An ennobled Bohemian, Joseph Johann von Littrow was a professor of astronomy and head of observatories in Russia and Budapest before becoming the first director of the Vienna Observatory in 1819, a post he retained until his death in 1840. On view is a bound set of three volumes of Die wunder des hummels published in Stuttgart, Germany in 1834-1836. A moon crater east of the Sea of Serenity is named Littrow in his honor.

In 1835, Denison Olmstead reported on the reappearance of Haley’s comet two weeks before astronomers in Europe. On display is an 1839 first edition of An Introduction to Astronomy by the Yale professor. The textbook became a popular selection at other institutions, resulting in forty or fifty printings and numerous revised editions during the author’s lifetime as he incorporated new discoveries into the text. Olmstead’s observation and analysis of the 1833 Leonid meteor shower resulted in several breakthroughs in the understanding of meteors.