The Delaware County Historical Society graciously contributes a monthly history column to Delaware Source, exploring the people, places and moments that shaped our community.
Ohio’s historic and continuing central role in aviation and aerospace is well known by most Ohioans.
From the Wright Brothers’ invention of the first practical, powered, and controlled airplane in 1903; to John Glenn’s 1962 first orbital flight; to Neil Armstrong’s role as “first man on the moon” in 1969; to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force; and to the incredible work accomplished by the NASA Glenn Research Center and Neil Armstrong Test Facility; Ohioans are right to boast about this incredible legacy.
Exploring sites featured in the America 250-Ohio Air and Space Trail is a great way to honor all of the people involved in this point of Ohio pride.
What may be surprising to many readers is that since the 1930s, two facilities in
Delaware played an important part in astronomy.
Perkins Observatory (OWU) and “Big Ear” the historic Ohio State University Radio Telescope – Delaware, Ohio
Perkins Observatory is a research and educational facility for faculty and students in Ohio Wesleyan University’s Physics and Astronomy Departments.
When completed in 1931, the Perkins Telescope was the third largest in the world. The facility hosted visiting astronomers from all over the world and had one of the best astronomical libraries.
Perkins is one of 11 astronomical observatories in Ohio today that use telescopes for astronomy research.
The public can visit Perkins Observatory to observe astronomical phenomena and
events by reservation for multiple day or night programs, including telescope workshops and a July “celebration of the sun.”
Perkins is located at 3199 Columbus Pike, south of Delaware.
Sadly, only a historical marker remains to designate the approximate site of “Big Ear” —
officially the Ohio State University Radio Observatory (OSURA) — that operated from
1963 to 1998.
About the Author: Becky Sutherland Cornett is a retired health care administrator, independent researcher and public historian with decades of publishing experience. She is a life member of the Delaware County Historical Society, a member of the Ohio History Connection’s Conestoga Society, the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH), the Lincoln Forum, and the Organization of American Historians (OAH). Since 2020, Cornett has focused on presenting, teaching, and writing about local and Ohio history topics.
The sign is located just south of the Delaware Golf Club on US 23, near the Methodist Theological School. Big Ear’s telescope was the world’s first to search for extraterrestrial radio signals.
The structure covered an area larger than three football fields!
Some of the most distant known objects at the edge of the universe were discovered, and sky surveys mapped over 19,000 radio sources — over half of the sources had not been detected previously.
Big Ear entered the 1995 edition of the Guiness Book of World Records in the category of “longest extraterrestrial search” (1973-1995).
The Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio, houses a display about the importance of Big Ear in history. Visit the Big Ear Memorial website.
