This list of largest optical telescopes in the 19th century includes what were large optical telescopes for their time. See List of largest optical telescopes in the 20th century for later telescopes. The list includes various refractors and reflectors that were active at some time between about 1799 to 1901.
The main material used early on for reflecting telescope mirrors was speculum metal, which reflected only about two-thirds of the incident light, and which tarnished, requiring maintenance. Two-element refracting telescopes were extensively used in 19th century observatories despite their smaller apertures than metal, and later glass, mirror telescopes.
The technology for silver-coating glass mirrors, more reflective than speculum metal and not subject to tarnishing, was developed in the mid-19th century but was slow to be adopted. A major technology advance of this time was the development of photography, permitting astrophotography, and some telescopes were tailored to this application. A wide variety of scientific instruments were developed for use with telescopes, such as for spectroscopy and various astronomical measurements.
Reflectors and refractors
editEarly 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. Refracting telescopes, with lenses, especially achromatic doublets, rather than mirrors were popular in the 19th century (see also great refractor).
Legend
| 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, UK | 1891–1904[1] |
| Herschel 40-foot (1.26 m diam.)[2] | 126 cm (49½") | reflector – metal | Observatory House; England, UK | 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 | 83 cm (32.67") | reflector-glass | Toulouse, France | 1875[10][11] |
| Potsdam Großer Refraktor Astrophysical Observatory Potsdam | 80 cm + 50 cm (31½" + 29½") | 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 | 1885–1941/44 |
| Royal Observatory, Greenwich | 76.2 cm (30") | reflector | Greenwich, England, UK | 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 |
| 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,[17] UK | 1852–1857 |
| William Lassell 24-inch[18] | 61 cm (24") | reflector – metal | Liverpool, England, UK | 1845 |
| Royal Observatory, Edinburgh | 61 cm (24") | reflector | Edinburgh, Scotland, UK | 1872[1] |
| Daramona 24-inch reflector[19] | 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, New Jersey, USA | 1881 |
| Institut technomatique | 52 cm (20½") | refractor | Paris, France | 1857[20] |
| Chamberlin Observatory | 50 cm (20") | achromat | Colorado, USA | 1891 |
| Nasymth 20-inch | 50 cm (20") | reflector – metal | United Kingdom[21] | 1842 |
| Imperial Observatory (Straßburg) | 48.5 cm (19.1") | achromat | Straßburg/Strasbourg, German Empire/France | 1880[22] |
| Herschel 20-foot (0.475 m diam.)[23][24] | 47.5 cm (18½") | reflector – metal | Observatory House; England, UK | 1782–? |
| Schröter 27 foot Newtonian[25] | 47 cm (18½") | reflector – metal | Lilienthal, Lower Saxony (Germany) | 1793–1813? |
| 18½-inch Dearborn Observatory Refractor | 47 cm (18½") | 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, South Africa, British Empire | 1897[26] |
| Merz & Mahler Refractor, Pulkovo observatory[27] | 38 cm (15") | achromat | Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire | 1839 |
| Harvard Great Refractor, Harvard College Observatory[27] | 38 cm (15") | achromat | Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA | 1847 |
| Armagh 15-inch Grubb Reflector[28] | 38 cm (15") | reflector – metal | Armagh Observatory, Northern Ireland | 1835[29] |
| Paris Observatory (Arago Telescope) 38 cm Brunner | 38 cm (15") | achromat | Paris, France | 1857[30] |
| Lunette coudée, Lyon Observatory | 36.6 cm | achromat | Saint-Genis-Laval, France | 1887 |
| Markree Observatory 13.3-inch Grubb/Cauchoix[29] | 34 cm (13.3") | refractor | County Sligo, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | 1834[29] |
| The 12.8 Inch Merz refractor at Royal Greenwich Observatory[31] | 32.5 cm (12.8") | refractor | Greenwich, England | 1850s |
| McMillin Observatory 12½-inch[32] | 31.75 cm (12½") | refractor | Ohio, USA | 1895; 1896–1968 |
