One, Two, Three ..

… gosh, there are a lot of them, aren’t there?

Welcome to Counting Stars, a repository for writings on the history of and around the Dudley Observatory.

Those of you joining us from Facebook or All Over Albany may be unfamiliar with the Dudley Observatory.  Here’s a nutshell version:  Dudley is an observatory founded in the 1850s here in the Capital region.  It is an independent observatory, and the oldest of its kind in America.  While the institution is currently between observatories, it has been housed in two famous buildings in the past and done world class work there.  After a century of useful scientific work, the Dudley became a foundation and an educational institution.  It continues on in that capacity, serving as the Capital Region’s Astronomy Resource.

The current face of the Dudley Observatory is Dr. Valerie Rapson, a Doctor of Astrophysical Sciences and Technology from RIT.  By now you’ve probably seen her on the local news explaining the most recent astronomical discovery. My name is Josh Hauck, and I’m the resident librarian and archives rat.  The Dudley is currently housed at the Museum of Innovation and Science in Schenectady, NY, and we work closely with the staff here, and in particular with the Suits-Bueche Planetarium.

I’m hoping to use this page to highlight the Dudley’s historical collection, which hasn’t been explored much in the past.  We are just beginning the process of building a small observatory to house our primary telescope, and hopefully that will be chronicled here.  And in general, this page will serve as the clearinghouse for things related to Dudley’s history.  Welcome, and I hope you enjoy.