List of largest optical telescopes in the 19th century
List of largest optical telescopes in the 19th century, are listings of what were, for the time period of the 19th century large optical telescopes. See List of largest optical telescopes in the 20th century for the 1900s. The list includes various refractor and reflector that were active some time between about 1799 to 1901.
.jpg)
The Leviathan in 1885, a 1.8 (6 foot wide/ 72 inch)) aperture metal-mirror reflecting telescope in Ireland
The main reflecting technology early on, speculum metal reflected some 2/3 of light, and also had higher maintenance due to tarnishing. Another technology were the 2-element refractors, which were extensively used in 19th century observatories despite their small apertures compared to the largest metal mirror, and later glass telescopes. The technology for silver-coated glass mirrors was developed in the mid-19th century, but was slow to catch on. A major technology advance of this time was the development of astrophotography, and some telescopes were tailored to this application. Also, a wide variety of scientific instruments were developed, such as for spectroscopy and various astronomical measurements.
Reflectors & refractors
Early reflectors using speculum metal had some of the record-breaking apertures of the day, but not necessarily high performance. Starting in the 1860s metal coated glass ('Silver on glass') reflector telescopes proved more durable, for example the Crossley Reflector, which continued to be used and upgraded even into the 21st century. Telescopes with lenses, especially achromatic doublets were popular in the 19th century. (see also Great Refractor)
(100 cm equals 1 meter)
Legend
- Reflector (Metal mirror) or unknown
- Glass Reflector (Silver on glass mirror)
- Refractor (Lens)
| Name/Observatory | Aperture cm (in) |
Type | Location then (Original Site) | Extant* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leviathan of Parsonstown | 183 cm (72″) | reflector – metal | Birr Castle; Ireland | 1845–1908? |
| A.A. Common 60-inch[1] | 152.4 cm (60″) | reflector – glass | England | 1891–1904[1] |
| Herschel 40-foot (1.26 m diam.)[2] | 126 cm(49.5″) | reflector – metal | Observatory House; England | 1789–1815 |
| Great Paris Exhibition Telescope of 1900 | 125 cm (49.21") | achromat – siderostat | Paris 1900 Exposition, France | 1900–1901 |
| Great Melbourne Telescope[3] | 122 cm(48″) | reflector – metal | Melbourne Observatory, Australia | 1878 |
| William Lassell 48-inch[4] | 122 cm(48″) | reflector – metal | Malta | 1861–1865 |
| National Observatory, Paris | 1.2 m (47") | reflector-glass[5] | Paris, France | 1875–1943[1] |
| Yerkes Observatory[6] | 102 cm (40″) | achromat | Williams Bay, Wisconsin, USA | 1897 |
| Meudon Observatory 100 cm[7] | 100 cm (39.4″) | reflector-glass | Meudon Observatory, France | 1891 [8] |
| James Lick telescope, Lick Observatory | 91 cm (36″) | achromat | Mount Hamilton, California, USA | 1888 |
| Crossley Reflector[9] | 91.4 cm(36″) | reflector – glass | Lick Observatory, USA | 1896 |
| A.A. Common Reflector | 91.4 cm(36″) | reflector – glass | Great Britain | 1880–1896 |
| Rosse 36-inch Telescope (The 3-foot) | 91.4 cm(36″) | reflector – metal | Birr Castle; Ireland | 1826 |
| Grande Lunette, Paris Observatory | 83 cm + 62 cm (32.67" + 24.40") | achromat x2 | Meudon, France | 1891 |
| 83-cm Reflector, Toulouse Observatory | 83cm (32.67") | reflector-glass | Toulouse, France | 1875[10][11] |
| Potsdam Großer Refraktor Astrophysical Observatory Potsdam | 80 cm + 50 cm (31.5"+29.5") | achromat x2 | Potsdam, Deutsches Kaiserreich | 1899 |
| Focault 80 cm, Marseille Observatory [12] | 80 cm (31.5") | reflector-glass | Marseille, France | 1862-1965[13] |
| Grand Lunette Biscoffscheim, Nice Observatory | 77 cm (30.3″) | achromat | Nice, France[14][15] | 1886 |
| Pulkovo observatory | 76 cm (30″) | achromat | Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire | 1885 |
| Royal Observatory, Greenwich | 76.2 cm (30″) | reflector | Greenwich, England | 1897[1] |
| 28-inch Grubb Refractor - Royal Greenwich Observatory | 71 cm (28″) | achromat | Greenwich, London, Great Britain | 1894 |
| Harvard College Observatory | 71 cm (28″) | reflector | United States | 1889[1] |
| Großer Refraktor, Vienna Observatory | 69 cm (26″) | achromat | Vienna, Austrian Empire | 1880[16] |
| Great Treptow Refractor, Treptow Observatory | 68 cm (26.77") | achromat | Berlin, Germany | 1896 |
| McCormick Observatory | 67 cm (26.37") | achromat | Charlottesville, Virginia, USA | 1883 |
