Perkins Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Delaware, Ohio. It is owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University. In 1931 it had the third largest telescope in the World; the 69 inch aperture Perkins telescope came online at this observatory. The mirror was the largest cast in the United States up to that time, and it was made by the United States National Bureau of Standards. In the 1930s this observatory also started periodic document release called The Telescope, featuring results from the telescope but grew to include other astronomical information. The University partnered with Ohio State University in 1935, to help run the big telescope and the agreement lasted for almost seven decades. In the 1960s the telescope was moved to Arizona, USA for better viewing conditions, and fitted with new larger mirror. Nevertheless, the Observatory continued to be a hub of astronomical activity in the region and for the University. In the 21st century the Observatory supports various public and academic astronomical activities and is a source for information such as NEO flybys in the community. Early history The observatory is named for Hiram Perkins, a professor of mathematics and astronomy at the Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio from 1857 to 1907. A devoutly religious Methodist and a man of deep convictions, he was also known as an uncompromising and demanding instructor.Perkins' believed that “The public should have an opportunity to see with a great telescope the objects such an instrument reveals and by so doing ‘Learn to love God and serve Him more acceptably.’" Perkins graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1857, just nine years after the university was founded. He was immediately offered a position on the faculty. Shortly thereafter he married Caroline Barkdull, a graduate from OWU's Women's College. In 1861 Perkins temporarily left OWU when the American Civil War began. He intended to enlist in the Union Army, but was deemed physically unfit for service. (At 6’4” tall and 97 pounds, his students referred to him as “the human skeleton.”) Perkins then returned to his family hog farm and worked to help feed the troops. (Salt pork was a staple military food at the time.) Applying his mathematical skills to the science of pork production, by war's end he had amassed an impressive (for the time) fortune. After the war Perkins returned to his university teaching position and lived a very frugal life on