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Astronomical Instruments

Astronomical instruments can be divided into two major categories. The

first category might include all of the instruments which are used in the
actual process of observing celestial objects. Some of these, like the
meridian transit, are designed for specific tasks such as the precise
determination of an observer's position on the earth or a star's position in
the sky; other observational instruments are principally collectors of the
radiation emitted by stars, planets, nebulas, and galaxies. These latter,
which are generally referred to as telescopes, enable objects invisible to the
naked eye to be seen, photographed, or otherwise detected.

In the second category may be grouped the auxiliary instruments which are
used to standardize, record, or analyze the data obtained by the
observational equipment. Devices to provide an accurate standard of time,
to determine the brightnesses of stars, to record their spectra, or to measure
the positions of stars on photographic plates, are examples of instruments
belonging to this second category.

It should be mentioned at the outset that the radiation gathered from a

celestial object by a conventional astronomical telescope lies in the visible
and near visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Over the past few
decades, however, an entirely different type of astronomical telescope has
come into wide use. These instruments, known as radio telescopes, have
been developed as the result of the discovery in 1928-1932 by Karl G. Jansky
of the Bell Telephone Laboratories that the center of our own galaxy is a
powerful emitter of electromagnetic radiation in the radio wavelength region.
Since Jansky's initial discovery, many other celestial "radio sources" have
been found. The operating principles and the evolution of radio telescopes,
as well as the significance and importance of the new field of radio
astronomy which they have fostered, are treated under Radio Astronomy
and Radar Astronomy. Also described elsewhere are certain other electronic
devices, such as "image intensifiers," which already belong, or soon will
belong, to the growing list of techniques employed in modern astronomy.
(See also Photometry.)
Early History

The origins of astronomical observations go back to remotest antiquity. The

necessity of keeping track of time for agricultural and civil purposes must
have led primitive man to a serious study of the daily rotation of the
heavens, and to the motions of the sun and moon relative to the stars.
Certainly by 2500 b.c., both the Babylonians and the Egyptians had
developed calendars in which approximations to our present day, month, and
year appeared as basic units. Besides crude water and sand clocks, the time
of day was estimated by the direction and length of shadows cast by vertical
objects such as buildings, pyramids, stone columns, or simply stakes driven
into the ground. Calibration of the shadow lengths and directions inevitably
followed, and the forerunner of the present-day sundial was born. The
earliest known sundial or shadow-clock is Egyptian and dates back to
approximately 1000 b.c.(See also Sundial.)

From 1000 b.c. to around 300 b.c., little was added to the science of
observational astronomy. The practice of carrying out systematic
astronomical observations, and the use of these in the formulation of theory,
was revived in the third and second centuries b.c. by astronomers of the
Alexandrian School, notably Aristyllus and Timocharis (third century b.c.),
Aristarchus (c.220-c.150 b.c.), Eratosthenes (c.276-194 b.c.), and Hipparchus
(c.190-c.125 b.c.).

The Gnomon

The principal instruments of the day were the gnomon and the armillary
sphere. The gnomon was simply a pointed vertical column of known height
erected on a horizontal plane. In addition to telling time, this simple devise
was used to yield a variety of fundamental data. From the direction of the
shadow cast at noon, the north-south line was established enabling the
azimuths (angular directions) of objects on the earth's surface to be
estimated. From the known height of the gnomon, and the lengths of the
shortest and longest noon shadows observed during the year, the angle of
the ecliptic plane (the plane containing the apparent path of the sun) to the
earth's equatorial plane and the latitude of the observer were calculated. The
time interval between consecutive observations of the longest or shortest
noon shadows gave the length of the tropical year.

The Armillary Sphere

The armillary sphere was doubtless developed to increase the accuracy of

the results obtained by the gnomon and to extend observations to the stars
as well as the sun. One of the earliest armillaries, a solar instrument,
consisted of two bronze concentric rings, several feet in diameter, mounted
in the plane of the meridian. The inner ring turned within the outer ring and
carried two small pegs mounted at opposite ends of a diameter. The inner
ring was adjusted until the shadow cast by the upper peg fell on the lower
peg. An angular scale on the outer ring, divided into degrees, indicated the
meridian altitude of the sun. Eratosthenes may have used this type of
"solstitial" armillary, instead of a gnomon, to determine the angle of the
ecliptic plane. Another kind of solar armillary, with which Eratosthenes was
probably familiar, consisted of a single ring mounted in the plane of the
celestial equator. The times of the equinoxes, and hence the length of the
tropical year, can be determined with such an instrument because the
shadow of the upper half of the ring falls on the inner surface of the lower
half when the sun is at either equinox.

Armillaries designed for stellar observation, such as those used by

Hipparchus, were much more complicated. They consisted of a number of
rings, the largest of which was mounted on a stand and adjusted to lie in the
plane of the meridian. Two pivot points on its inner rim, representing the
north and south celestial poles, supported and allowed rotation of a slightly
smaller second ring called the "solstitial colure." Permanently attached to the
solstitial colure was a third ring of equal size, graduated into degrees, and
lying in the plane of the ecliptic. The solstitial colure ring also had pivots on
its inner rim, representing the ecliptic poles, on which a fourth and smaller
ring could turn. Like the ecliptic ring, the fourth ring was graduated into
degrees and, in addition, enclosed a fifth ring. Provision was made for the
fifth ring, which carried diametrically opposite sights, to slide within the
fourth ring. This ring thus remained in the plane of the fourth ring, from
which the direction of sighting was read. With such a device, called a
zodiacal armillary (Fig. 2), the differences between the celestial latitudes and
longitudes of stars and planets could be measured.

The Quadrant

The last Greek astronomer of antiquity who contributed to the

development of astronomical instruments was Ptolemy (fl. second century
a.d.). Ptolemy discussed in his astronomical writings three new instruments:
the quadrant, the triquetrum, and the astrolabium, or astrolabe.

The principle of the quadrant is illustrated in Fig. 3. As it was originally

used, the plane of the quadrant was adjusted to lie in the plane of the
meridian. Vertical alignment was indicated by a plumb-bob suspended from
the quadrant's center. Pivoted from this center was one end of a movable rod
approximately equal in length to the radius of the quadrant. Sights mounted
on the rod enabled observations to be made of stars and planets as they
crossed the observer's meridian, and an angular scale inscribed on the
periphery of the quadrant denoted their meridian altitudes. It is not certain
whether Ptolemy actually constructed such an instrument or not. The
Arabians, however, subsequently adopted the idea of the quadrant and
greatly improved upon its design -- in particular, quadrants were developed
which could rotate about a vertical axis.

The Triquetrum

The triquetrum of Ptolemy performed the same function as the quadrant

and was devised to overcome the difficulty of graduating arcs and circles. It
consisted of a vertical post to which two intersecting rods or arms were
hinged, the upper arm carrying sights. From a knowledge of the lengths of
the arms and the distances between the hinges, the zenith distance (or,
alternatively, the altitude) of a celestial object could be calculated.

The Astrolabe

The astrolabe was one type of portable solstitial armillary, modified for
stellar observation. Suspended by a small hook or "eye," the instrument
consisted initially of a single ring which hung in a vertical plane. Pivoted at
the center of the ring was a rod equal in length to the ring diameter, carrying
sights at either end. When aligned on a star or planet, an angular scale
inscribed on the armillary ring indicated the object's altitude.

