“Cats, Newts, Specs and OGs: the world’s most important telescopes”
The optical telescope has been the single greatest invention in the development of astronomy. Although Galileo did not invent it, his first astronomical observations with his primitive home-made telescope opened the doors – or windows – to the universe.
Since then there have been numerous new designs and improvements, some almost beyond comprehension in their power. In this talk I’ll cover the firsts, the biggests, the bests, and the most significant developments of the ‘optical tube’ with which we’re all familiar.
As most of us know, Ireland played its own significant role in this story. I’ll also touch briefly on the main instruments looking at other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Biography:
The speaker Terry Mosely is an experienced amateur astronomer, lecturer, broadcaster and writer, with over 50 years experience, in almost every field of amateur astronomy.
He started his observational career in the Sixties, concentrating on Jupiter, Saturn, variable stars and meteors. In 1967 he appeared on the BBC’s Sky At Night Programme as the expert guest on Observations of Jupiter.
In the late Sixties he made his own 37cm fork-mounted Newtonian reflector.
He was commissioned by Pergamon Press to write a book on Astronomy and Space Research: “Reaching For The Stars” (1975, ISBN 0 08 016835 3), and has since written numerous articles for various astronomy publications. He has been very active in local amateur astronomy societies, particularly the Irish Astronomical Association, serving on its Council continuously since 1977, including 11 years as Vice-President, and a record 10 years as President.
Date and Time: 25th Nov 2024 at 8pm
Location: Beech Hill, UCD, Eircode: D04 P7W1 · Dublin