List of largest optical telescopes in the British Isles
May 08, 2024
List of largest optical telescopes in Ireland and the United Kingdom is a list of the largest optical telescopes in the British Isles, including in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The 28-inch Grubb refractor's dome at Greenwich.Discovered as Georgium Sidus, later known as Uranus was one of the famous discoveries made from the British IslesThe mirror from the 40-foot telescope, on display at the Science Museum, London.Former Royal Greenwich Observatory, Herstmonceux, East Sussex; this was an important site for telescopes in the latter 20th century in England.Closeup of lower end of a 28-inch aperture telescopeThe old INT dome
Some of the most famous telescopes would be Herschel's reflector, which he discovered Georgium Sidus, the Leviathan of Parsontown which at 1.8 meters (72 inches) was for decades the largest aperture telescope in the World, and in the 20th century many older telescopes are popular tourist attractions such as at Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. There is also number of modest instruments at universities used for various astronomical projects or education.
The biggest optical telescope was the Isaac Newton Telescope at Herstmonceux, with a 98 inch mirror (~249 cm); it was there from 1965 to 1980; a lot of astronomy moved to off-site telescopes in space or distant mountains, with data transmitted electronically. The void left for public outreach is filled in part by planetariums and various museum pieces.
The list is not really representative of the largest telescopes operated by the United Kingdom or Ireland, which by the 20th century were building large telescopes overseas or in the southern hemisphere for better weather or other reasons.
A noted accomplishment of the biggest telescope at the time, Ross's "six foot" leviathan, was the observation of the spiral structure of M51, which was presented at Cambridge in the summer of 1845.[23] Herschel was quite prolific discovering a planet and many moons of the Solar system also with his reflectors.
^"Observatory Science Centre at Herstmonceux". www.millseyspages.com. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
^"The Royal Observatory Greenwich - where east meets west: Telescope: The Lassell 2-foot Reflector (1847)". www.royalobservatorygreenwich.org. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
^ abButler, C.J. "The 15-inch Equatorial Reflector by Thomas Grubb at Armagh Observatory".
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List of largest optical telescopes in Ireland and the United Kingdom is a list of the largest optical telescopes in the British Isles including in the United Kingdom and Ireland The 28 inch Grubb refractor s dome at Greenwich Discovered as Georgium Sidus later known as Uranus was one of the famous discoveries made from the British Isles The mirror from the 40 foot telescope on display at the Science Museum London Former Royal Greenwich Observatory Herstmonceux East Sussex this was an important site for telescopes in the latter 20th century in England Closeup of lower end of a 28 inch aperture telescope The old INT dome Some of the most famous telescopes would be Herschel s reflector which he discovered Georgium Sidus the Leviathan of Parsontown which at 1 8 meters 72 inches was for decades the largest aperture telescope in the World and in the 20th century many older telescopes are popular tourist attractions such as at Royal Observatory in Greenwich London There is also number of modest instruments at universities used for various astronomical projects or education The biggest optical telescope was the Isaac Newton Telescope at Herstmonceux with a 98 inch mirror 249 cm it was there from 1965 to 1980 a lot of astronomy moved to off site telescopes in space or distant mountains with data transmitted electronically The void left for public outreach is filled in part by planetariums and various museum pieces The list is not really representative of the largest telescopes operated by the United Kingdom or Ireland which by the 20th century were building large telescopes overseas or in the southern hemisphere for better weather or other reasons Contents 1 Current list 2 Historical 3 Observations 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksCurrent list editThe following is a non comprehensive list of optical telescopes currently located in the British Isles with an aperture of 24 or greater Reflecting telescopes Name Effective aperture Type Location Operator First light Comments Rosse Six Foot Telescope reconstructed 1 72 in 183 cm Newtonian reflector Birr Leinster Ireland Birr Castle 1999 Largest optical telescope in the British Isles The 38 inch Congo Schmidt 2 38 in 96 5 cm Reflector Herstmonceux East Sussex England The Observatory Science Centre 1960 Largest optical telescope in UK but never used due to flawed optics James Gregory Telescope 3 37 in 94 0 cm Cassegrain reflector St Andrews Fife Scotland University of St Andrews 1962 Largest operational optical telescope in the UK Cambridge 36 Inch telescope 4 36 in 91 4 cm Reflector Cambridge Cambridgeshire England University of Cambridge 1955 Largest optical telescope still in