Arabian Contributions

Following Ptolemy, Greek astronomy rapidly declined and terminated with

the Arabian conquest of Alexandria in a.d. 641. Although the magnificent
library and museum were destroyed, the Arabs encouraged learning and for
the next 800 years developed an important astronomical tradition of their
own. Observatories were established at a number of cities including
Damascus, Cairo, Baghdad, and Meragha. Quadrants of various types and
sizes were constructed, culminating in an enormous masonry instrument,
180 feet (55 meters) high, erected in the 15th century by Ulug-Beg at
Samarkand. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi built the first azimuth quadrant at Meragha
about 1260. Actually, this instrument consisted of two quadrants that rotated
on the same vertical axis over a common azimuth circle, enabling the
altitudes and azimuths of a pair of stars to be measured simultaneously. It is
probably fair to say that Arabian instruments were more distinguished for
their craftsmanship than their originality. Angular scales on devices like
quadrants and armillary spheres were subdivided to intervals of 10 minutes
of arc (1/6 of a degree). The astrolabe was developed to a high degree of
complexity and became an indispensable tool to surveyors and navigators.
Its main use was in the determination of time. By auxiliary circles and scales,
ingeniously incorporated into the astrolabe design, altitude measurements of
the sun, planets, and stars could be converted to time directly without the
use of separate tables.

Oriental Contributions

The main stream of Greek and Arabian astronomical thought flowed to

Europe by way of Spain after the conquest of that country by the Arabs in the
11th century. However, tributaries also flowed to India and China as the
result of extensive caravan and trade routes. Both India and China were
supposed to have developed elaborate and advanced astronomies many
thousands of years before Christ. Unfortunately, no records have been found
which substantiate these claims and the present view is that they are largely
legendary. It is known that the Chinese were active in matters concerning the
calendar and the prediction of eclipses from approximately 2300 b.c. until
the fifth century b.c., at which time the study of astronomy seems to have
been abandoned. However, the gradual assimilation of Arabian ideas
during the latter part of the first millennium a.d. led to a revival of
astronomical inquiry in both China and India. Observatories were again
established at many places. One of the most elaborate facilities for which
reliable records exist was the observatory at Peking, founded sometime
around a.d. 1260. Most of the Peking instruments were of Arabian design.
The armillary spheres, however, differed from the Arabian ones in that the
ecliptic ring was replaced by a ring lying in the plane of the celestial equator
and a fixed horizon ring was added. Such an instrument, called an equatorial
armillary, has a number of advantages over the zodiacal models of the
Greeks and Arabs. In the first place, the equatorial armillaries tend to be
simpler mechanically. Secondly, they are easier to operate because, at a
given location, the fundamental reference plane (the celestial equator) does
not change its orientation in the sky with time. Finally, unlike the zodiacal
armillary, the equatorial instrument remains in balance regardless of the
direction in which a sighting is made. While it is possible that the equatorial
armillary might be of Arabian origin, most of the evidence supports the view
that it was a Chinese invention.
Medieval Europe

The initial development of astronomy in medieval Europe was slow. One of

the first observational centers of note was established at Vienna around
1450 by George Purbach, who devised a variation of the triquetrum known as
Purbach's Geometrical Square. Some time later Purbach's student, Johannes
Mller, better known as Regiomontanus, erected an observatory at Nrnberg.
In addition to several modified quadrants and a few of the first weight-driven
clocks, the Nrnberg observatory possessed a torquetum. This rather
unwieldy instrument, thought to have been introduced by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
at Meragha, consisted of a number of nonconcentric disks and rings, which
permitted both the equatorial and ecliptic coordinates of a star or planet to
be observed. Provision was also made for altitude measurements. Tycho
Brahe (1546-1601) had a low opinion of the torquetum and, by the latter part
of the 16th century, the instrument had fallen into general disuse.

Tycho Brahe's Instruments

Pretelescopic astronomical instruments were brought to their ultimate level

of refinement by Tycho Brahe. Under a royal charter from Frederick II, the
King of Denmark, Tycho established in 1576 the famous observatory,
Uraniborg, on the island of Hveen. Uraniborg surpassed all previous
astronomical centers.

To achieve maximum accuracy, Tycho made his instruments as large as

possible without sacrificing mechanical rigidity. One of the largest was the
great mural quadrant. This instrument, which was permanently mounted in
the plane of the meridian, had an arc radius of slightly over 6 feet (1.8
meters). According to Tycho, the angular scale inscribed on the quadrant
could be read to within 10 seconds of arc (1/360 of a degree). The sighting
arrangement was unusual in that the individual sights were not connected by
a common radial bar. One sight was fixed in position at the quadrant's center
in an opening in the observatory wall; the other sight moved independently
along the arc of the quadrant. As described below, the sights were also
designed to reduce parallactic effects to a minimum.

In addition to the mural quadrant, which measured only meridian altitudes,

Tycho made extensive use of two other large quadrants of the azimuthal
type. Both had circles approximately 6 feet (1.8 meters) in radius, angular
scales divided to 10 seconds of arc, and parallax-free sights.

Included among the major items of equipment at Uraniborg were several

large equatorial armillary spheres. Al though used in China at least as early
as 1260, the equatorial armillary had been entirely unknown in Europe, and
Tycho considered himself its inventor. One armillary consisted of three steel
rings. The first ring was adjusted to lie in the meridian plane; the second ring
was permanently attached to the meridian ring and lay in the plane of the
celestial equator; the third ring, called the declination circle, rotated within
the celestial equator about an axis representing the rotational axis of the
earth. Both the equator and the declination circles were graduated and
carried movable sights. A small cylinder mounted at the center and
perpendicular to the polar axis served as the fixed objective sight.

Tycho's largest equatorial armillary consisted of a graduated declination

ring 9 feet (2.9 meters) in diameter that rotated about a polar axis, and a
graduated semicircular ring representing that part of the celestial equator
below the horizon. The latter was mounted separately on stone piers and
was thus entirely free of the declination ring. The sighting system consisted
of a single sliding sight on the equatorial circle and two declination sights
mounted at the ends of separate radial arms of the declination circle. The
radial arms pivoted around a small cylinder which served as the objective
sight. Two independent declination measurements of the same object could
be obtained by using first one declination sight, rotating the entire
declination circle through 180, and then using the other. Further, because
the equatorial semicircular ring stood well clear of the sphere defined by
rotating the declination circle, the declination of objects lying close to the
celestial equator could be measured -- a feat not possible with the
conventional equatorial armillary.

The need for measuring the angular distance between any two objects in
the sky prompted the development by Tycho of another class of instrument,
which he called the sextant. Although similar in principle to the crude cross-
staffs used previously, the sextant was capable of high precision. As shown in
Fig. 4, the instrument consisted basically of a graduated arc representing the
sixth part of a circle and a movable radius. Sights were mounted at the
sextant's center, at the free end of the movable radius, and at one end of the
arc. As originally designed by Tycho, a single observer adjusted the movable
radius by a screw until the two objects under study were sighted
simultaneously from the sextant's center. In later models, the roles of the
sights were reversed, and two observers were required for an observation. A
small cylinder at the "hinge" of the sextant became the fixed objective sight,
and the sights at the end of the arc and movable radius became the viewing
sights. The largest sextant at Uraniborg, of radius 5 feet (1.7 meters), was of
this type.

