The largest working telescope actually in the UK is the 38 inch James Gregory Telescope at St Andrews University Observatory

[fifeskies]

The James Gregory Telescope , St Andrews

    

Previously (before Covid) this was open to visitors on 2 open days a year as well as once a month during winter evenings.

Hopefully these opportunities will return in time. It is worth the visit to see this wonderful telescope.

The mirror is 38 inch , the Schmitt corrector 37 inch and it operates stopped down as a 35inch.

I recently discovered some fascinating historical film had been posted showing the construction of the mount/dome and the fabrication of the mirror.

Dome construction James Gregory Telescope - YouTube

Mirror assembly for James Gregory Telescope - YouTube

 

 

more information about the James Gregory Telescope (JGT) and its history can be found here

    JGT – Observatory (st-andrews.ac.uk)

 

for those into the finer details there is a great "manual" for the scope   JGT_manual.pdf (st-andrews.ac.uk)

 

The photos of the telescope below were taken on the last open night in Dec 2019

 

                       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by fifeskies

[Kon]

I have been lucky to see through this telescope when I was a student at St Andrews many many years ago. It was the first time to see the Saturn rings.

[Floater]

Yes. Went with my local astronomy club a few years ago and found the whole complex very interesting (the JGT isn’t the only scope on the site) and peopled by highly approachable and informative scientists.

Well worth a visit when possible again. 👍

[Dave Lloyd]

Optical! Sorry, I'm a pedant😁

[fifeskies]

There are 3 original domes still with optical scopes in use at the observatory.

The large 38" JGT dome and the double domes of the Napier building next to it. (upper right in aerial photo below). The domes of the Napier house two Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes with one being a 10″ and the other 16″ aperture.  Photo shows the 10 inch in its dome.

     

A recent third small Pulsar dome has been added onto the flat roof of the Napier along with the 2 original main domes.

 

The dome that once held the double telescope (left in aerial photo below) is now an exhibition/art space. The double aperture 40-cm Twin telescope was dismantled in the late 1990s.

The photo below shows a giant Neon spectrum laid out with fabric strips.

 

The main building dome (the Scott-Lang building) contained a 50-cm reflecting telescope with a spectrograph (currently not in use).

 

 

On open nights several small optical telescopes are normally placed out on the flat roof of the Napier building for visitors to observe with. There are two 8 inch Meades and several smaller units including a Meade ETX80 refractor.

Edited April 23, 2021 by fifeskies

[fifeskies]

1 hour ago, Dave Lloyd said:

Optical! Sorry, I'm a pedant😁

Oooh... since you "dished" out a rebuke 🧐, I can confirm that a visit to Jodrell Bank is also a fantastic day out.

I visited on a wet day Easter 2019

 

 

[skyhog]

Interesting read, thanks for posting. I'm surprised there isn't a larger aperture scope operating in the UK than that but I suppose our skies are more to do with that. 

[fifeskies]

Our bigger scopes were all moved overseas to better skies.

The 2.5 metre (98 inch)  Issac Newton Telescope used to be at Herstmonceux but is now in LaPalma in the Canary Islands at altitude.

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by fifeskies

[saac]

The University of St Andrews could look to improve the publicity they give to their open evenings. I quite often find a note in the local paper one week after the event 🙄   A a few years ago students from the Physics department at St Andrews were using the James Gregory scope as part of a wider team and in the process discovered an exo planet - kudos for such an historic scope.

https://news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/students-play-key-role-in-new-planet-discovery/

Jim