use in England 36 inch Yapp telescope 5 36 in 91 4 cm Reflector Herstmonceux East Sussex England The Observatory Science Centre 1932 Edinburgh 36 inch telescope 6 36 in 91 4 cm Reflector Edinburgh Scotland Royal Observatory Edinburgh 1930 No longer operational The 34 inch Hewitt Camera 7 34 in 86 4 cm Reflector Herstmonceux East Sussex England The Observatory Science Centre 1950s Perren Telescope 8 31 5 in 80 0 cm Ritchey Chretien reflector Mill Hill London England UCL Observatory 2019 John Wall refractor 9 30 in 76 2 cm Refractor Hanwell Oxfordshire England Hanwell Community Observatory 1999 Largest refractor in the British Isles 30 Dobsonian 10 30 in 76 2 cm Reflector Todmorden West Yorkshire England The Astronomy Centre 1986 The Thompson 30 inch Reflector 11 30 in 76 2 cm Reflector Herstmonceux East Sussex England The Observatory Science Centre 1896 Greenwich 28 inch refractor 12 28 in 71 1 cm Refractor Greenwich London England Royal Observatory Greenwich 1893 Moses Holden Telescope 13 27 6 in 70 1 cm Reflector Preston Lancashire England University of Central Lancashire 2015 The Thompson 26 inch Refractor 14 26 in 66 0 cm Refractor Herstmonceux East Sussex England The Observatory Science Centre 1897 24 17 Schmidt Camera 15 24 in 61 0 cm Reflector Knighton Powys Wales The Spaceguard Centre 1950 Largest optical telescope in Wales Thornton Telescope 16 24 in 61 0 cm Reflector Keele Staffordshire England Keele University 1975 24 Telescope 17 24 in 61 0 cm Reflector Bayfordbury Hertfordshire England University of Hertfordshire 2021Historical editIsaac Newton Telescope at Herstmonceux 98 inches 1965 1979 Leviathan of Parsonstown 1842 1890 3 foot telescope at Parsons RGO telescopes at different points in its history 18 38 inch Hargreaves Reflector 1960 Yapp 36 inch Reflector 1932 30 inch Steavenson Reflector 1939 28 inch Refractor 1893 Thompson Telescope with a 26 inch refractor and 30 inch reflector on one mounting 1896 Lassell 2 foot Reflector 1845 Isaac Roberts 20 inch reflector 1885 Western Equatorial c 1824 13 inch Astrographic Refractor 1890 Merz 12 8 inch Visual Refractor 1859 1893 this was replaced by the 28 inch Grubb in the onion dome Thomson 9 inch Photographic Refractor c 1888 Sheepshanks refractor 6 7 inch 1838 aka Sheepshanks Equatorial 6 inch Franklin Adams Camera 1898 Shuckburgh telescope a 4 1 inch aperture Refractor 1791 At the Observatory Science Center at Herstmonceux 19 Hargreaves 38 inch Congo Schmidt Yapp 36 Inch reflector Thompson 30 inch reflector Thompson 26 inch reflector Markree Observatory 13 3 Cauchoix the largest refractor of the early 1830s A A Commons reflectors later reworked into Crossley and Harvard telescopes Lassel s reflector this 24 inch metal mirror telescope was used to discover the moon s Triton and Hyperion 20 Newton s reflector 40 foot telescope England Armagh Observatory 15 inch Grubb reflecting telescope 21 Specula metal mirror mounted on an equatorial with clockwork drive 21 Bedford Observatory Tully 5 9 inch refractor 8 5 feet focal length Dollond mount with Sheepshanks clockwork drive 22 Cambridge Observatory 36 inch 3 foot 91 44 cm aperture reflectorObservations editA noted accomplishment of the biggest telescope at the time Ross s six foot leviathan was the observation of the spiral structure of M51 which was presented at Cambridge in the summer of 1845 23 Herschel was quite prolific discovering a planet and many moons of the Solar system also with his reflectors See also editLists of telescopes List of telescopes of Australia David Dunlap Observatory Largest telescope of the British Empire in the 1930s References edit The Great Telescope at Birr Castle Birr Castle Gardens amp Science Centre Ireland The 38 inch Congo Schmidt JGT Observatory 36 Inch Telescope Institute of Astronomy University of Cambridge The 36 inch Yapp Reflector The Royal observatory Edinburgh The 34 inch Hewitt Camera Perren Telescope 29 October 2018 John Wall refractor Hanwell Community Observatory The rebuilt 30 Dobsonian Dome A the Thompson 30 inch reflecting telescope Wright D C 1990 The 28 inch Refractor at Greenwich a History of Two Telescopes Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 31 4 Royal Astronomical Society 551 566 Bibcode 1990QJRAS 31 551W Alston Observatory Jeremiah Horrocks Institute Dome e the Thompson 26 inch refracting telescope Project DRAX in Detail the Spaceguard Centre 1970s Keele University Telescopes Telescopes Observatory Science Centre at Herstmonceux www millseyspages com Retrieved 2019 10 27 The Royal Observatory Greenwich where east meets west Telescope The Lassell 2 foot Reflector 1847 www royalobservatorygreenwich org Retrieved 2019 11 28 a b Butler C J The 15 inch Equatorial Reflector by Thomas Grubb at Armagh Observatory 1949PA 57 74K Page 74 adsabs harvard edu Bibcode 1949PA 57 74K Retrieved 2019 10 31 New Scientist Reed Business Information 1983 08 04 External links editThe 98 inch 249 cm mirror glass of original INT Portals nbsp Astronomy nbsp Stars nbsp Spaceflight nbsp Outer space nbsp Solar System Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title List of largest optical telescopes in the British Isles amp oldid 1213229120, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