It was difficult to measure small angular distances with the sextant

because of the tendency for the observers' heads to collide. One way in
which Tycho overcame this problem was by the use of a special device called
an Arcus Bipartitus. As shown in Fig. 5, this instrument consisted of two small
cylindrical sights supported at the ends of a short crossbar. The crossbar in
turn was attached to one end of a central rod some 5 feet (1.7 meters) long.
Two 30 arcs, having the cylindrical sights as centers, were mounted at the
opposite end of the central rod. Two traveling sights, one on each arc,
completed the apparatus.

The accuracy which Tycho achieved in his observations did not result solely
from the large dimensions of his instruments. Equally important were the
angular scales and sighting systems employed. Previously, the reading
accuracy of an angular or linear scale could only be increased by adding
more and more subdivisions. Tycho rejected this procedure as impractical
and adopted instead the Method of Transversals to subdivide his angular
scales. This idea, of unknown origin, is quite elegant in its simplicity and is
shown in Fig. 6. In this drawing, the scale divisions correspond to 10 minutes
of arc (1 minute of arc = 1/60 of a degree). A series of dots connects a given
division mark on one side of the scale to the consecutive mark on the
opposite side. In effect, the dots divide the scale interval into ten equal parts,
thus increasing the reading accuracy of the scale from 10 minutes to 1
minute of arc. The angular scales on Tycho's largest instruments were
divided directly into minutes; by the use of transversals, a reading accuracy
of 10 seconds of arc was attained (1 second of arc = 1/3,600 of a degree).

Before Tycho, sighting systems were rather primitive. Both the objective
and the viewing sights usually consisted of a metal plate in which a small
hole had been drilled. Alignment was supposedly achieved if the object
under study appeared to be in the middle of the hole of the objective sight
when seen through the hole of the viewing sight. Because of the finite sizes
of the holes, however, the sighting procedure was rather uncertain -- in
particular, the condition of alignment depended upon the actual position of
the eye behind the viewing sight, an effect which Tycho called parallax. To
utilize the inherent accuracy of his instruments, Tycho devised a simple,
virtually parallax-free sighting system. Instead of a single hole, two parallel
slits were cut in the viewing sight. The objective sight consisted of a small
cylinder with axis parallel to the slits and diameter equal to the slit spacing.
Correct alignment was achieved when a star or planet as viewed through
either slit appeared tangent to the corresponding edge of the cylinder.

It is interesting to note that, although Tycho's instruments were probably

capable of accuracies within 10 seconds of arc, such accuracies were not, in
fact, achieved. Tycho was apparently unaware that the human eye, without
optical aid, has a limiting angular resolution of about 2 minutes of arc. So
long as sightings are made by the naked eye, this value represents the
highest accuracy attainable by any instrument regardless of size. Yet, Tycho's
quest for precision was far from futile -- his ideas and contributions exerted a
powerful influence long after his death in 1601.

OPTICAL TELESCOPES

The Invention of the Telescope

Although glass had been known to the Egyptians as early as 3800 b.c., and
the Phoenicians became expert in its manufacture, its optical applications
were not fully appreciated until medieval times. Roger Bacon (1214-1294)
was one of the first to investigate the properties of lenses and mirrors. The
introduction of spectacles took place in Italy around 1300 and, by the early
part of the 16th century, optical centers had also been established in
Germany and Holland. The first telescopes appeared in Holland in 1608.
Some doubt exists as to the identity of the inventor. Both James Metius and
Zacharias Jansen claimed the honor, but Hans Lippershey appears to have
been the first to use lenses in combination. Galileo first heard of the Dutch
invention in the spring of 1609. Lacking a detailed description, he set about
to discover the principle of the telescope himself and, within a matter of
weeks, had produced his first instrument which he immediately directed to
the heavens. There thus began a new and exciting era of observational
astronomy, undreamt of by Tycho, which has continued to the present day.

Galileo made a number of telescopes ranging up to 5 centimeters in

aperture, 170 centimeters in focal length, and having magnifying powers
from approximately 8 to 30. All were basically of the same design, as shown
in Fig. 7, and consisted of a plano-convex or double-convex objective lens
and a plano-concave or double-concave eyepiece. The Galilean system gives
bright and erect images but has a comparatively small angular field. In
addition, it suffers from the same major defects as any other simple lens
system, namely, spherical and chromatic aberration.

Spherical aberration arises from the fact that different radial zones of a
lens, possessing spherical surfaces, have effectively different focal lengths.
Rays of light which pass through the edge of a lens, for example, are
refracted to a different focus than those rays which pass through its center,
resulting in a blurred image. The effect is illustrated in Fig. 8. Chromatic
aberration arises because the index of refraction of glass varies with
wavelength. This means that a simple lens cannot bring all colors of light to
the same focus; the image of a white object, like a star or planet, appears to
be surrounded by a number of colored concentric rings. Chromatic aberration
is illustrated in Fig. 9.

The Development of the Telescope

The development of astronomical instruments from Galileo's time up to the

present is a long, complicated, and fascinating story, involving the skills and
talents of scores of individuals. It is impossible to include here a complete
account of the endless experiments in optical techniques that were
attempted, of the individual advances that were made, or of the hundreds of
telescopes, each theoretically possessing some unique advantage over its
predecessors, that were actually constructed. Only the broadest outlines of
the subject can be described.

The aberrations present in Galileo's telescopes were recognized and

subsequent efforts were devoted to their suppression or elimination. The
task was all the more difficult because the nature of light itself and the cause
of chromatic aberration in particular were imperfectly understood. Ren
Descartes, in 1637, suggested the use of hyperbolic lens surfaces instead of
spherical, but attempts to make such lenses failed. Marin Mersenne in 1636,
improving upon a suggestion made twenty years earlier by the Jesuit, Niccolo
Zucchi, proposed a telescope consisting of two parabolic mirrors. Again, the
problem of making parabolic surfaces was considered insurmountable and
the idea was abandoned.

Early Refracting Telescopes

Some improvements in the performance of telescopes were made later in

the 17th century when it was realized that the effects of spherical and
chromatic aberration decreased with increasing focal length. Johannes
Hevelius of Danzig and the Huygens brothers, Christiaan and Constantine,
were among the first to build long telescopes. Hevelius' largest instrument
was a monster, with a focal length of 150 feet (45 meters). The tube
consisted of an open V-shaped wooden trough, braced with diaphragm stops,
which carried the objective lens at its upper end and the eyepiece at its
lower end. The whole structure was suspended from a mast 90 feet (27
meters) high and was manipulated by a complicated system of ropes and
pulleys. Christiaan Huygens dispensed with the telescope tube altogether
and simply mounted the objective lens on a platform which could slide up
and down a vertical pole. Observations were made from the ground with the
observer steadying the eyepiece on a wooden stand. A length of thread
connected the objective lens and eyepiece -- when drawn taut, the lenses
could be aligned and the position of focus found.

