The Monster Telescopes, Erected by the Earl of Rosse, Parsonstown: With an Account of the Manufacture of the Specula, and Full Descriptions of All the Machinery Connected with These Instruments

Thomas Woods

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511709098

The Monster Telescopes, Erected by the Earl of Rosse, Parsonstown

With an Account of the Manufacture of the Specula, and Full Descriptions of All the Machinery Connected with These Instruments

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William Parsons (1800–67), third earl of Rosse, was responsible for building the largest telescope of his time, nicknamed the 'Leviathan'. It enabled the earl to describe the spiral structure of galaxies. This volume reissues two contemporary accounts of the telescope. The first, published anonymously in 1844 and later revealed to be by Thomas Woods, provides a comprehensive description of the workings of both the 'Leviathan' and the smaller telescope which preceded it, with detailed accounts of the construction of both telescopes. The second, by another anonymous author, first appeared in the Dublin Review in March 1845, and outlines the history and problems of telescope manufacture from Galileo onwards. Together with a short account from 1842 of the Armagh observatory by its director, these works situate the telescopes, and the difficulties the earl faced during the eighteen years he took to build the 'Leviathan', in their wider context.

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv
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PREFACE
pp v-vi
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PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION
pp vi-vi
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Contents
pp vii-viii
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PART I - The Manufacture of the Three Foot Speculum, and the Machinery of the Small Telescope
pp 1-30
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PART II - The Manufacture of the Six Foot Speculum, and the Machinery of the “Monster” Telescope
pp 31-54
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The Monster Telescopes, Erected by the Earl of Rosse, Parsonstown

With an Account of the Manufacture of the Specula, and Full Descriptions of All the Machinery Connected with These Instruments

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv

PREFACE
pp v-vi

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION
pp vi-vi

Contents
pp vii-viii

PART I - The Manufacture of the Three Foot Speculum, and the Machinery of the Small Telescope
pp 1-30

PART II - The Manufacture of the Six Foot Speculum, and the Machinery of the “Monster” Telescope
pp 31-54

Plate section

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The Monster Telescopes, Erected by the Earl of Rosse, Parsonstown

With an Account of the Manufacture of the Specula, and Full Descriptions of All the Machinery Connected with These Instruments

Book description

Refine List

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Contents

Frontmatter pp i-iv

PREFACE pp v-vi

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION pp vi-vi

Contents pp vii-viii

PART I - The Manufacture of the Three Foot Speculum, and the Machinery of the Small Telescope pp 1-30

PART II - The Manufacture of the Six Foot Speculum, and the Machinery of the “Monster” Telescope pp 31-54

Plate section

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Book summary page views

Frontmatter
pp i-iv

PREFACE
pp v-vi

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION
pp vi-vi

Contents
pp vii-viii

PART I - The Manufacture of the Three Foot Speculum, and the Machinery of the Small Telescope
pp 1-30

PART II - The Manufacture of the Six Foot Speculum, and the Machinery of the “Monster” Telescope
pp 31-54