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Equipment Discussions >> Classic Telescopes

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Grava T
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 06/18/08

Loc: Quebec, Canada

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: RLTYS]
#5573894 - 12/16/12 10:29 AM

A lot of love went into that telescope one time. It would be a shame to see it rust away in a field like that. I wonder if the mirrors are still present.

Post Extras:

Joe Cepleur
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 03/18/10

Loc: Dark North Woods

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: Grava T]
#5573961 - 12/16/12 11:09 AM

Wouldn't it be easy to contact the homeowner?

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actionhac
Post Laureate

Reged: 08/09/08

Loc: WA

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: Grava T]
#5573970 - 12/16/12 11:13 AM

Isn't that wild! if it could only talk.
I wonder if it belongs to the estate close by.
Tax records of the house and land may be available from another online source in Scotland possibly, and then past owners and dates may be public information.
It more than likely was in a observatory at one time, long since gone.
The mirror end of the tube is up, I don't see a primary mirror but part of the cell remains.

Robert

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: actionhac]
#5574115 - 12/16/12 12:50 PM

I got a reply from the photographer (or the person who posted the images, at least). He says he has no idea of who owns it. Says that it's just out in a field in the countryside with no obvious owner.

Is there anyone here on CN who could look into it for preservation's sake? I'm not saying that *I* want it (well, I'd love to try to restore it, but getting it across the pond and then the country would probably be prohibitively expensive enough). It would make far more sense for someone in the UK to restore it.

-Tim.

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: tim53]
#5574138 - 12/16/12 01:05 PM

I sent an email to the contact at the Brayebrook Observatory as well.

I hope this scope can be saved.

-Tim.

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Masvingo
sage

Reged: 01/10/12

Loc: Ayrshire, Scotland

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: tim53]
#5574164 - 12/16/12 01:26 PM

I made a post to a local astronomy forum (Stargazers Lounge) to see if anyone could shed any further light on the background to this 'scope but so far have got no further information.

Also searching on Google has revealed no historical links to astronomy in the local area so it's all rather a mystery at the moment. I would imagine that in its day that would have been an expensive 'scope so had thought there might have been a reference to one of the local landowners being an amateur.

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: Masvingo]
#5574173 - 12/16/12 01:32 PM

My email to the observatory bounced.

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wfj
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 01/10/08

Loc: California, Santa Cruz County

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: tim53]
#5574191 - 12/16/12 01:47 PM

By the way, this is more common than many of you might want to think.

When I was travelling through California's 'Gold Country' in the late 60's / early 70's I'd hear about abandoned scopes, and chased them down - usually to find a pile of rusted parts and/or a concrete or stone/aggregate pier. I once found parts of an eyepiece in a ghost town near Barstow (my dad was a fan of the old west gold rush times, we must have explored every nook and cranny in the Sierra a dozen times over or so).

And, the 16" Clark now at the University of Santa Clara was a pile of parts next to a Southern Pacific track. It was donated to them after the optician/engineer who was building a big 60" reflector absconded with the funds and left the big dome empty - so the 16" was setup in its stead. Or so the story was told.

This reflector looks to be from the 1800's, and probably had a speculum mirror, which likely dissolved.

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: wfj]
#5574208 - 12/16/12 01:55 PM

They were using glass by that time

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Andy Taylor
Twisted, but in a Good Way

Reged: 09/24/08

Loc: The Pub. UK

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: tim53]
#5574242 - 12/16/12 02:22 PM

I'm amazed that it is such "good" condition given the UK's maritime climate...

Gonna need a crane for that one...

Oh heck - I love it already...

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actionhac
Post Laureate

Reged: 08/09/08

Loc: WA

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: Andy Taylor]
#5574276 - 12/16/12 02:45 PM

Around here where I live if it's too heavy to move you dig a hole next to the thing, push it in and fill the hole.
I went looking for my neighbors old Pontiac Silver Streak, last time I saw it was bout 20yrs past, thought I'd like to restore it, she buried it, with it's straight 8 engine and all

Robert

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Masvingo
sage

Reged: 01/10/12

Loc: Ayrshire, Scotland

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: actionhac]
#5574286 - 12/16/12 02:54 PM

Aaaargh! What a shame, that would have been a beautiful motor.

Must have been a big hole too.

James

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JustinO
member

Reged: 10/08/12

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: wfj]
#5574428 - 12/16/12 04:21 PM

"...had a speculum mirror, which likely dissolved."

This bronze alloy would outlast the steel and iron.

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Andy Howie
super member

Reged: 09/10/05

Loc: Paisley, Scotland

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: JustinO]
#5574495 - 12/16/12 05:00 PM

Mmmm. My forebears came from that 'neck of the woods'. Pretty close to being in the 'twilight zone', where everyone looks the same.

This really needs saving.

Andy.

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dgreyson
sage

Reged: 11/06/12

Loc: South Carolina

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: RLTYS]
#5574559 - 12/16/12 05:54 PM

Quote:

That scope has one massive mount.

Rich (RLTYS)

Too bad the latitude in Scotland isnt the same as in South Carolina, I think adjusting the polar axis wouldnt be very easy.

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Andy Howie
super member

Reged: 09/10/05

Loc: Paisley, Scotland

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: dgreyson]
#5574624 - 12/16/12 06:37 PM

Quote:

Quote:

That scope has one massive mount.

Rich (RLTYS)

Too bad the latitude in Scotland isnt the same as in South Carolina, I think adjusting the polar axis wouldnt be very easy.

At a guess, I reckon the closest North American city in latitude would probably be Edmonton, Canada !!

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tim53
Postmaster

Reged: 12/17/04

Loc: Highland Park, CA

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: Andy Howie]
#5574635 - 12/16/12 06:48 PM

Could turn the pier around and mount it on a north facing wall for lower latitudes?

Tim

Edited by tim53 (12/16/12 06:49 PM)

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JustinO
member

Reged: 10/08/12

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: tim53]
#5574695 - 12/16/12 07:52 PM

I hope an astronomer gets it before a scrapper breaks it apart for the brass worm wheels.

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Joe Cepleur
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 03/18/10

Loc: Dark North Woods

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: dgreyson]
#5574805 - 12/16/12 09:22 PM

Quote:

Too bad the latitude in Scotland isnt the same as in South Carolina, I think adjusting the polar axis wouldnt be very easy.

Actually, very simple. My club adjusted a similar mount when moving it 1,000 miles north from its original home. Just set it on a custom wedge. Works perfectly.

Maybe bring this mount home as deck cargo?

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grendel
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 04/12/09

Loc: Canterbury, Kent, UK

Re: ALERT! Old abandone scope found new

[Re: Joe Cepleur]
#5575641 - 12/17/12 12:32 PM

I would have thought if this is a With Browning that the optics would have been removed (they had an openable hatch just in front of the mirror)for storage and just the mount and tube left between observing sessions. I know someone in australia who rebuilt the tube of one where only the mirrors had survived.
Grendel
Grendel

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