Refracting telescopes of long focal length, ranging from 20 to 300 feet (6-
90 meters), continued to be built during the latter part of the 17th and into
the 18th centuries. Various attempts, all more or less unsuccessful, were
made to overcome the formidable difficulties in operating such unwieldy
instruments. One of the most ingenious proposals was made by the
Englishman, Robert Hooke, in 1668. As shown in Fig. 10, Hooke intended to
reflect the light rays gathered by the objective lens back and forth between
plane mirrors before they entered the observer's eye. A drastic reduction in
tube length was therefore gained without sacrificing the advantages of long
focus. Unfortunately, Hooke's idea was never put into practice because of the
difficulty in his day of making optically flat surfaces for the mirrors.

About 1663, Isaac Newton began his famous experiments on the dispersion
and refraction of light. Among other things, he was the first to differentiate
clearly between spherical and chromatic aberration. Curiously, Newton held
the view that all substances possessed the same dispersive power and that it
was therefore impossible to eliminate or suppress chromatic aberration in
any optical system consisting of lenses. While this erroneous conclusion no
doubt delayed the invention of the achromatic lens (which, by using two
different types of glass, corrects chromatic aberration), it had a salutary
effect on the development of the reflecting telescope, since mirrors were
known to be inherently free of chromatic aberration.

Early Reflecting Telescopes

The reflecting systems of Zucchi and Mersenne have already been

mentioned. About 1664, James Gregory proposed the design illustrated in
Fig. 11. The primary mirror was a concave paraboloid with a hole at its
center, and the secondary mirror a concave ellipsoid. In addition to freedom
from chromatic aberration, Gregory's design is noteworthy in that it is also
free of spherical aberration as a result of the nonspherical mirror surfaces
employed. Gregory's attempts to construct this telescope ended in failure
because of practical difficulties encountered in casting and polishing the
mirrors.

The first person to devise successful methods for casting mirrors and
polishing them to the correct form ("figuring") appears to have been Newton
himself. In 1668, Newton produced his first reflector, a scientific toy only 6
inches (16 cm) long and having a mirror diameter of 1 inches (3.1 cm). As
shown in Fig. 12, Newton replaced Gregory's ellipsoidal secondary mirror by
an optical flat, which simply diverted the converging cone of rays from the
primary mirror to one side of the telescope tube. Like the Gregorian, the
Newtonian reflector is free of both spherical and chromatic aberration.
Newton made his mirrors of speculum metal, a shiny alloy of tin and copper
somewhat resembling silver in appearance. The copper in the alloy caused
the mirror to tarnish after a time, and frequent repolishings were necessary.
It is interesting to note that speculum mirrors were the only kind available for
astronomical use until approximately 1850 when the silver-on-glass coating
process was discovered.

Another design for a reflecting telescope was suggested about 1672 by a

Frenchman, Guillaume N. Cassegrain, about whom very little is known.
Although Newton was harsh in his criticism of the system, it has come into
wide use today. The primary mirror is a concave paraboloid and the
secondary mirror a convex hyperboloid. As shown in Fig. 13, light rays
reflected from the secondary pass through a hole in the primary and come to
focus behind the primary. In an alternate scheme, called a modified
Cassegrain, a small optical flat placed immediately in front of the primary
brings the light out to the side of the telescope tube and eliminates the
necessity of a perforated primary. Like the Gregorian and Newtonian
telescopes, the paraboloid-hyperboloid combination of the Cassegrain is free
of spherical aberration.

Efforts to improve the techniques of casting and figuring speculum mirrors

continued during the sixty-year interval following Newton's death in 1727.
John Hadley was the first to devise a laboratory method for testing the
parabolic figure of a mirror. He placed a tiny illuminated pinhole at the
mirror's center of curvature and examined the reflected cone of light in the
vicinity of the image. From the appearance of this cone, Hadley could infer
the state of the mirror's surface and was thus able to pass, by successive
polishings, from a spherical to a paraboloidal figure.

Two other 18th-century opticians who contributed to the initial

development of the reflector were James Short and John Herschel. Short
produced a large number of excellent Gregorian-type telescopes. Herschel
was equally prolific in making Newtonian telescopes, although he is perhaps
best known for his prodigious attempts to cast large mirrors. In 1789, he
completed the largest telescope that had ever been built -- a Newtonian with
a focal length of 40 feet (12 meters) and a mirror diameter of 48 inches (1.2
meters).
 A major event bearing upon the future of the refractor occurred in 1729
when Chester Moor Hall, a barrister by profession, designed the first
achromatic lens. Consisting of a concave component of flint glass and a
convex component of crown glass, the "doublet" possessed far better color
correction than any of the simple long-focal-length lenses used previously.
Hall never submitted a claim for his invention nor did he attempt to publicize
it. It was not until 1760 that John Dollond, who knew of Hall's work, took out
a patent in his own name and began manufacturing achromatic lenses
commercially. Owing to casting problems peculiar to flint glass, the first
English achromatic lenses were marred by internal striations, were never
larger than four or five inches (10 or 13 cm) in diameter, and (from the
standpoint of light-gathering ability) were unable to compete with the mirrors
being made by Short and Herschel.

This situation, unfavorable to the refracting telescope, was vastly improved

by Pierre Louis Guinand of Lac Brenet, near Geneva, Switzerland. After many
experiments conducted during the years 1784 to 1790, Guinand succeeded
in casting 5-inch and 6-inch (13-cm and 15-cm) flint blanks of a quality never
before achieved and in the 1820's produced blanks 12 inches (30 cm) in
diameter. One of Guinand's closely guarded secrets was his discovery that a
far greater homogeneity in the glass melt was obtained if the stirring paddles
used were made of fire clay instead of wood.

The 19th Century

From 1806 to 1814 Guinand worked in Germany and, while there, was
understudied by a young man named Joseph von Fraunhofer. Fraunhofer
quickly became one of the most skilled glassmakers and lens designers in
the entire history of German optics. His greatest telescope was probably the
9-inch (24-cm) Dorpat refractor, which was installed at the Pulkovo
Observatory in Russia around 1825. Besides possessing a superb objective
lens, this telescope was unique in that it also possessed the first equatorial
mounting in the modern sense.

Basically the German, or Fraunhofer, equatorial mounting consists of a

polar axis which is accurately aligned with the rotational axis of the earth. A
declination axis, mounted at the upper end and perpendicular to the polar
axis, carries the telescope tube at one of its extremities and counter-weights
at the other. The two rotational degrees of freedom about the declination and
polar axes permit the telescope to be directed to any part of the sky. A great
advantage of the equatorial mounting is the fact that the polar axis can be
continuously driven at the sidereal rate (the rate at which stars appear to
move in the sky) by a clock mechanism, thus counteracting the daily rotation
of the heavens and enabling the telescope to track a star automatically.
Fraunhofer incorporated such a drive in the Dorpat refractor. Visual
observations could be made with greater ease than ever before. When
photography was introduced into astronomy in the latter part of the 19th
century and long time exposures became commonplace, the clock-driven
equatorial mounting became an absolute necessity.

