Great Melbourne Telescope. This reflector telescope was constructed under the direction of optician Thomas Grubb in 1868 in Dublin for the Melbourne O

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Great Melbourne Telescope. This reflector telescope was constructed under the direction of optician Thomas Grubb in 1868 in Dublin for the Melbourne Observatory, Australia. It had a mirror 122 centimetres in diameter with a focal length of metres. Its equatorial mount moved it to compensate for the rotation of the Earth, easily allowing it to follow an object across the sky. The skeleton tube framework had spiral strips and rings for increased strength and freedom from tremor. The pulleys at the observer's end moved a mirror at the other end, to focus the image. It was used to observe the skies of the Southern Hemisphere. Photographed at Grubbs' works in Dublin, before it was shipped to Australia.

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Size: 3987px × 4488px
Photo credit: © ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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