The

Morrison Observatory

, first located in nearby Glasgow and moved to Fayette in 1935, is home to a treasured artifact from an earlier era of astronomy — a Clark telescope.

In the late 1800s Alvan Clark and Sons of Cambridgeport, Mass., were the premier telescope makers in the nation, if not the world. Clark telescopes were installed in the most prestigious observatories, including the Lowell Observatory in Arizona and Chicago's Yerkes Observatory.

Unlike today's reflector telescopes which use mirrors to magnify distant light rays, these refractors used a powerful lens and the long body of the telescope itself to bring deep space objects into view. The popular image of an observatory — a lone scientist looking through a long lens inside a domed structure — dates from the era of the Clark telescope and describes the Morrison Observatory perfectly.

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Purchased for $6,000 in gold, Pritchett's new telescope was actually assembled on location in Glasgow. Measuring almost 17 feet long with a 12-inch aperture, the instrument dominates the rotating wooden dome constructed to house it.

More than just impressive to look at, the telescope surpassed anything in use at other Midwestern institutions and rivaled many telescopes back East.

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The Morrison Observatory is located at 700 Park Road, next to the Fayette City Park. To reach the observatory take Besgrove St. west from the intersection of Highways 5 and 240 in Fayette. Turn left on Park Road. Public viewings will be offered each Thursday evening from 7:30 until 9:30, Sept. 20 through Nov. 1. In case of rain or cloudy weather, observatory tours and astronomical programs will be presented. For more information call (660) 248-3391, ext. 371.