| U.S. Naval Observatory | 66 cm (26") | achromat | Washington, DC, USA | 1873 |
| Quito Astronomical Observatory[17] | 24 cm (9.5") | Great refractor | Quito, Ecuador | 1875 |
| Royal Greenwich Observatory | 66 cm (26") | achromat | Herstmonceux, Great Britain | 1896 |
| Lowell Observatory | 61 cm (24″) | achromat | Arizona, USA | 1896 |
| Craig telescope | 61 cm (24″) | achromat | Wandsworth Common, London[18] | 1852–1857 |
| William Lassell 24-inch[19] | 61 cm(24″) | reflector – metal | Liverpool, England | 1845 |
| Royal Observatory, Edinburgh | 61 cm (24″) | reflector | Greenwich, England | 1872[1] |
| Daramona 24″ reflector[20] | 61 cm (24″) | reflector – glass | Streete, Ireland | 1881–1971 |
| Radcliffe Double Refractor, Radcliffe Observatory | 60/45 cm (23.6″/18") | achromat x2 | Oxford, UK | 1901 |
| Halstead Observatory | 58.4 cm (23″) | achromat | Princeton, USA | 1881 |
| Institut technomatique | 52 cm (20½″) | refractor | Paris | 1857[21] |
| Chamberlin Observatory | 50 cm (20″) | achromat | Colorado, USA | 1891 |
| Nasymth 20″ | 50 cm (20″) | reflector – metal | United Kingdom[22] | 1842 |
| Imperial Observatory (Straßburg) | 48.5 cm (19.1″) | achromat | Straßburg/Strasbourg, German Empire/France | 1880[23] |
| Herschel 20-foot (0.475 m diam.)[24][25] | 47.5 cm (18.5″) | reflector – metal | Observatory House; England | 1782-? |
| Schröter 27 foot Newtonian[26] | 47 cm (18.5") | reflector – metal | Lilienthal, Lower Saxony (Germany) | 1793-1813? |
| 18½-in Dearborn Observatory Refractor | 47 cm (18.5″) | achromat | Chicago (1862–1893), Evanston, Illinois (1893), USA | 1862 |
| Flower Observatory | 46 cm (18″) | achromat | Philadelphia, USA | 1896 |
| Royal Observatory | 46 cm (18″) | achromat | Cape Colony, British Empire (South Africa) | 1897 [27] |
| Merz & Mahler Refractor, Pulkovo observatory[28] | 38 cm (15″) | achromat | Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire | 1839 |
| Harvard Great Refractor, Harvard College Observatory[28] | 38 cm (15″) | achromat | Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA | 1847 |
| Armagh 15- inch Grubb Reflector[29] | 38 cm (15″) | reflector – metal | Armagh Observatory, Northern Ireland | 1835[30] |
| Paris Observatory (Arago Telescope) 38 cm Brunner | 38 cm (15″) | achromat | Paris, France | 1857 [31] |
| Lunette coudée, Lyon Observatory | 36.6 cm | achromat | Saint-Genis-Laval, France | 1887 |
| Markree Observatory 13.3″ Grubb/Cauchoix[30] | 34 cm (13.3″) | refractor | County Sligo, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | 1834[30] |
| The 12.8 Inch Merz refractor at Royal Greenwich Observatory[32] | 32.5 cm (12.8″) | refractor | Greenwich, England | 1850s |
| McMillin Observatory 12.5″ [33] | 31.75 cm(12.5″) | refractor | Ohio, USA | 1895; 1896-1968 |
| Bamberg Refractor Urania Observatory (Berlin) | 31.4 cm (12.36") | achromat | Berlin-Moabit, Prussia / Berlin, Germany | 1889–1963[34] |
| Grubb refractor at Keele Observatory | 31 cm (12.25") | achromat | Oxford, England | 1874 |
| University of Illinois Observatory | 30 cm (12″) | achromat | Urbana, Illinois, USA | 1896 |
| Great refractor of Amici (Amici I), Florence Observatory La Specola | 28.4 cm (11.2″) | achromat | Florence, Italy | 1841 |
| Merz und Mahler (Mitchell cupola), Cincinnati Observatory | 28 cm (11″) | achromat | Cincinnati, Ohio, USA | 1843 |
| Repsold Refractor (10-duims), Leiden Observatory | 26.6 cm (10.5″) | achromat | Leiden, The Netherlands | 1885 |
| Mills Observatory | 25 cm (10″) | achromat | United Kingdom | 1871 |
| Fraunhofer Refractor, United States Naval Observatory (Foggy Bottom) | 24.4 cm (9.6″) | achromat | Foggy Bottom, D.C., USA | 1844 [35] |
| Fraunhofer-Refraktor Berlin Observatory | 24 cm (9.6″) | achromat | Berlin-Kreuzberg, Deutsches Kaiserreich (1835–1913)[36] | 1835 |
| Great Dorpat Refractor (Fraunhofer) Dorpat/Tartu Observatory | 24 cm (9.6″) | achromat | Dorpat, Governorate of Livonia/ Tartu, Estonia | 1824[37][38] |
| Van Monckhoven Telescope | 23 cm | refractor | Belgium, Ghent, UGENT Observatory Armand Pien | 1880 |
| Sheepshanks Equatorial of Royal Greenwich Observatory[39] | 17 cm (6.7″) | achromat | Greenwich, England | 1838 |
| Merz Refractor (6-duims), Leiden Observatory | 16.6 cm (6.5″) | achromat | Leiden, The Netherlands | 1838 |
| Wesleyan University 6-inch Lerebours refractor[40] | 15.24 cm (6″) | achromat | Connecticut | 1836 [41] [42] |
| Shuckburgh telescope | 10 cm (4.1″) | achromat | Warwickshire, England | 1791–1923 |
