List of largest optical telescopes in the British Isles
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List of largest optical telescopes in Ireland and the United Kingdom is a list of the largest optical telescopes in the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
, including in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Some of the most famous telescopes would be Herschel's reflector, which he discovered ''Georgium Sidus'', the Leviathan of Parsontown which at 1.8 meters (72 inches) was for decades the largest aperture telescope in the World, and in the 20th century many older telescopes are popular tourist attractions such as at Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. There is also number of modest instruments at universities used for various astronomical projects or education. The biggest optical telescope was the
Isaac Newton Telescope The Isaac Newton Telescope or INT is a 2.54 m (100 in) optical telescope run by the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma in the Canary Islands since 1984. Originally the INT was situated at He ...
at
Herstmonceux Herstmonceux ( , ; ) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, which includes Herstmonceux Castle. The Herstmonceux Medieval Festival is held annually in August. History The name comes from Anglo-Saxo ...
, with a 98 inch mirror (~249 cm); it was there from 1965 to 1980; a lot of astronomy moved to off-site telescopes in space or distant mountains, with data transmitted electronically. The void left for public outreach is filled in part by planetariums and various museum pieces. The list is not really representative of the largest telescopes operated by the United Kingdom or Ireland, which by the 20th century were building large telescopes overseas or in the southern hemisphere for better weather or other reasons.


Current list

The following is a non-comprehensive list of optical telescopes currently located in the British Isles with an aperture of 24" or greater:


Historical

*Isaac Newton Telescope at Herstmonceux, 98 inches (1965-1979) *
Leviathan of Parsonstown Leviathan of Parsonstown, or Rosse six-foot telescope, is a historic reflecting telescope of aperture, which was the largest telescope in the world from 1845 until the construction of the Hooker Telescope in California in 1917. The Rosse six-f ...
, 1842- ~1890 *3-foot telescope at Parsons *RGO telescopes at different points in its history **38-inch Hargreaves Reflector (1960) **Yapp 36-inch Reflector (1932) **30-inch Steavenson Reflector (1939) **28-inch Refractor (1893) **Thompson Telescope with a 26-inch refractor and 30-inch reflector on one mounting (1896) **Lassell 2-foot Reflector (1845) **Isaac Roberts 20-inch reflector (1885) **Western Equatorial (c.1824) **13-inch Astrographic Refractor (1890) **Merz 12.8-inch Visual Refractor (1859-1893) (this was replaced by the 28 inch Grubb in the onion dome) **Thomson 9-inch Photographic Refractor (c.1888) **Sheepshanks refractor 6.7-inch (1838) (aka
Sheepshanks Equatorial Sheepshanks equatorial was a 6.7 inch (170 mm) aperture refracting telescope installed in 1838 at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, Royal Observatory in Greenwich. The telescope was donated to the observatory by the astronomer Richard Sheep ...
) **6-inch Franklin Adams Camera (1898) **
Shuckburgh telescope The Shuckburgh telescope or Shuckburgh equatorial refracting telescope was a diameter aperture telescope on an equatorial mount completed in 1791 for Sir George Shuckburgh (1751–1804) in Warwickshire, England, and built by British instrument ...
a 4.1-inch aperture Refractor (1791) *At the Observatory Science Center (at Herstmonceux) **Hargreaves 38 inch Congo Schmidt ** Yapp 36 Inch reflector **Thompson 30 inch reflector **Thompson 26 inch reflector *
Markree Observatory Markree Observatory was an astronomical observatory in County Sligo, Ireland. The asteroid 9 Metis was discovered from this observatory in 1848 by Cooper's assistant Andrew Graham using a comet seeker telescope. (Signed 29 April 1848; the discove ...
13.3" Cauchoix (the largest refractor of the early 1830s) *A.A. Commons reflectors (later reworked into Crossley and Harvard telescopes) *Lassel's reflector, this 24 inch metal mirror telescope was used to discover the moon's Triton and Hyperion. * Newton's reflector * 40-foot telescope (England) *
Armagh Observatory Armagh Observatory is an astronomical research institute in Armagh, Northern Ireland. Around 25 astronomers are based at the observatory, studying stellar astrophysics, the Sun, Solar System astronomy and Earth's climate. In 2018, Armagh Obs ...
15-inch Grubb reflecting telescope. Specula metal mirror mounted on an equatorial, with clockwork-drive. * Bedford Observatory Tully 5.9 inch refractor (8.5 feet focal length); Dollond mount with Sheepshanks clockwork drive. * Cambridge Observatory 36 inch (3 foot ~91.44 cm) aperture reflector


Observations

A noted accomplishment of the biggest telescope at the time, Ross's "six foot" leviathan, was the observation of the spiral structure of M51, which was presented at Cambridge in the summer of 1845. Herschel was quite prolific discovering a planet and many moons of the Solar system also with his reflectors.


See also

*
Lists of telescopes This is a list of lists of telescopes. * List of astronomical interferometers at visible and infrared wavelengths *List of astronomical observatories *List of highest astronomical observatories *List of large optical telescopes * List of largest ...
*
List of telescopes of Australia The list below is split between telescopes located in Australia, and telescopes sponsored by Australia such as a space telescope or foreign installation. Australia can access the Southern skies, which was a popular trend in the 20th century (ma ...
*
David Dunlap Observatory The David Dunlap Observatory (DDO) is an astronomical observatory site in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1935, it was owned and operated by the University of Toronto until 2008. It was then acquired by the city of Richmond Hill, ...
(Largest telescope of the British Empire in the 1930s)


References


External links


The 98 inch (249 cm) mirror glass of original INT
{{Portal bar, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System Lists of telescopes Astronomy in Ireland