Moon rise over the "Leviathon", a comprehensively restored 19th Century Astronomical Telescope, Birr Castle, County Offaly, Ireland
The ‘Leviathan of Parsonstown’ or the Great Telescope in the Birr Castle Demesne. Designed and built by William Parsons, third Earl of Rosse in the 1840s, it was once the largest in the world, instrumental in the discovery of the spiral nature of galaxies. Following the Earl's death the telescope was partly dismantled and the remaining equipment slowly deteriorated between the two massive walls. Some 70 years later, Brendan Parsons, the great-great-grandson of the third Earl, set about restoring the telescope and Birr Castle is once again a centre of astronomy attracting admirers from Ireland, Britain and Europe to marvel at the Victorian edifice.
Size: 2912px × 3643px
Location: Birr Castle, County Offaly, Ireland
Photo credit: © George Munday / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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