Technical appropriation and global circulation of instruments at the National Astronomical Observatory of Chile (1886-1887)

• In Event: Travelling Knowledge (III): Networks of Scholars and Objects

Abstract

This paper analyzes the debates regarding the maintenance, repair and acquisition of astronomical instruments as a way to better understand the phenomenon of technical appropriation in a peripheral country. The disagreement between José Vergara, director of the National Astronomical Observatory of Chile (NAO), and the second Astronomer of the same institution, Adolf Marcuse, between 1886 and 1887, involved the state and maintenance of an Equatorial, a Meridian Circle and a Comet Seeker. This presentation follows the approach that Simon Schaffer proposed in 2011 to discuss the notion of technology transfer in a global network. Thus, it studies how the use of objects requires not only their maintenance but also their transformation. The controversy offers us the possibility of considering two aspects of this process: first, how worn, rusted and damaged instruments were repaired, which allows us to observe the role of local technicians and workers. Second, how the instruments were adapted to conditions of observation and operation different from those of the northern hemisphere.

Authors

• Sanhueza Carlos, Universidad de Chile

• Lorena B. Valderrama, Universidad Alberto Hurtado