Great Melbourne Telescope, 1868

Engraving of the Great Melbourne Telescope. The image is based on a photograph of the telescope temporarily erected in Thomas Grubb's workshop yard in Dublin in 1868. The engraving has tranposed the telescope to an imagined landscape. The Melbourne Telescope was one of the earliest large telescopes in the southern hemisphere. It was designed and built in 1868 by Grubb in Dublin, Ireland, and focused light using a mirror with a diameter of 1.2 meters. It was tested successfully in Ireland but was a failure when installed in Australia. It was over-sensitive to vibrations and the mirror was ruined when the protective coating used during shipment was removed. The telescope's failure was described as one of the greatest calamities in the history of astronomy. Colorized

Restrictions Only for Ireland and United Kingdom

Astronomical Failure Grubb Hemisphere Hemispheres Melbourne Observatories Observatory Telescope Telescopes

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