Telescopes melbourne welcome to opticscentral, australia. After this, he was in charge of the great melbourne telescope. The great melbourne telescope gillespie, richard on. For anything else refer to the obituary linked from le sueurs date of death. Dr richard gillespie in this lecture dr gillespie will reveal one of the great hidden stories of 19th century. The great melbourne telescope gmt was built by thomas grubb of dublin in 1868 and. In the 1870s it was one of the largest steerable telescopes in the world and took some of the best photos of the moon that had ever been taken. They agreed that its maker, thomas grubb in dublin, had excelled in creating a. The great melbourne telescope on abc australia wide. The great melbourne telescope is one of the great hidden stories of 19th century melbourne, yet at the time it received much press coverage and public attention. Grubbs firm went on to make many of the major telescopes around the world in the.
Now the great melbourne telescope is about to embark on a new chapter in its history, with plans to restore and refurbish it for public and educational use, back home in its original building at melbourne observatory. Involved with the construction of and early observations with the 48inch great melbourne telescope, which for twentysome years was the largest telescope in the world, lord rosses 72inch leviathan having fallen into disrepair. A cheaper alternative to buying a telescope is to make your own. This telescope by meade is one of our best sellers because of its ease of use, good optical quality and affordable price. The great melbourne telescope was built by thomas grubb of dublin in 1868 and erected at melbourne observatory in 1869. Download fulltext pdf the role of the large reflecting telescope in amateur astronomy.
The great melbourne telescope was the largest fully steerable telescope of the 19th century. Being a popular guide to the use of the telescope as a means of amusement and instruction. A contextual history great hopes were held for the great melbourne telescope gmt when it was erected in melbourne, australia in 1869. The great melbourne telescope is one of the great hidden stories of 19th century australia. An alltime favourite telescope for amateur astronomy. Robinson, t grubb, t philosophical transactions of the royal society of london 17761886. A team of enthusiastic volunteers, supported by museums victoria, have been actively working since 2008 to restore the iconic great melbourne telescope for a return to its original location at the melbourne observatory adjacent to the royal botanic gardens. Great melbourne telescope anu research school of astronomy.
According to an article in the age newspaper on 24 november 2008 the parts of the great melbourne telescope at mt stromlo observatory near canberra are going back to melbourne. The reflecting telescope had a mirror 48 inches across. I really enjoyed the great detail put into the book and the sure knowledge of the authora research physicist. The great melbourne telescope gmt was the last great reflector that was fitted with a speculummetal mirror. For some decades, the telescope was an engineering marvel of its time, as indeed was its bluestonebased observatory building, which had a rolloff roof of novel design. Melbourne observatory simple english wikipedia, the free. Abc cameraman michael barnett has been checking in every now and then on our restoration progress since the project began in 2008. The great melbourne telescope was used to test a theory that the missing mass is attributed to massive astrophysical compact halo objects machos, such as black holes or neutron stars. It was destroyed in a bushfire in 2003, but there are plans to rebuild it and set it up as a display at the melbourne observatory. Its design and construction was overseen by leading british astronomers. An ambitious restoration project to revive the historic great melbourne telescope gmt in time for its 150th anniversary is running out of time and money. Richard gillespie is head of the humanities department at museum victoria in melbourne, australia.
We are a fun optics superstore with a large collection of quality telescopes for astronomers at any stage of his her interest. After relocation to canberra in 1945, it was modified and upgraded three times for modern astronomy. Erected at melbourne observatory in 1869, the telescope was the second largest telescope in the world, designed to explore the nature of the nebulae in the southern hemisphere skies. Masterpiece of engineering rises from the ashes tau beta pi. His following video first aired as a segment on the abc australia wide program on 26 november 2016. Telescopes in history encyclopedia of astronomy and strophysics multiple mirror telescope mmt, which was built on mount hopkins in arizona in 1977. Welcome to astronomy astronomical society of south australia. It was a reflecting telescope with a speculum metal mirror of 48 inches 1. Aps 2020 meeting 10 11 february 2020 version 14 november 2019 aps 2020 will take place on 10 11 february 2020 at the melbourne planetarium located in museum victorias scienceworks. Pdf on jan 1, 2000, wayne orchiston and others published amateur. At the time it was the second largest telescope in the world and the largest in. Page 1 of 3 favorite books about telescope history. Send high resolution image to level 2 postscript printer.
Replicas of telescopes of galileo and toricelli ca. Send low resolution image to level 1 postscript printer. Id highly recommend that you read the books build your own telescope by richard berry and making and enjoying telescopes by miller and wilson. As melbourne increased in size the light from the city limited the use of the observatory for serious astronomy. People would go and visit the view through the great melbourne telescope, they started printing tickets and you had to book to use the telescope in the evenings. There were some remarkable achievements for an advanced scientific instrument that. The story of the great melbourne telescope in its day not only the second largest telescope in the world but also an integral player in the role of science in early melbourne. Mr gillespie details the story of the telescope in his book, the great melbourne telescope, published last year. The makers plate on the main axis of the great melbourne telescope before the fire at mt stromlo, image nick lomb. The telescope was a source of pride to melburnians, symbolising that theirs was a city of learning. Installed at the melbourne observatory in 1869, the telescope symbolised a transition for early melbourne from a colonial outpost to a city of learning and science. Nov 25, 2016 an ambitious restoration project to revive the historic great melbourne telescope gmt in time for its 150th anniversary is running out of time and money.
