We had clear weather the other night, so we went up to the Washburn Observatory, and we all had a chance to observe through the 15.6 inch refractor. This construction of this classic American observatory began in 1878, and it is a beautiful building. The telescope was built by Alvan Clark and Sons, one of the premier telescope makers of the time. The telescope is really large - it is over 20 feet long and the objective lens in the front is nearly 16" in diameter. The reason the photograph is red, is because the dome is lit only by red light, so the light will not ruin our night vision. We looked at the first quarter moon, and the Hercules globular cluster. It was very impressive!
1 comment:
Outstanding!
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