Imaging with a 10" Refractor

[PhotoGav]

I have the chance to play around with a fantastic old telescope at my local observatory. It is a Thomas Cooke 10" refractor, made in 1860. I feel as though I should be wearing top hat and tails and smoking a pipe while using it, but have thus far resisted. Anyway, it's an absolute pig to use, but just a magnificent thing. I tried imaging the Moon with it this evening. Far from the best results possible, but a start. I hope to have many more sessions with it and get some better images.

First off, Mare Crisium:

And then the crater Petravius (lower right) and its surrounding area:

[johnfosteruk]

Ooooh that's nice.

What imaging gear did you attach to it? And how?

[MarsG76]

Nice.. history in timeless action...

[PhotoGav]

5 hours ago, johnfosteruk said:

What imaging gear did you attach to it? And how?

I used a Point Grey Chameleon3 mono camera. I attached it with difficulty! Strangely the scope wasn’t designed with imaging in mind! It has a 2” push fit hole at the end of the focuser. The focuser itself is diabolicaly stiff, so yesterday I was trying out a Baader SCT focuser with a 2” push fit nosepiece, inserted into the scope’s focuser. I eventually got it to reach focus, but more adapters needed as my friend was holding the Baader focuser in place as the screw to hold it didn’t quite marry up with the nosepiece. It was quite a sight - my friend up a ladder complaining that the blood flow to his hands was dwindling!! I’ll take some pics of the scope in action next time I’m up there.

[ollypenrice]

Brilliant! What a great post. UCLAN have an antique refractor (or pair thereof) with which I observed Saturn once. A great experience. The UCLAN scopes are a parallel pair, one optimized for observing and one for the photographic plates then available. Since colour correction was not as good as it is now, I wonder if using an infra red pass filter or an Ha might give even better results?

I'll look out for your pictures of the beast!

Olly

[PhotoGav]

Thanks Olly, it really is something quite special using an instrument with such a history. It was installed at Oxford University's Radcliffe Observatory in the early 1900's and was one of the best scopes in the country and beyond at the time. It's current claim to fame is that it is the oldest telescope with computer go-to, in the world!!

That's a very good idea regarding the use of a filter, I will give that a try.

[Astroscot2]

Hello Gav,  very nice moon shots, would be interested in seeing pictures of the scope as it would be nice to compare it to the Thomas Cooke 10" we have at the Coast Observatory in Paisley.

[PhotoGav]

1 hour ago, Astroscot2 said:

Hello Gav,  very nice moon shots, would be interested in seeing pictures of the scope as it would be nice to compare it to the Thomas Cooke 10" we have at the Coast Observatory in Paisley.

Thank you @Astroscot2 - I think I have heard talk of the Paisley 10" from our Observatory Director, so would imagine that they are definitely related! There aren't very many Cooke 10" scopes still operational in the world these days - I think only a handful. I will take some pics next time and post them up.

[PhotoGav]

I've just found this picture in my archives - me and my colleague Jonathan Genton (ex Head of Science and current Academic Administrator at Marlborough College) in the observatory. Gives a glimpse of the beast!

[johnfosteruk]

She's a beauty!

[ultranova]

very nice topic, nice to see something that old still giving people pleasure

I wonder if any of my gear will look as good as that in 158 years

in saying that if the damn cloud don't go away, they will

find it in a 158 years still wrapped up in its box

Nice post

Paul