Due largely to Fraunhofer and his successors, by 1850 the refracting

telescope had become the principal observational tool at the majority of
observatories. Most professionals of the day felt that the difficulties inherent
in casting large speculum mirrors would discourage further development of
the reflecting telescope and prevent its widespread adoption. Although one
dissenter from this general opinion, William Parsons, third Earl of Rosse,
succeeded in producing several 36-inch (91-cm) Newtonians and later, in
1845, a colossus 72 inches (1.8 meters) in diameter, the making of speculum
mirrors remained a tricky and uncertain business. A major breakthrough
occurred around 1853 when Justus von Liebig perfected a method for
precipitating metallic silver out of a solution and depositing it as a thin
reflecting film upon a glass surface. In 1856, Carl August von Steinheil and
Lon Foucault, a French physicist, independently applied Liebig's idea to
astronomical mirrors. From this point onward, with a few exceptions, mirrors
were made exclusively of glass, a much lighter substance than speculum
metal and far easier to cast, grind, and polish. Besides these advantages,
silver-on-glass mirrors possess a higher reflectivity in the visible range than
speculum mirrors. Furthermore, after tarnishing, the original luster of a
silver-on-glass mirror can easily be restored by dissolving the old silver
coating and depositing a new one. In the case of a speculum mirror,
however, the optical surface itself had to be repolished.

As valuable as Foucault's efforts were in perfecting the silver-on-glass

process, his most important contribution to the development of the reflector
was a simple technique for determining the exact figure of a mirror. Like John
Hadley some 200 years earlier, Foucault placed a pinhole source at the
mirror's center of curvature and arranged the image to be formed alongside
the source. However, unlike Hadley, Foucault examined the rays converging
to a focus by placing his eye behind a knife-edge, which he then slowly
introduced into the image. If the surface of the mirror darkened uniformly,
Foucault knew the mirror was spherical; if it did not darken uniformly,
Foucault was able to deduce where and by how much the mirror surface
deviated from sphericity. This technique, called the Foucault knife-test, is
incredibly sensitive and is very much in use today -- bulges or hollows in a
mirror surface with a relief as little as one millionth of an inch are easily
detectable. Armed with his knife-edge, Foucault was able to produce mirrors
with an accuracy of figure never before achieved.

Modern Refracting Telescopes

Present-day refractors have changed little from the instruments of Joseph

von Fraunhofer's time. Possibly the most important advances made over the
past 75 years have been in the field of glassmaking. New types of glass have
become available which permit the execution of advanced lens designs,
characterized by smaller and smaller aberrations. However, even today,
chromatic aberration cannot be entirely eliminated from a lens system.
Refracting telescopes, for example, are designed at the outset with their
intended use in mind. If the instrument is to be employed visually, the
objective lens is highly corrected in the colors to which the eye is most
sensitive, namely, yellow and green. If photography is intended, the
telescope is normally corrected for the blue and ultraviolet. The two largest
refractors in existence, both visual instruments, are the 40-inch (1-meter)
telescope at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis., and the 36-inch
(91-cm) instrument at the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, Calif. Both
instruments date back to roughly 1890. Their equatorial mountings are of the
Fraunhofer type and were manufactured by the Warner and Swasey
Company of Cleveland, Ohio. The enormous objective lenses were cast in
France and were figured by the famous American optical firm of Alvan Clark
and Sons.

So long as lenses are made of glass, the 40-inch (1-meter) at Yerkes

represents the practical limit in size of refractors. Although glass blanks
larger than 40 inches in diameter have been cast during the past 50 years,
they are seldom, if ever, sufficiently free of internal defects to make
satisfactory lenses. Even if an acceptable blank were obtained, the resulting
lens, supported only by its edge, would distort so badly from its own weight
as to be useless optically.

Modern Reflecting Telescopes

Large mirrors do not suffer from these disadvantages. In the first place,
light is reflected only from the front surface of a mirror and, therefore, the
quality of the glass in its interior is immaterial. Secondly, a mirror can be
supported from the back as well as the sides, thus reducing the problem of
distortion. Further relief from distortion can be obtained by honeycombing
the back of a mirror, thereby decreasing its mass. Finally, in all reflectors, the
mirror is located at the bottom of the telescope, close to the supporting axes
of the mounting. It is therefore generally easier to counterbalance and to
design against mechanical flexure in a reflector than in a refractor where a
massive lens must be carried at the upper end of a long slender tube. For
these reasons, plus the ever increasing demand for greater light-gathering
ability, it is not surprising that the large reflector has been vigorously
exploited.

Many reflecting telescopes, exceeding 50 inches (1.3 meters) in aperture

(useful mirror diameter), are in use in both the northern and southern
hemispheres. Most of these instru ments are Newtonian-Cassegrains in the
sense that the secondary mirrors are interchangeable. In some, the
Newtonian form is dispensed with altogether, and observations are carried
out at the prime focus directly. A few of the largest reflectors can operate in
yet a third form, called a coud. The coud is similar to the modified
Cassegrain except that the optical flat immediately in front of the primary
mirror diverts the light rays down an opening in the polar axis. The
advantage of the coud is that its focus is located at the bottom of the polar
axis and remains fixed in position regardless of the orientation of the
telescope. Elaborate spectroscopic or photoelectric equipment can be
housed separately. Fig. 14 is a schematic drawing of the coud arrangement.

From 1919 to 1948, the 100-inch (2.5-meter) Hooker telescope, on Mount

Wilson in California, was the largest reflector in the world. The primary mirror
was cast by the St. Gobain glassworks in France and was figured by G. W.
Ritchey between 1910 and 1915. The main tube is mounted in a rectangular
steel frame that forms the major part of the polar axis. One disadvantage of
this type of mounting is that stars near the north celestial pole are
inaccessible. Because of high operating costs and newer technology, the
Hooker telescope was closed in 1985.

In 1948, the 200-inch (5-meter) Hale reflector, until 1974 the largest
telescope in existence, was put into operation on Mount Palomar, California.
This enormous instrument is the realization of the dream of George Ellery
Hale, a leader in the development of modern astronomical instruments. The
horseshoe-shaped northern bearing of the polar axis carries a large fraction
of the 540-ton weight of the telescope and is floated on a thin film of oil that
is forced between the bearing surfaces at a pressure of about 20
atmospheres. A cage mounted inside the telescope tube at its upper end
enables an observer to ride with the telescope and work directly at the prime
focus 55 feet (17 meters) above the primary mirror. The Hale telescope can
also operate as a Cassegrain or a coud with focal lengths of 267 and 500
feet (81 and 152 meters), respectively.

The 200-inch mirror is made of Pyrex, a glass having a low coefficient of

expansion. The blank was cast in December 1934 at the Corning Glass Works
in New York State and took some ten months to cool and anneal. The back of
the blank was deeply ribbed, or honeycombed, to reduce weight and to
provide cells or pockets for the complicated system designed to support the
finished mirror.

The largest telescope at present is the 236-inch (6-meter) reflector of the

Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. It is situated near Zelenchukskaya, in
the Caucasus Mountains, at an altitude of 7,120 feet (2,170 meters). The
925-ton telescope was designed by B. K. Ioannisiani and manufactured in
Leningrad. It was put into operation in 1974, and a new mirror was installed
in 1979. The mounting is computer controlled and is altazimuth rather than
the usual equatorial. The focal length is 79 feet (24 meters).