| Bamberg Refractor, Wilhelm Foerster Observatory (since 1963) in Berlin | 31.4 cm (12.36") | achromat | Urania Observatory, Berlin-Moabit, Prussia / Berlin, Germany | 1889–1945[33] |
| Grubb refractor, Keele Observatory | 31 cm (12.25") | achromat | Oxford, England, UK | 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 (10½") | 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[34] |
| Quito Astronomical Observatory[35] | 24 cm (9½") | Great refractor | Quito, Ecuador | 1875 |
| 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, Russian Empire / now Tartu, Estonia | 1824[37][38] |
| Van Monckhoven Telescope | 23 cm | refractor | Ghent, Belgium, UGENT Observatory Armand Pien | 1880 |
| Sheepshanks Equatorial of Royal Greenwich Observatory[31] | 17 cm (6.7") | achromat | Greenwich, England, UK | 1838 |
| Merz Refractor (6-duims), Leiden Observatory | 16.6 cm (6½") | achromat | Leiden, The Netherlands | 1838 |
| Wesleyan University 6-inch Lerebours refractor[39] | 15.24 cm (6") | achromat | Connecticut, USA | 1836[39][40] |
| Shuckburgh telescope | 10 cm (4.1") | achromat | Warwickshire, England, UK | 1791–1923 |
| Utzschneider & Fraunhofer Comet Seeker[41] | 10.2 cm (4") | acrhomat | Foggy Bottom, D.C., USA | 1843 |
| Ertel Comet Seeker Markree Observatory | 7.62 (3") | achromat | Markree, Ireland | 1842–1873[42] |
* (First light or Build Completion to Inactive (Retired) or Deconstruction)
See also
edit- 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
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- ^ "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.
- ^ Gillespie, Richard (November 2011). The Great Melbourne Telescope. ISBN 978-1-921833-29-8.
- ^ "The 40-inch". Archived from the original on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
- ^ "Popular Astronomy". 1911.
- ^ "Le télescope de 1 mètre - Observatoire de Paris - PSL Centre de recherche en astronomie et astrophysique".
- ^ "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 978-1-4614-5565-3.
- ^ 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
- ^ Gascoigne, S. C. B. (1996). "The Great Melbourne Telescope and other 19th-century Reflectors". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. 37: 101. Bibcode:1996QJRAS..37..101G.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "World's Biggest Refractors". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Exhibitions".
- ^ 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 ShopAuthorAlbert A. Hopkins, A. Russell BondPublisherMunn & CompanyYear1905Copyright1904, Munn & Company
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ a b c Watson, Fred (2006). Stargazer: The Life and Times of the Telescope. Perseus Books Group. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-306-81483-9.
- ^ Lequeux, James (2017). "The Paris Observatory has 350 years". L'Astronomie. 131: 28. Bibcode:2017LAstr.131a..28L.
- ^ a b "Observations Made at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in the Year ... In Astronomy, Magnetism and Meteorology". 1904.
- ^ "Buckeye Stroll".
- ^ "AllZeit Online News". Archived from the original on 2004-11-27. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
- ^ The General History of Astronomy. 1900. ISBN 978-0-521-24256-1.
- ^ One of the Oldest Observatories in South America is the Quito Astronomical Observatory
- ^ "Berlin - History of Astronomy in Berlin". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Fraunhoferi refraktor". www.obs.ee. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
- ^ a b "History, Astronomy - Wesleyan University".
- ^ Slipher, E. C. (1927). "Photographic and visual observations of Mars in 1926 (Abstract)". Popular Astronomy. 35: 210. Bibcode:1927PA.....35S.210S.
- ^ The General History of Astronomy. Cambridge University Press. 1900. ISBN 978-0-521-24256-1.
- ^ Doberck, W. (1884). "1884Obs.....7..329D Page 329". The Observatory. 7: 329. Bibcode:1884Obs.....7..329D. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
External links
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