 1:26 pm local (solar) time. I took pictures of our meridian transit room. The Sun was pretty high up in the sky, so I couldn't see it through our windows, but I could see the sunlight change position on the transit brick tier and could take an outside picture, lining up the transit windows with the Sun. I also took pictures of our sidereal clock. The first set of pictures was taken about 12 minutes prior to equinox, then 2 minutes before, and finally at equinox. You can see the light move across the pier and become centered right at 12:00 sidereal time. About 5 minutes afterwards, I took a picture of our sundial outside the observatory. I thought this was pretty cool!

Address

Crete, NE
68333

Website

http://www.doane.edu/

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