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WHEREAS, Astronomy the oldest of the sciences, is education in its purest form, for astronomy exists only because people want to know and understand the universe that surrounds them; and
WHEREAS, hired to be the first director of the Allegheny Observatory, Samuel Pierpont Langley <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Pierpont_Langley> used the telescope to study the sun, especially sunspots and heat from different parts of the solar spectrum; and
WHEREAS, the original observatory building was replaced by the current structure in Riverview Park, the cornerstone was laid in 1900 and completed in 1912, designed by Thorsten Billquist, the building consists of a library, lecture hall, classrooms, offices, and three domed telescope enclosures, two reserved for research and one for use by schools and the general public; and
WHEREAS, the primary instrument of the Allegheny Observatory is the 30 inch Thaw telescope, the third largest refractor in the US, constructed by the Brashear Company; and
WHEREAS, the second largest dome of the Allegheny Observatory houses the James E. Keeler Memorial Telescope, a reflecting telescope with a mirror 31 inches in diameter; and
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognize and honor the important milestone of the Allegheny Observatory, and does hereby declare Saturday, August 25, 2012, to be "Allegheny Observatory Centennial Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.