This past fall, when I was in Guadalajara, I had the opportunity to tour the Instituto de Astronomía y Meteorología (Institute of Astronomy and Meteorology or IAM) there, and to learn of Fr. Severo Díaz Galindo, who played such a big role in the place.
The tour was courtesy of Durruty Jesús de Alba Martínez of IAM. I met him years ago at one of the regular history of astronomy conferences held at the University of Notre Dame. He is a regular attendee at those conferences, and presenter, too, usually on topics related to the history of astronomy in Mexico.
The IAM dates to 1889, when it was founded as the State Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory. Thus, it is nearly the same age as the modern incarnation of the Vatican Observatory, founded by Pope Leo XIII after the papacy lost observatories in the papal states (such as, of course, Fr. Angelo Secchi’s observatory atop St. Ignatius in Rome). When the University of Guadalajara was founded in 1925 (happy 100th birthday!), the existing observatory was joined to it. Fr. Díaz Galindo was appointed Director.
Díaz Galindo was a talented individual. He was born on November 8, 1876 in the town of Sayula, Jalisco, about 115 km (72 miles) south of Guadalajara. His abilities were noticed early, and his education was encouraged. He started teaching physics and mathematics in the Auxiliary Seminary of Zapotlán el Grande in 1895, when he was not even twenty years of age. He was drawn to the priestly vocation and ordained at age 23 by the Archbishop of Guadalajara, Jacinto López Romo, on September 9, 1900. Diaz Galindo went on to an illustrious career as both a priest and a scientist. His strongest area of scientific interest was meteorology, but he had very long list of publications on a variety of topics. He was also on the organizing commission of the University of Guadalajara. The Jalisco state government website describes him as “one of the most prominent scientific figures of the 20th century in Mexico”. He managed this at a time when the Church and the Mexican state were, to put it mildly, at odds.
The IAM is a cool place, as the photos below show. Its historic telescope is located in a classic tower, with a massive pier to support the telescope. The stairs up to the telescope wind around the pier.
Guadalajara has grown rapidly in the past century. The image at left shows the tower back in the day when the observatory was not surrounded by urban development. The center image is from the mid-twentieth century. Today the area around the observatory is quite urbanized; the observatory could now be described as being located in central Guadalajara. Note the high-rise buildings behind the dome in the photo I took at right.
The observatory’s historic brass refracting telescope is seen below. The photos with de Alba Martínez provide a size comparison. Note the mechanical drive mechanism.
Other historical items at the observatory: a building that used to house a transit instrument; a mechanical astronomical clock; a mechanical chart recorder that probably records either temperature or humidity.
The stone below records the altitude above sea level (1583.15 m) and the gravitational field strength (978.203 cm [per square sec.], measured between the 11th and the 18th of March 1928) at the observatory. Since the altitude is given to the hundredth of a meter (that is, to a centimeter) it must be the top of the stone that is at that altitude! The gravitational field strength measurement was done while Fr. Diaz Galindo was Director — perhaps he did the measurement?
The IAM holds a large collection of historical astronomical publications, including early issues (1902) of the Boletin Mensual [Monthly Bulletin] de la Sociedad Astronomica de Mexico. Note the acknowledgment of support for the Society from the Archbishop of Michaocán (center).
I visited the IAM on November 1, 2024, on the eve of El Día de los Muertos (All Souls Day) — thus this altar for Fr. Severo Díaz Galindo on the grounds of the observatory.
Now if you go to Guadalajara, you have an historic observatory to visit!