Page 1 of 2 best book guide for an new telescope user. One of the largest telescopes of the 19th century was the great melbourne telescope, one of the last big metal mirror reflecting telescopes before the silveronglass designs came to predominate. The great melbourne telescope was built by thomas grubb in dublin, ireland in 1868, and. Grubb telescope the rate with the large telescope was 2. A joint project of the royal society and the british association, the great melbourne telescope was the result of both technical and organisational innovation in the design and manufacture of a large telescope. Now an employeeowned company, we pride ourselves on an unswerving commitment to best quality products, value and unmatched customer care. Designed by leading british astronomers and erected at melbourne observatory in 1869, the telescope was the second largest telescope in the world.
A further refurbishment of the telescope was planned when the firestorm that hit canberra in january 2003 destroyed the telescopes. The most recent authoritative book about the gmt is richard gillespies. The great melbourne telescope and other 19thcentury reflectors. In 1945 that observatory closed and the telescope was sold and moved to the mount stromlo observatory near canberra. The meade infinity 70mm telescope is a relatively simple refractor telescope but proves to produce an excellent view of the moon and stars every time. History of the telescope pedro res astronomical ccd. The design and construction was overseen by a committee of eminent british. Great melbourne telescope to its former glory in its. The great melbourne telescope was sold to the mount stromlo observatory in canberra in 1944.
Pdf the role of the large reflecting telescope in amateur. Nov 24, 2008 the makers plate on the main axis of the great melbourne telescope before the fire at mt stromlo, image nick lomb. It went into operation in 1869 and was not only the biggest equatorial telescope in the world but also the largest and most expensive scientific equipment ever built in the australia figures 6 and 7. A short but well written book on a fascinating slice of victorian history. Bell 58 lost in the glare some interesting objects await imagers who can tear their cameras away from the showpieces of the night skies. Im going to be getting my first telescope here soon and i want to get a good guidebook to go along with learning how to observe, what to look for, and just basically how to get the most out of viewing sessions. Feb 01, 2016 great melbourne telescope, as it was soon known, was built in dublin in 186768 and shipped to our shores after testing. It was a reflector telescope with a speculum metal mirror of 48 inches in diameter. 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. Observations of distant galaxies had demonstrated the gravitational presence of an invisible matter that neither emitted nor absorbed light. The great melbourne telescope was transferred to the mt.
When it became operational in 1869, the 48in great melbourne telescope gmt was the largest equatoriallymounted reflector in the world, and great advances in observational astronomy were expected. Mirrors are much cheaper, per unit area, than detectors. So if you want to gather a lot of radiation, it makes sense to build a big mirror to gather all the radiation into a small spot, and put a detector there. The great melbourne telescope gmt was built by thomas grubb of dublin in 1868 and erected at melbourne observatory in 1869. Three coloured engravings on one sheet of the great melbourne telescope at melbourne observatory. Great melbourne telescope, as it was soon known, was built in dublin in 186768 and shipped to our shores after testing. In my catalogues i included the nebulae from the 1885 book published under the direction of robert ellery. Great melbourne telescope project the goal of the great melbourne telescope project is to restore the telescope to working order so that it may be used for educational and public viewing. It was designed to explore the nature of the nebulae in the southern skies. Dec 20, 2011 the cover of the great melbourne telescope by richard gillespie. Bid to bring great melbourne telescope back to life running. The great melbourne telescope being installed in 1869 after it was shipped in pieces from the works of howard grubb, dublin. The great melbourne telescope by richard gillespie. People would go and visit the view through the great melbourne telescope, they started printing tickets and you had to book.
Buy the great melbourne telescope by richard gillespie, paperback format, from the dymocks online bookstore. The cover of the great melbourne telescope by richard gillespie. Volunteers and staff with components of the great melbourne telescope setup at moreland annexe. When it became operational in 1869, the 48in great melbourne telescope gmt was the largest equatoriallymounted reflector in the world, and great advances in. In 2003 a firestorm engulfed mt stromlo observatory, leaving the telescope as an abandoned rusting skeleton. I started out hoping to learn more about the history of small, nonobservatory telescopes and my rankings are based on that criterion. Originally published in the australasian sketcher, junejuly 1874. The great melbourne telescope was an icon of marvellous melbourne. Send low resolution image to level 2 postscript printer. The telescope became a kind of scientific icon of melbourne. Engraving the great melbourne telescope, melbourne. Relocated to canberra in 1944, it was heavily modified for modern astronomy.
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