Great Melbourne Telescope
Encyclopedia
The Great Melbourne Telescope was built by Thomas Grubb
in Dublin, Ireland
in 1868, and installed at the Melbourne Observatory
in Melbourne
, Australia
in 1869.
The telescope had a 48 inches (1,219.2 mm) speculum primary mirror, and was mounted on an equatorial mounting. The design had been approved by a committee of leading British astronomers and scientists.
At the time of commissioning it was the second largest telescope operating in the world, after Lord Rosse’s 6 foot reflector
at Birr
, Ireland.
The telescope was designed to explore the nebulae visible from the southern hemisphere, and in particular to document whether any changes had occurred in the nebulae since they were charted by John Herschel
in the 1830s at the Cape of Good Hope
.
After some initial teething problems, the telescope was used for about 20 years at Melbourne Observatory, and one volume of observations produced, along with spectroscopic observations and some pioneering attempts at photographing nebulae. The difficulties of repolishing the mirror and the telescope’s relative unsuitability for photography deterred further use.
When Melbourne Observatory closed in 1945, the Great Melbourne Telescope was sold to the Australian Government’s Mount Stromlo Observatory
near Canberra
. It was rebuilt in the late 1950s with modern drive and a new 50 inches (127 cm) pyrex mirror. In the early 1990s the telescope, still utilising Grubb’s original equatorial mounting, was rebuilt with two CCD
arrays to detect MACHO
s (massive astrophysical compact halo objects).
In 2003 a bushfire destroyed the telescopes and buildings at Mount Stromlo. The fire-ravaged remnants of the 50-inch telescope were transferred to Museum Victoria
, which had previously acquired discarded parts of the original telescope in 1984.
A project is now underway to restore the Great Melbourne Telescope and, if feasible, reinstate it in its original building at the former Melbourne Observatory site.
Thomas Grubb
Thomas Grubb was an Irish optician and founder of the Grubb Telescope Company.He was born probably near Portlaw, County Waterford, Ireland, the son of William and Eleanor Grubb....
in Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1868, and installed at the Melbourne Observatory
Melbourne Observatory
Melbourne Observatory was founded in 1862 to serve as a scientific research institution for the rapidly growing city of Melbourne, the capital of the colony of Victoria. The observatory was tasked by the Victorian government with maintaining an accurate time reference for the colony through...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1869.
The telescope had a 48 inches (1,219.2 mm) speculum primary mirror, and was mounted on an equatorial mounting. The design had been approved by a committee of leading British astronomers and scientists.
At the time of commissioning it was the second largest telescope operating in the world, after Lord Rosse’s 6 foot reflector
Leviathan of Parsonstown
Leviathan of Parsonstown is the unofficial name of the Rosse six foot telescope. This is a historic reflecting telescope of 72 in aperture, which was the largest telescope in the world from 1845 until the construction of the 100 in Hooker Telescope in 1917...
at Birr
Birr
Birr is a town in County Offaly, Ireland. Once called Parsonstown, after the Parsons family who were local landowners and hereditary Earls of Rosse. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe....
, Ireland.
The telescope was designed to explore the nebulae visible from the southern hemisphere, and in particular to document whether any changes had occurred in the nebulae since they were charted by John Herschel
John Herschel
Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet KH, FRS ,was an English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, and experimental photographer/inventor, who in some years also did valuable botanical work...
in the 1830s at the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
.
After some initial teething problems, the telescope was used for about 20 years at Melbourne Observatory, and one volume of observations produced, along with spectroscopic observations and some pioneering attempts at photographing nebulae. The difficulties of repolishing the mirror and the telescope’s relative unsuitability for photography deterred further use.
When Melbourne Observatory closed in 1945, the Great Melbourne Telescope was sold to the Australian Government’s Mount Stromlo Observatory
Mount Stromlo Observatory
Mount Stromlo Observatory located just outside of Canberra, Australia, is part of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University .-History:...
near Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. It was rebuilt in the late 1950s with modern drive and a new 50 inches (127 cm) pyrex mirror. In the early 1990s the telescope, still utilising Grubb’s original equatorial mounting, was rebuilt with two CCD
Charge-coupled device
A charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time...
arrays to detect MACHO
Macho
Macho typically refers to machismo. Other uses include:*Macho , a short-lived disco group in the late 1970s*Pique macho, Bolivian dish*Macho Man , a 1978 disco song performed by the Village People...
s (massive astrophysical compact halo objects).
In 2003 a bushfire destroyed the telescopes and buildings at Mount Stromlo. The fire-ravaged remnants of the 50-inch telescope were transferred to Museum Victoria
Museum Victoria
Museum Victoria is an organisation which operates three major state-owned museums in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; these are: the Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks. It also manages the Royal Exhibition Building and a storage facility in Melbourne's City of Moreland.Museum...
, which had previously acquired discarded parts of the original telescope in 1984.
A project is now underway to restore the Great Melbourne Telescope and, if feasible, reinstate it in its original building at the former Melbourne Observatory site.
External links
- http://www.greatmelbournetelescope.org.au
- http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/themes/2626/great-melbourne-telescope