Schneider APO Artar

George Emory Hale, who
designed it, and the 100 inch at Mt. Wilson, never lived to
see it completed.

I don't think that right. Story goes that he was the first to look through the
200. There were so many stars he, though the telescope was pointed directly
into the milkyway.

Larry

George Emory Hale, who
designed it, and the 100 inch at Mt. Wilson, never lived to
see it completed.

I don't think that right. Story goes that he was the first to look through the
200. There were so many stars he, though the telescope was pointed directly
into the milkyway.

Larry

"Hemi4268" wrote in message
...
George Emory Hale, who
designed it, and the 100 inch at Mt. Wilson, never lived
to
see it completed.

I don't think that right. Story goes that he was the
first to look through the
200. There were so many stars he, though the telescope
was pointed directly
into the milkyway.

Larry


George Ellery Hale (I got the name wrong in my previous
post, I have a friend at work named Emory) died in 1938 and
the 200" wasn't completed until 1949. There are other
telescopes at Palomar so he may have been the first to look
through one of those. He was certainly alive when the 100"
telescope was completed.
It would be interesting to know how many people have
actually looked directly through the 200" telescope since it
is never used for visual observation. I am not sure it even
has means for visual observation. These two telescopes are
remarkable achievments and no fooling.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

"Hemi4268" wrote in message
...
George Emory Hale, who
designed it, and the 100 inch at Mt. Wilson, never lived
to
see it completed.

I don't think that right. Story goes that he was the
first to look through the
200. There were so many stars he, though the telescope
was pointed directly
into the milkyway.

Larry


George Ellery Hale (I got the name wrong in my previous
post, I have a friend at work named Emory) died in 1938 and
the 200" wasn't completed until 1949. There are other
telescopes at Palomar so he may have been the first to look
through one of those. He was certainly alive when the 100"
telescope was completed.
It would be interesting to know how many people have
actually looked directly through the 200" telescope since it
is never used for visual observation. I am not sure it even
has means for visual observation. These two telescopes are
remarkable achievments and no fooling.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

He was certainly alive when the 100"
telescope was completed.

And the story might be with the 100 incher now that I think about it.

"Richard Knoppow" wrote:

George Ellery Hale (I got the name wrong in my previous
post, I have a friend at work named Emory) died in 1938 and
the 200" wasn't completed until 1949. There are other
telescopes at Palomar so he may have been the first to look
through one of those. He was certainly alive when the 100"
telescope was completed.
It would be interesting to know how many people have
actually looked directly through the 200" telescope since it
is never used for visual observation. I am not sure it even
has means for visual observation. These two telescopes are
remarkable achievments and no fooling.

In the Bad Old Days, when the astronomer had to ride around in
the prime focus cage or stand out on the dome floor, he[*]
would guide the telescope during an exposure, by looking through
an eyepiece with crosshairs at a star field adjacent to whatever
was being observed, and using a hand paddle to make minute
adjustments to the telescope position. (Telescopes track to follow
the apparent rotation of the sky, but do not guide well enough on
their own to preserve sub-arcsecond precision through a long exposure.)
So in that sense, many people have looked through the telescope,
although a guider eyepiece is probably not the best view aesthetically.
There is an anecdote in Richard Preston's "First Light" about an
astronomer pointing the telescope at Venus and finding the eyepiece
image nearly blinding.

These days, the astronomer sits at a computer in a lighted control
room and guiding is done automatically with a TV camera and software
that controls the telescope. Less romantic, but you can go to the
bathroom during the night.


[*] "He" - In one of the more shameful episodes in the history of
astronomy, women were not officially allowed to observe at Mount
Wilson or Palomar until the mid-1960s (!) when some younger
scientists forced the issue.

"Benjamin Weiner" wrote in message
om...


[*] "He" - In one of the more shameful episodes in the history of
astronomy, women were not officially allowed to observe at
Mount Wilson or Palomar until the mid-1960s (!) when some
younger scientists forced the issue.

Wonder if there was ever a Sophie Germaine equivalent...?


Peter