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Sheepshanks equatorial was a 6.7 inch (170 mm) aperture refracting telescope installed in 1838 at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. The telescope was donated to the observatory by the astronomer Richard Sheepshanks. The telescope had a doublet objective lens made by Cauchoix of Paris. Originally it was mounted on a clockwork driven equatorial mounting by Grubb Parsons on a stone pillar.
From 1835 to 1963 it was in the Sheepshanks dome at the Greenwich observatory, and from 1963-1982 in the Altazimuth Pavilion. In the early 1980s it was placed in storage. The telescope's Sheepshanks dome was in between the later Great Equatorial Building and the prime Meridian.
The focal length of the telescope has been quoted as 6 feet 2½ inches (1.9 meters) in one source, but according to another it is 8 feet 2 inches (2.5 meters). The telescope tube was made of wood.
An 1840 report from the Observatory noted of the new Sheepshanks telescope:
Still in service over half a century later, an 1896 report by W. H. M. Christie had this to say about the Sheepshanks at that time:
At one time the Sheepshanks refractor was the largest aperture telescope at Greenwich. One of the instruments for the telescope was a wire micrometer.
Article about Sheepshanks equatorial19th century watercolour painting showing Sheepshanks dome
Optical telescopes Royal Observatory, Greenwich
Sheepshanks equatorial was a 6.7 inch (170 mm) aperture refracting telescope installed in 1838 at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. The telescope was donated to the observatory by the astronomer Richard Sheepshanks. The telescope had a doublet objective lens made by Cauchoix of Paris. Originally it was mounted on a clockwork driven equatorial mounting by Grubb Parsons on a stone pillar.
From 1835 to 1963 it was in the Sheepshanks dome at the Greenwich observatory, and from 1963-1982 in the Altazimuth Pavilion. In the early 1980s it was placed in storage. The telescope's Sheepshanks dome was in between the later Great Equatorial Building and the prime Meridian.
The focal length of the telescope has been quoted as 6 feet 2½ inches (1.9 meters) in one source, but according to another it is 8 feet 2 inches (2.5 meters). The telescope tube was made of wood.
An 1840 report from the Observatory noted of the new Sheepshanks telescope:
Still in service over half a century later, an 1896 report by W. H. M. Christie had this to say about the Sheepshanks at that time:
At one time the Sheepshanks refractor was the largest aperture telescope at Greenwich. One of the instruments for the telescope was a wire micrometer.
Observations
One of its observations was of Comet Encke. The Sheepshanks was used to observe the moon occulting stars in 1905. Some of the stars that were observed include Bradley 687, 130 Tauri, and 26 Geminorum- among others. In addition to the occultation of stars by the Moon, the Sheepshanks equatorial is also reported to have been used to observe the moons of Jupiter.Disambiguation
There are other telescopes bearing the name Sheepshanks, for example the Sheepshanks telescope, No 3; this was a telescope of 4.6 inches aperture and 5 feet of focal length and used with spectroscope in the 1860s. There was also telescope at a Cambridge completed in 1898.See also
* Shuckburgh telescope (1791)References
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Article about Sheepshanks equatorial
Optical telescopes Royal Observatory, Greenwich