| Utzschneider & Fraunhofer Comet Seeker[43] | 10.2 cm (4″) | acrhomat | Foggy Bottom, D.C., USA | 1843 |
| Ertel Comet Seeker Markree Observatory | 7.62 (3″) | achromat | Markree, Ireland | 1842-1873[44] |
* (First light or Build Completion to Inactive (Retired) or Deconstruction)
See also
- Lists of telescopes
- List of largest optical telescopes in the 20th century
- List of largest optical telescopes in the 18th century
- List of largest optical reflecting telescopes
- List of minor planets: 1–1000 (Over 450 Minor planets were discovered in the 19th century)
References
- "1914Obs....37..245H Page 250". Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- "Original mirror for William Herschel's 40 foot telescope, 1785". Science & Society Picture Library. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
- "Largest optical telescopes of the world". stjarnhimlen.se. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- "William Lassell (1799-1880) and the discovery of Triton, 1846". www.mikeoates.org. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2010-01-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Mt. Hamilton Telescopes: CrossleyTelescope". www.ucolick.org. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- Lequeux, James (2013-03-15). Le Verrier—Magnificent and Detestable Astronomer. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9781461455653.
- Lukac, Marie R.; Miller, R. J. (2000). List of Active Professional Observatories. U.S. Naval Observatory.
- Tobin, William (1987), "Foucault's invention of the silvered-glass reflecting telescope and the history of his 80-cm reflector at the observatoire de Marseille", Vistas in Astronomy, 30 (2): 153–184, Bibcode:1987VA.....30..153T, doi:10.1016/0083-6656(87)90015-8
- "1914Obs....37..245H Page 248". Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- Roger Hutchins (2008). British University Observatories, 1772-1939. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 252. ISBN 978-0-7546-3250-4.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-08-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- One of the Oldest Observatories in South America is the Quito Astronomical Observatory
- "Welcome to the Online Museum of the Craig Telescope". Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- "The Lassell Telescope". www.mikeoates.org. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- "Artdeciel, Daramona telescope". Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- Programme de souscription pour la fondation d'un observatoire et d'une société astronomique universelle, ayant pour but le progrès de l'art d'observer et plus particulièrement l'application rationnelle de la photographie et de l'électricité à l'astronomie. 1858.
- Stargazer: The Life and Times of the Telescope, By Fred Watson, page 212
- "The Large Refractors Of The World". chestofbooks.com. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- "William Herschel (1738-1822)". www.maa.clell.de. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal111/universe/etu_a_herschel.htm
- Henry C. King (2003). The History of the Telescope. Courier Corporation. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-486-43265-6.
- Scientific American Reference Book. A Manual for the Office, Household and Shop Author Albert A. Hopkins, A. Russell Bond Publisher Munn & Company Year 1905 Copyright 1904, Munn & Company
- "Harvard College Observatory: Great Refractor". www.cfa.harvard.edu. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- "Armagh Observatory and Planetarium – Armagh Observatory and Planetarium". Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- Watson, Fred (2006). Stargazer: The Life and Times of the Telescope. Perseus Books Group. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-306-81483-9.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2004-11-27. Retrieved 2010-01-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2010-01-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Waaland, J. Robert (1967). "Fraunhofer and the Great Dorpat Refractor". American Journal of Physics. 35 (4): 344. Bibcode:1967AmJPh..35..344W. doi:10.1119/1.1974076.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
- "Fraunhoferi refraktor". www.obs.ee. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- The General History of Astronomy. Cambridge University Press. 1900. ISBN 9780521242561.
- "1884Obs.....7..329D Page 329". adsabs.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
External links
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.