The large reflectors in the United States include the 158-inch (4-meter)
instrument of the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona,
installed in 1970, and the 120-inch telescope of the Lick Observatory in
California, completed in 1959. To observe the southern sky, several large
telescopes were constructed in the southern hemisphere in the 1970's. The
158-inch reflector of the Inter-American Observatory at Cerro Tololo, Chile, is
operated by the Kitt Peak National Observatory. Another large reflector is the
150-inch (3.8-meter) telescope of the European Southern Observatory at La
Serena, Chile. In Australia, the 158-inch Anglo-Australian Telescope (with an
unusually wide field of view), was inaugurated at Siding Spring, near Dubbo
in New South Wales, in 1974. A slightly smaller telescope on Mount Stromlo,
near Canberra, was already in operation.

No account of the evolution of the reflecting telescope would be complete

without some mention of the vacuum technique developed during the 1930's
by R. C. Williams and by J. D. Strong and C. H. Cartwright for coating
astronomical mirrors. Up to this time, mirrors had always been silvered by
the chemical-precipitation process dating back to Foucault. In the modern
method, the mirror is placed inside a chamber from which the air is
evacuated. Small loops of aluminum wire are suspended from tungsten coils
installed in the roof of the vacuum chamber. After a vacuum of the order of
10-8 atmosphere is attained, a pulse of current is passed through the
tungsten coils, causing the aluminum to vaporize and to deposit as a thin
uniform film over the mirror surface below. Apart from the convenience and
reliability of the method, aluminized mirrors possess two major advantages
over silvered mirrors. In the first place, aluminum reflects better than silver
in the visible and ultraviolet range. Secondly, an aluminized mirror never
tarnishes -- immediately upon exposure to air, a tough, colorless protective
layer of aluminum oxide that is only one molecule thick forms over the
metallic surface. Needless to say, aluminized mirrors are used almost
exclusively today.

Schmidt-Type Telescopes

In general, the area in the sky which can be photographed by a

conventional reflector is rather small. This circumstance arises from two
factors. First, the long focal lengths of most reflectors set initially a narrow
limit on the attainable field. Secondly, all conventional reflectors suffer to
one degree or another from inherent aberrations known as coma and
astigmatism. These two aberrations conspire to destroy the quality of stellar
images formed at an angle to the optical axis of the telescope. To put it
another way, the quality of stellar images on a photograph taken by a
reflector deteriorates rapidly with increasing distance from the photograph's
center. In the case of the Hale 200-inch reflector, for example, the area at
the prime focus in critical definition is only as large as a postage stamp,
which corresponds to an angular region in the sky measuring approximately
2.5 by 2.5 minutes of arc. Special lens systems to correct coma can be
designed and placed immediately in front of the photographic plate,
effectively enlarging the usable field by a factor of 10 or 15. Even so, the
conventional reflector remains a narrow-field instrument.

The need for a wide-angle high-speed reflector-type camera possessing

excellent image quality over its entire field was satisfied by Bernhard
Schmidt of the Hamburg Observatory in 1932. Schmidt devised the basic
optical system shown in Fig. 15, which consists of a spherical primary mirror
and a thin nonspherical correcting plate, located at the mirror's center of
curvature. The spherical primary assures the absence of coma and
astigmatism; the correcting plate is designed to eliminate the spherical
aberration of the mirror.

Although the correcting plate is extraordinarily difficult to make and the

focal plane of the instrument is curved, many Schmidt-type telescopes have
been constructed over the past 35 years. Their high photographic speed and
large angular field have been employed with great effect in studies of the
aurora, meteors, and artificial satellites. The largest Schmidt in existence is
located at the Karl Schwarzschild Observatory overlooking Tautenberg, near
Jena, Germany. Completed in 1960, this instrument can also be used as a
conventional telescope with a quasi-Cassegrain and coud foci. When used
as a Schmidt telescope, the light-gathering element is a 79-inch (200-cm)
spherical mirror with a focal length of 157.5 inches (400-cm). The 52.8-inch
diameter Schmidt correcting plate provides a 4.7 by 4.7 degree angular field.

The second largest Schmidt telescope is that located at Mount Palomar.

This instrument accommodates a photographic plate 14 inches square (90
cm sq), corresponding to an angular field in the sky measuring 6 by 6
degrees. The primary mirror is 72 inches (183 cm) in diameter and the
correcting plate, which was figured by Hendrix, has a clear aperture of 48
inches (122 cm). The National Geographic Palomar Sky Survey, the most
complete ever undertaken, was compiled from plates taken by the 48-inch
Schmidt.
The Maksutov Telescope

Other forms of wide-angle high-speed cameras have been suggested by

various workers. One of these schemes was proposed by the Russian D. D.
Maksutov around 1941 (see Fig. 16). Like the Schmidt, the Maksutov camera
employs a spherical primary mirror. However, unlike the Schmidt, spherical
aberration is removed by a meniscus lens instead of a complex nonspherical
correcting plate. Since a meniscus lens is relatively easy to make, the
Maksutov system is attractive from a practical point of view, and its
performance is high.

Stellar Spectroscope

The simplest spectroscope consists of a glass or quartz prism or, more

commonly today, a diffraction grating placed in front of the objective lens of
the telescope. Light collected by the telescope passes through the prism or
grating, where it is split into its components, producing a characteristic
spectrum.

The use of spectroscopes and spectrographs in conjunction with modern

astronomical telescopes enables the astronomer to obtain more detailed
information about various celestial bodies. By measuring the displacement of
the spectral lines (the Doppler shift), he can determine the velocity of a star
moving toward or away from the earth. This displacement of spectral lines
also provides considerable data on spectroscopic binaries, or double stars,
which cannot be resolved by a telescope alone. From the intensities and
profiles of the spectral lines, information about temperature, pressure,
stratification, and chemical composition of stars is obtained.

Because of the opacity of the earth's atmosphere, only a very narrow range
of electromagnetic wavelengths can be studied spectroscopically from the
earth's surface. High-altitude balloons, research rockets, and satellites
carrying spectroscopic equipment have extended the range to the infrared
and ultraviolet portions of the spectrum and even to the X-ray and gamma-
ray regions. Radio telescopes using techniques of microwave and radio-
frequency spectroscopy are employed for wavelengths ranging from a few
millimeters to about 15 meters.

SOLAR INSTRUMENTS

Professional observations of the sun in white light are not normally carried
out with conventional telescopes. The large reflectors gather so much solar
radiation that heating of the optical components becomes a serious problem.
On the other hand, most refractors are too short to form sufficiently large
solar images.

The main requirement for a solar telescope is therefore that of great focal
length, just like the refractors of Hevelius and Huygens. The difficulties of
maneuverability encountered with these earlier instruments can be avoided
by the use of a device called a coelostat which produces a beam of sunlight
whose direction in space remains constant. The concept of the coelostat is
not new. It was first suggested in Hevelius' time. Later, from 1830 to
approximately 1900, the device was brought to its present level of
development by a variety of workers, including Hale.

The Coelostat

The modern coelostat consists of two optically flat mirrors whose centers
normally lie in the meridian plane. As shown in Fig. 17, one mirror is mounted
above the other. The lower mirror is attached to a polar axis which is clock-
driven at one half the solar rate. The upper mirror is fixed. Light rays from
the sun fall on the lower mirror and are reflected to the upper mirror which,
for the case illustrated, diverts the rays into a parallel horizontal beam. This
beam then passes through a stationary objective lens, which forms an image
of the sun in its focal plane. The size of the solar image depends upon the
focal length of the lens. The fact that the lower mirror is clock-driven enables
the coelostat to "track" the sun automatically. Having the centers of both
mirrors lie in the meridian plane prevents rotation of the solar image.

