List of largest optical telescopes in the 19th century
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
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. 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
1869
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
Henry Draper 28-inch[ 16] (Harvard College Observatory since 1889[ 1] )
71 cm (28")
reflector-glass
United States
1871
Großer Refraktor, Vienna Observatory
69 cm (26")
achromat
Vienna , Austrian Empire
1880[ 17]
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
Newall Telescope
62.5 cm (24.6")
refractor
Gateshead , England, UK
1869[ 18]
Lowell Observatory
61 cm (24")
achromat
Arizona, USA
1896
Craig telescope
61 cm (24")
achromat
Wandsworth Common , London ,[ 19] UK
1852–1857
William Lassell 24-inch[ 20]
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[ 21]
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[ 22]
Chamberlin Observatory
50 cm (20")
achromat
Colorado, USA
1891
Nasymth 20-inch
50 cm (20")
reflector – metal
United Kingdom[ 23]
1842
Imperial Observatory (Straßburg)
48.5 cm (19.1")
achromat
Straßburg/Strasbourg, German Empire /France
1880[ 24]
Herschel 20-foot (0.475 m diam.)[ 25] [ 26]
47.5 cm (18½")
reflector – metal
Observatory House ; England , UK
1782– ?
Schröter 27 foot Newtonian[ 27]
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[ 28]
Merz & Mahler Refractor, Pulkovo observatory [ 29]
38 cm (15")
achromat
Saint Petersburg , Russian Empire
1839
Harvard Great Refractor, Harvard College Observatory [ 29]
38 cm (15")
achromat
Cambridge, Massachusetts , USA
1847
Armagh 15-inch Grubb Reflector[ 30]
38 cm (15")
reflector – metal
Armagh Observatory , Northern Ireland
1835[ 31]
Paris Observatory (Arago Telescope ) 38 cm Brunner
38 cm (15")
achromat
Paris, France
1857[ 32]
Lunette coudée , Lyon Observatory
36.6 cm
achromat
Saint-Genis-Laval , France
1887
Markree Observatory 13.3-inch Grubb/Cauchoix[ 31]
34 cm (13.3")
refractor
County Sligo , United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
1834[ 31]
The 12.8 Inch Merz refractor at Royal Greenwich Observatory [ 33]
32.5 cm (12.8")
refractor
Greenwich, England
1850s
McMillin Observatory 12½-inch[ 34]
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[ 35]
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[ 36]
Quito Astronomical Observatory [ 37]
24 cm (9½")
Great refractor
Quito , Ecuador
1875
Fraunhofer-Refraktor, Berlin Observatory
24 cm (9.6")
achromat
Berlin-Kreuzberg, Deutsches Kaiserreich (1835–1913)[ 38]
1835
Great Dorpat Refractor (Fraunhofer) Dorpat/Tartu Observatory
24 cm (9.6")
achromat
Dorpat, Governorate of Livonia , Russian Empire / now Tartu , Estonia
1824[ 39] [ 40]
Van Monckhoven Telescope
23 cm
refractor
Ghent, Belgium, UGENT Observatory Armand Pien
1880
Sheepshanks Equatorial of Royal Greenwich Observatory[ 33]
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[ 41]
15.24 cm (6")
achromat
Connecticut, USA
1836[ 41] [ 42]
Shuckburgh telescope
10 cm (4.1")
achromat
Warwickshire, England, UK
1791–1923
Utzschneider & Fraunhofer Comet Seeker[ 43]
10.2 cm (4")
acrhomat
Foggy Bottom, D.C., USA
1843
Ertel Comet SeekerMarkree Observatory
7.62 (3")
achromat
Markree, Ireland
1842– 1873[ 44]
* (First light or Build Completion to Inactive (Retired) or Deconstruction)
See also
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External links