The most important telescopes in history?

[SuburbanMak]

Aside from the 1981 Tasco 4VTE on wobbly mount perched on a Triumph Toledo, which set me off all those years ago, it's hard not to include a certain Italian but that aside I would go for: 

1) William Herschel's 20 foot telescope - 470mm, f13. 

2) Charles Messier 3.5" 120x Achromatic Refractor (I picked this one because I always think about it when looking through my old brass Clarkson 3" f15)

3) 100 inch Hooker Telescope at Mount Wilson which Edwin Hubble measured Cepheid variables leading to the acceptance of the existence of galaxies outside our own, the expanding Universe - really the foundation of modern cosmology. 

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by SuburbanMak

[Swoop1]

1- Skywatcher 150P Newtonian. My first telescope

2- Subaru telescope, Mauna Kea Hawaii because it has a publicly accessible webcam allowing me to stargaze during daylight.

3- Jodrel Bank radio telescope which intercepted the Soviet data of the first lunar far side images and also just because.

[bosun21]

17 hours ago, Zermelo said:

This one must be in with a shout, even if it is one of the ugliest scopes ever constructed

 

The pigeon roost!

[josefk]

i'm going to cheat with four candidates:

1. William Herschel's 20ft "Herschelian" - impossible to overstate, exaggerate or over romanticise how much discovery came from Herschel's use of this instrument - every night we're out more or less there's pretty much a 20% to 30% chance we  observe at least one thing that was discovered with this scope

2a. The 48" scope used for the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey, or 

2b. The 2.5m scope in New Mexico used for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey - utterly relentless discovery and data collection

3. Hubble

[Marvin Jenkins]

I agree that is cheating but full marks for ingenuity.

M

[Graeme]

Can I offer:

1. The 28" refractor at Greenwich. Home of the Greenwich meridian. I've looked through it four times!

2. The 72" Leviathan at Burr castle in County Offaly, Ireland. The biggest telescope in the world at the time. It resolved the spiral nature of M51. I went for a visit for my 60th.

3. LIGO. A whole new paradigm of observing.

Edited February 2, 2023 by Graeme

[Marvin Jenkins]

The refractor at Greenwich! Stood next to it twice. You are a lucky person.

At last a mention of Lord Rosse and the monster.

M

[Graeme]

I was a member at Greenwich for a few years and I did their two year foundation Astronomy course too. So much history there, it is a brilliant place.

[Marvin Jenkins]

11 hours ago, Graeme said:

I was a member at Greenwich for a few years and I did their two year foundation Astronomy course too. So much history there, it is a brilliant place.

That sounds amazing. On the odd occasion I find myself on a trajectory to the UK I always visit Greenwich and the geology room at NHM. 

[Mr Spock]

Messier's 100mm refractor

Herschel's reflector - the one used to discover Uranus

Kitt Peak

[Marvin Jenkins]

Mr Spock!!! Logical thinking

[Marvin Jenkins]

Is that Messiers actual scope? If so where is it? I would love to do a pilgrimage.

Hershels as well but It looks like it is in my nans front room.😄

[Marvin Jenkins]

So far the scores on the doors are Hershel 20” in the lead.

Hooker 100” and HST level pegging.

It seems the Solar crowd are either asleep or blinded by faulty gear as we have only one solar offering! Spitzer anyone.. Parker solar probe if I allow it under the current rules😂

One of you got away with four votes in a three vote heading. Frankly I was just happy to get more than just one suggestion despite the topic heading.

please keep them coming. I have decided to make the end of the month a great way to wrap it up.

Thank you to all that have contributed. I hope this has just made us all think of the incredible minds and engineers that have made it all possible.

I can’t believe how much I have learnt already (Lipperheys, Apollo Lunar, Messiers frac).

Marvin

[Paul M]

Before I put more effort in. what exactly is the prize? 😁

[Marvin Jenkins]

A revision of the scores to a lack of knowledge by the OP… ME.

I had the Hooker 100” at three votes and the Mount Wilson 100” with two votes. 
they are of course the same scope on the same mountain!!

So joint first place right now with five votes each Hooker 100” and Herschel 20” with HST next with three votes.

[Marvin Jenkins]

5 minutes ago, Paul M said:

Before I put more effort in. what exactly is the prize? 😁

To be in the wining team and get to brag about it.

Or, if you are a real astronomer to sit in the dark on your own and have no one to brag about it too.

It’s your choice really. I don’t have the resources of FLO to give out fancy tea cups with your name on. I have to work for a living! This is taking up my time answering your questions🤣

[Marvin Jenkins]

14 minutes ago, Paul M said:

Before I put more effort in. what exactly is the prize? 😁

Not only that, to put in more effort means you want to vote twice!!!

Fraud I say. 

[Paul M]

1 hour ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

Not only that, to put in more effort means you want to vote twice!!!

Fraud I say. 

Yeah, well, my first offering was obviously too original 🤣

In yourr opening question you didn't state who's histoty? 🤪

[markse68]

Thomas Harriot’s diy refractor made from spectacle lenses- the first time any human had seen details on the moon?

John Dobson’s first dobsonian for democratising large aperture scopes

The Tal-1 for similar reasons and it was my first proper scope and the one i first saw M13 through

Mark

[inFINNity Deck]

12 hours ago, markse68 said:

Thomas Harriot’s diy refractor made from spectacle lenses- the first time any human had seen details on the moon?

That is a good question. All we know is that his are the earliest surviving recorded telescopic observations of the Moon. It could well be that Hans Lipperhey, Jacob Metius or even Prins Maurits, King Hendrik IV,  the archduke Albert of Austria or the Pope in Rome (these gentlemen had telescopes within six months after Lipperhey's demonstration of it, well in advance of Harriot and Galileo) pointed a telescope at the Moon. But as no record of such observations by them survives, we assume that Harriot was the first based on his surviving observations.

Nicolàs

[Guest]

While my choices are neither famous and have made no discoveries, the most famous/important to me our my scopes.  My 10 inch because its my first scope, my 16 because.... Well, come on, 16 inches worth of mirror speaks for itself and lastly is the 36 inch reflector Big Blue at the Warren Rupp Observatory that i have gotten to use once.  

[AstroKeith]

Based purely on my perception of their contribution to progress.

3rd Herschel's 20ft

2nd Hooker 100"

1st Hubble Space Telescope 

[niallk]

All the real winners I'd suggest are already well covered! 😉

This telescope has had quite an influence on ATMers and large aperture for amateurs over the last few decades:

 

[LukeSkywatcher]

On 02/02/2023 at 17:21, Graeme said:

Can I offer:

1. The 28" refractor at Greenwich. Home of the Greenwich meridian. I've looked through it four times!

2. The 72" Leviathan at Burr castle in County Offaly, Ireland. The biggest telescope in the world at the time. It resolved the spiral nature of M51. I went for a visit for my 60th.

3. LIGO. A whole new paradigm of observing.

I agree. The Leviathan telescope surely must be one of the most historic telescopes. 

It's only about an hours drive from me, but I've never visited. 

[niallk]

21 minutes ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

I agree. The Leviathan telescope surely must be one of the most historic telescopes. 

It's only about an hours drive from me, but I've never visited. 

I visited Birr Castle and saw it years ago - before I got into astronomy 🙄  Must go back again.

It was very impressive though - I was especially impressed by the commitment to build and use it - given the severe limitations in terms of Az motion!!! (...and given irish weather - limited ability to work around clouds)