One difficulty with the horizontal solar telescope is that air turbulence
along the optical path tends to impair the quality of the final solar image.
Most of the major installations are therefore built vertically to minimize
effects of turbulence in the air. The largest solar telescope is the McMath
Telescope at Kitt Peak in Arizona. An 80-inch (2-meter) mirror at the top of a
tower 100 feet (33 meters) high reflects sunlight 450 feet (140 meters) down
a diagonal tunnel to a 60-inch (1.5-meter) image-forming mirror near the
bottom of the tunnel. This mirror reflects the light 300 feet (90 meters) back
up the tunnel, where a 48-inch (1.2-meter) mirror reflects the image of the
sun into an observing room 25 feet (7.5 meters) below ground level. Under
the observing room a shaft 72 feet (22 meters) deep houses several powerful
spectrographs, including one 55 feet (17 meters) long.

The Coronagraph

Another solar instrument, called a "coronagraph," was invented by Bernard

Lyot around 1930. This device enables the corona of the sun to be studied at
any time without waiting for the occurrence of a solar eclipse. Basically, the
coronagraph consists of a high-quality refractor in whose focal plane a small
disk occults the image of the sun. The diameter of the disk exactly equals
the diameter of the solar image, so that an artificial eclipse is produced, and
only the faint light from the sun's corona reaches the camera mounted at the
end of the coronagraph. For good results, the objective lens must be
superbly polished and must be entirely free of any internal defects such as
striations or bubbles. Extraordinary precautions are taken to reduce
scattered light by mounting a series of diaphragm stops inside the
coronagraph tube. Observations can only be carried out under the most
favorable atmospheric conditions -- clean air is absolutely essential. For this
reason, coronagraphs are normally installed at high-altitude stations.
The Spectroheliograph and Spectrohelioscope

The solar telescope and coronagraph are instruments which operate in the
"integrated" or white light of the sun. Between 1891 and 1895 George Ellery
Hale developed a monochromatic solar instrument called a
"spectroheliograph" or a "spectrohelioscope," depending upon whether the
instrument is used photographically or visually. Monochromatic studies of the
sun reveal far more detail on the solar surface than is possible to detect in
white light.

Hale's device consisted of a coelostat which formed a small image of the sun
on the small slit of a high-dispersion spectrograph. A second slit, located
immediately below the first slit and lying in the spectrograph's focal plane,
isolated a narrow band of wavelengths from the solar continuum. If now the
solar image is made to traverse the first slit, and a photographic plate behind
the second slit is moved at the same rate, a monochromatic photograph of
the sun is obtained. By placing the eye instead of a photographic plate
behind the second slit, and then vibrating both slits in unison through a small
amplitude, a monochromatic image of part of the solar disk can be seen. The
image appears steady because of the persistence of vision.

A more convenient viewing arrangement, far simpler mechanically, was

suggested by J. A. Anderson. In Anderson's modification, the slits remain
stationary and two square prisms mounted on a common vertical shaft, one
in front of each slit, are rotated at high speed. The combined effects of
refraction in the prisms, plus rotation, result essentially in a scanning of part
of the solar disk. When the prisms are rotated rapidly, the successive scans
are blended by the eye and the monochromatic image again appears steady.

Another technique for observing the sun in monochromatic light was

introduced by Lyot in 1933 and has since received development at the hands
of a number of other workers. Based upon an idea conceived by R. W. Wood
in 1914, the device, called a monochromator, is placed in the light path of a
refracting telescope. The monochromator is an extremely complicated
optical filter consisting of a series of polaroid screens separated by quartz
plates. The filter functions on the principle of the interference of light and
can be designed to pass an extremely narrow band of wavelengths. Because
of this fact, the monochromator gives somewhat better monochromatic
definition of the solar image than the spectrohelioscope. However, one
complication in the use of the monochromator is the fact that its
performance is highly temperature-sensitive, and thermostatic control to
within 0.1C. is necessary.

ANGLE-MEASURING INSTRUMENTS

Improvements in the Quadrant. The evolution of divided instruments, like

the quadrant and sextant, from Tycho Brahe's time to the present is almost
as complicated a history as the history of the telescope. It is therefore
impractical to record here each successive improvement in instrument
design that occurred, or the accompanying advances made in machining
techniques. As with the telescope, only broad lines of development can be
followed.

The Telescopic Sight

A significant advance in the field of divided instruments was made in the

era immediately following Tycho. In 1640 William Gascoigne, an amateur
astronomer from Middleton, England, installed the first crosshairs made of
spiderweb in the focal plane of a refractor. By using a positive eyepiece, such
as the simple double convex lens suggested 20 years earlier by Kepler,
Gascoigne was able to focus on the image of a star or planet and the
crosshairs simultaneously. In short, Gascoigne invented the telescopic sight,
and for the first time it became possible to point a telescope at an object
with an accuracy of alignment far greater than the angular resolution of the
naked eye. Following Gascoigne, the telescopic sight was adopted on
virtually all divided instruments.
The Vernier Scale

Another important development in the direction of greater accuracy took

place in 1631 when Pierre Vernier invented an ingenious technique, more
sophisticated than the method of transversals, for reading a linear or angular
scale. The basic principle is illustrated in Fig. 18. Vernier replaced the fixed
zero point by a small auxiliary scale. In the case illustrated, 10 divisions of
the so-called vernier scale V equal 9 divisions of the main scale S. It follows
that the interval between divisions on V equals 0.9 times the interval
between divisions on S. When the zero points of V and S are aligned, as
shown in Fig. 18(a), the 1 mark on V will lie to the right of the 1 mark on S by
0.1 times the main-scale interval; similarly, the 2 mark on V will lie to the
right of the 2 mark on S by 0.2 times the main-scale interval, and so on.
Suppose now the main scale S is moved to the right of the fixed vernier V by
an arbitrary distance, say, 0.6 times the main-scale interval as shown in Fig.
18(b). The zero of the vernier will lie between the zero and 1 marks on the
main scale and, further, the 6 mark on V will be aligned with the 6 mark on S.
In other words, the numerical value of the vernier mark which coincides with
a mark on the main scale indicates the decimal part to be added to the main-
scale reading.

Micrometer Scales

Angular scales on modern instruments may also be read by using

micrometers, in which the decimal part of the main-scale reading is indicated
by the fractional revolution of a precision screw of known pitch.

As a result of the advances described above, plus improvements in

mechanical design and execution, the azimuth quadrant of Tycho's time has
evolved over the past 250 years into an instrument now called the
theodolite, a more accurate version of the familiar engineer's transit. A
portable, electronic digital theodolite is manufactured by the Nikon Company.
The altitude and azimuth scales are engraved on glass plates, approximately
3 inches (8 cm) in diameter, which are totally enclosed within the instrument
and are viewed by an internal optical system. By means of a micrometer
arrangement, these scales can be read to an accuracy of approximately
0.4 seconds of arc.

