The James Gregory Telescope was constructed in 1962 by the
University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
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, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
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. It is of a
Schmidt-Cassegrain design and is fitted with a
CCD camera.
The telescope has very large field of view, compared even to regular 'wide field' designs, and can view 5 square degrees.
The James Gregory Telescope is the largest working
optical telescope
An optical telescope is a telescope that gathers and focuses light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnified image for direct visual inspection, to make a photograph, or to collect data through electro ...
in the UK and is still used by the School of Physics and Astronomy for research in collaborative projects such as
SuperWASP
WASP or Wide Angle Search for Planets is an international consortium of several academic organisations performing an ultra-wide angle search for exoplanets using transit photometry. The array of robotic telescopes aims to survey the entire sky, ...
and the study of
super massive black holes and their impact on galaxy structure.
The James Gregory Telescope is named after the Scottish mathematician, astronomer and University academic
James Gregory, who invented the design
Gregorian telescope
The Gregorian telescope is a type of reflecting telescope designed by Scottish mathematician and astronomer James Gregory in the 17th century, and first built in 1673 by Robert Hooke. James Gregory was a contemporary of Isaac Newton. Both often ...
.
This was the first design for a reflecting telescope, and pre-dates Newton's design; however Newton is better known as he actually produced a functioning example. (see
Newton's reflector
The first reflecting telescope built by Sir Isaac Newton in 1668 is a landmark in the History of the telescope, history of telescopes, being the first known successful reflecting telescope. It was the prototype for a design that later came to be ...
)
As of 2018, this telescope is recognized as the largest telescope in operation in the United Kingdom.
It is also recognized as the largest Schmidt-Cassegrain.
This design was developed by Baker and Linfoot, and a half-scale model was also made during its development.
It was estimated the telescope costs about 1 million pounds to manufacture, in early 21s century currency.
The telescope uses both a mirror and corrector, and is capable up to 16 degrees but was adjusted after it came online in 1962.
The telescope has an aperture up 37 inches, but in the current setup about 35 inches of aperture are used.
See also
*
List of largest optical telescopes in the 20th century
The following is a list of the largest optical telescopes in the 20th century, paying special attention to the diameter of the mirror or lens of the telescope's objective, or aperture. Aperture rank currently goes approximately by the usable physi ...
*
Gregor telescope at the
Teide Observatory
Teide Observatory ( es, Observatorio del Teide), IAU code 954, is an astronomical observatory on Mount Teide at , located on Tenerife, Spain. It has been operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias since its inauguration in 1964. It becam ...
.
*
Gregorian telescope
The Gregorian telescope is a type of reflecting telescope designed by Scottish mathematician and astronomer James Gregory in the 17th century, and first built in 1673 by Robert Hooke. James Gregory was a contemporary of Isaac Newton. Both often ...
is a type of telescope.
*
James Gregory is the inventor of the Gregorian telescope.
*
Greenwich 28 inch refractor
The Greenwich 28-inch refractor is a telescope at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, where it was first installed in 1893. It is a 28-inch ( 71 cm) aperture Objective (optics), objective lens telescope, otherwise known as a refracting telesc ...
(At RGO)
*
List of largest optical telescopes in the British Isles
List of largest optical telescopes in Ireland and the United Kingdom is a list of the largest optical telescopes in the British Isles, including in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Some of the most famous telescopes would be Herschel's reflec ...
References
{{University of St Andrews
Optical telescopes
Astronomical observatories in Scotland
University of St Andrews