The Sextant

The evolution of the ancient astrolabe is most interesting. As far back as

the latter part of the 17th century, Newton proposed a device that he called
an octant, which performed the same function as the astrolabe. It is not
certain whether Newton actually constructed an octant or not. However, in
1731, an American, Thomas Godfrey, and, in 1732, the Englishman Hadley
had produced working models. This basic system, illustrated in Fig. 19, is the
underlying principle of the modern marine sextant. The sea horizon is viewed
through a telescope and through the clear part of a half-aluminized mirror
called the horizon glass. A second mirror, called the index glass, is rotated
about an axis until light rays from the object under study are reflected by the
index glass to the aluminized part of the horizon glass and into the viewing
telescope. When properly adjusted, the observer sees the celestial object
tangent to the sea horizon. A radial arm permanently attached to the index
glass travels over a circular arc, having the rotational axis of the index glass
as center, and indicates the altitude of the object directly. Special sextants
employing artificial bubble horizons have been developed for the navigation
of aircraft.

The Meridian Transit

It remains to describe the development of the great mural quadrants. Just

as Tycho regarded his mural quadrant as the primary standard of precision at
Uraniborg, so today, instruments of the meridian type play the most
fundamental role in positional astronomy. The telescopic sight replaced
naked-eye sights on mural quadrants after 1640. However, with the greater
sighting accuracy that resulted, it was soon found that mechanical flexure in
mural quadrants of conventional design introduced observational errors that
could not be neglected. In 1684, Olaus Roemer circumvented this difficulty
by constructing the first meridian transit. Basically, this instrument consists
of a refracting telescope, equipped with crosshairs, which is mounted on a
horizontal axis oriented in the east-west direction. The ends of the axis are
supported above the ground by separate piers on either side of the
telescope. Rotation about the horizontal axis causes the telescope to move in
the meridian plane. Meridian angles were originally measured by a long
pointer moving over an associated angular scale. Roemer's transit possessed
greater mechanical rigidity than any other mural quadrant of that time.
Later, in 1704, Roemer produced an improved version of the transit
instrument, called a meridian circle. The awkward pointer was replaced by a
large circular angular scale mounted concentrically on the rotational axis.
The scale rotated in the meridian plane with the telescope, and meridian
angles were read opposite a fixed zero point.

Around 1730 the last basically new meridian-type instrument was

developed by George Graham. This device consisted of a fixed telescope
pointing to the zenith and, because of the virtual absence of motion of its
parts, was capable of extremely high accuracy. James Bradley discovered the
effects known as the "aberration of starlight" and "nutation" from
observations taken with a zenith telescope.

Over the past two hundred years, meridian-type instruments have been
developed to an incredible level of reliability and accuracy -- angles as small
as 0.01 seconds of arc can now be measured. Such instruments are usually
found in the major governmental observatories of the world where they are
used to establish, among other things, the precise positions of fundamental
stars and the basic unit of time.

OTHER INSTRUMENTS AND ACCESSORIES

Clocks

Clocks are an essential feature of an astronomical observatory, where two

kinds of time are kept -- mean solar and sidereal. The mean-time clocks are
simply high-precision clocks running on normal standard time. They are used
for general purposes, including the timing of observations. Sidereal clocks
measure time by the apparent motion of the stars. Aside from the
fundamental determination of time itself, the sidereal clock is used for
finding latitude and longitude and for various other purposes. If the local
sidereal time is known, together with the right ascension and declination of
an invisible object, a telescope may be pointed at the object. An observatory
clock is by far the most accurate clock made; it is quite large, usually beats
seconds, and has a 24-hour dial. Often it has an electric connection to be
used with a chronograph or with other instruments.

Chronograph

A chronograph is an excellent means of recording astronomical

observations accurately and permanently. A revolving drum covered with a
sheet of paper causes a pen to trace a continuous line on the sheet. The
main observatory clock is connected with this device, and an electric contact
marks off each second. Any series of observations involving time, such as
star transits, may be run onto the chronograph, and such signals are
recorded as breaks in the otherwise continuous record of time on the sheet.

Spectrograph. The spectrograph is an exceedingly valuable instrument;

indeed, some observatories specialize in research in stellar spectroscopy.
Photographs made with this device reveal, in the arrangement of spectral
lines, the elements composing the various stars. (Each element always gives
lines spaced at definite intervals in the band of electromagnetic radiation.)
Such photographs may be made in a few minutes or in several hours,
depending upon the star's brightness.

In the spectrograph, either a prism, a train of prisms, or a grating of

thousands of fine lines very close to one another is used to separate the
star's light into its spectral colors. The light enters the instrument as it
emerges from an optical telescope through a slit only a few thousandths of a
millimeter wide, passes through a collimater lens where the rays become
parallel, then through one or more prisms, and finally through another lens
which focuses the spectra on a photographic plate. If the photographic plate
is replaced by an eyepiece so that the spectra may be viewed directly, the
instrument becomes a spectroscope.

As used on large reflecting telescopes, the spectrograph is a large and

complicated apparatus. It has special lenses and prisms that are transparent
to ultraviolet radiation. The spectral colors are not of special importance, for
it is only the positions of the vertical lines crossing the spectral band that are
significant. On each side of a stellar spectrum, a comparison spectrum made
from a laboratory arc light is recorded for positive identification of the lines
from the star. The arc spectra are frequently made under special conditions,
such as pressure, increased to provide astronomers with a clue to the
physical condition of the star. (See also Spectra; Spectroscopy.)

Comparators

The comparator, or blink microscope, is used for the examination of

photographic plates taken of the same region of the sky at different times.
Two plates are exposed to the eye in rapid succession by the movement of a
lever. Changes in the configuration of the objects on the plates, such as the
movement of a suspected planet, are detectable by their relative motion, or
new objects become apparent by their alternate appearance and
disappearance. The device essentially consists of a microscope, prisms,
lenses, standards to hold the plates, and illumination for the plates. Other
instruments are the stereocomparator, to measure rectangular coordinates;
the spectrocomparator, to measure the displacement of spectral lines; and
the coordinate measuring machine.

Photometers
 Photometers are light-measuring instruments with which to measure stellar
magnitudes or the difference of magnitude between two stars. The wedge
photometer is the simplest type used in visual photometry. A wedge of dark
glass is inserted at the focal plane of the telescope and adjusted until the
intensity of the star equals that of a previously selected standard. The wedge
is calibrated, and readings may be made from it directly. In the polarizing
photometer, the apparent brightness of a star and that of a standard are
equalized by passing their light through a polarizing-prism system.

In photographic photometry, the brighter the star image on a plate the

greater the stellar magnitude. One method of obtaining magnitudes is to
compare the image of the star of unknown magnitude with images of nearby
stars of known magnitude. Graduated scales of star images are also used.
The photoelectric photometer measures objectively and records
photographically the blackening of the photographic plate. (See also
Photometry.)

Thermocouple

The thermocouple is an extremely sensitive instrument used to measure

the heat radiated from a celestial body. It utilizes the junction of small pieces
of unlike metals, such as platinum and bismuth, which are connected to a
galvanometer. The thermocouple is placed at the focus of a large reflector,
and the heat from the star or planet causes a small electric current to be
produced. The latter is proportional to the intensity of heat from the celestial
source. The device has to be vacuum-enclosed to prevent the escape of
heat. (See also Thermoelectricity.)

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