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Telescopes: Through the Looking Glass

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Telescopes: Through the Looking Glass Captions (1.2 MB, PDF)

1630 Trumpet-shaped Telescope (M-421)	Dating from around 1630, this beautiful Italian refracting telescope is the only early telescope found outside of Europe. Part of the Adler's world-famous Mensing Collection, this rare trumpet-shaped telescope's main tube tapers outward from the eye-piece. © Adler Planetarium.
Dearborn Telescope	The largest telescope in the world in the 1860's was made in Boston by Alvan Clark & Sons for the University of Mississippi. Clark eventually built five consecutive largest refracting telescopes. This magnificent piece, part of the Adler's collection of scientific instruments, consisting of brass and walnut burl veneer spanning an incredible 22 feet. © Adler Planetarium.
Hubble Telescope	The Hubble Telescope, a large satellite telescope launched in 1990, revolutionized astronomy by providing clear views of the Universe as far as 12 billion light years away. The Hubble, named for astronomer Edwin P. Hubble, orbits the Earth every 96 minutes, providing astronomers with new images of the Universe. © Adler Planetarium.
Dollond Telescope 1843	Owning an telescope with the Dollond brandname carried a great deal of social weight. This elaborately decorated piece is made out of gold-plated sterling silver. The main tube shows raised scrollwork and foliate decoration, its case red Moroccan leather with elaborate fold tooling. A Turkish noble likely commissioned it. © NASA Download Image (415 KB, JPG)
Herschel Telescope 1788 (G-29)	William Herschel, a German musician turned astronomer, used a telescope identical to this seven-foot-long reflector to discover the planet Uranus in 1781. His passion for astronomy led him to build the most powerful telescopes in the world and to invent a mount that allowed the eyepiece to stay at the same level while the tube and mirror moved to located the celestial object of interest. © Adler Planetarium.
Heath's Grand Orrery (DPW-1)	Heath's Grand Orrery, original c. 1740, last expanded c. 1797 (DPW-1) In the 18th century, models of the Universe because popular for middle and upper classes. This one shows the 5 planets know from antiquity and the "new" planet Uranus, discovered by William Herschel in 1781. Napoleon's Egyptian campaign ignited great interest in Egyptian art and impacte4d the design of this instrument's furniture. © Adler Planetarium.
Portrait of Galileo Galilei 1635 (P-214)	Although Galileo was not the first person to use the telescope for astronomical viewing, he made great telescopic discoveries, including the phases of Venus and the four largest moons of Jupiter. Galileo was also the fist person to use the telescope for astronomical viewing back in 1609. This portrait done by famous Belgian painter Justus Sustermans is probably the most recognizable image of Galileo. © Adler Planetarium.
Ivory Telescope (M-423)	Only a handful of ivory telescopes exist anywhere in the world today. At 2 feet long, this example from the Adler's Mensing Collection is the largest and by far the most spectacular example, featuring exquisitely carved bands of ivory in a scallop cut. © Adler Planetarium.
Portrait of Galileo Galilei 1613 (QB-525)	This book page features a portrait drawing of Galileo flanked by illustrations of two instruments he improved and made well known. In the upper left, a cherub holds an analogue calculator, a geometric and military compass. In the upper right, another cherub holds a trumpet-shaped telescope, the first printer illustration of a telescope. © Adler Planetarium.
Pocket Telescope on Tripod 1775 (DPW-39)	Pocket telescopes were great novelties that served as viewing devices as well as conversation starters. This brass model came with a tripod that unscrews and stores inside the main tube. A wooden case covered in sharkskin protects the entire assembly. © Adler Planetarium.
The Graphic Weekly (P-49)	On May 15, 1932, this article appeared in The Graphic Weekly - part of the Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune - highlighting Wisconsin's Yerkes telescope operated by the University of Chicago. Today, while remaining the supreme example of the telescope-making craft of the 19th century, Yerkes still functions as a special-purpose optical observing instrument. © Adler Planetarium.
Nicolas Bonnart Drawing 1690 (P-161)	This drawing entitled L'Astrologie represents astrology personified. "Astrology," portrayed in elaborate clothing, holds an armillary sphere in her left hand. She is seated next to an elegantly designed telescope with a rather ornate stand. © Adler Planetarium.
German Telescope 1690 (M-427)	At full extension, this large telescope reaches over 7.5 feet. The main tube is deep green to dark brown in color, richly decorated with gold-tooled bands of lions, a floral motif and five-point stars. © Adler Planetarium.
Joseph von Fraunhofer Telescope 1809-1814 (A-407)	Formally trained in making optical glass at a monastery outside of Munich, Fraunhofer became the most important early 19th century telescope maker, making the world's best optical glass and achromatic telescope objectives. They found homes in leading observatories, through smaller telescopes rarely benefited from the master's hand. © Adler Planetarium.
Franciscus Philippus Florinus Drawing 1705-1719 (P-174)	Early telescopes were accessible only to the highest social classes. This illustration depicts a wealthy nobleman and his guests on his rooftop observatory. The type of telescope shown here was suitable for backyard observing, but not accurate enough to be used for scientific observing. © Adler Planetarium.
Pietro Patroni Telescope 1720 (M-426)	A famous craftsman, Patroni created this wonderful early-18th century telescope, shown disassembled. This spectacular piece extends over 8 feet long, featuring a main tube covered with gold-tooled green vellum and seven draw tubes covered with multi-colored paper. © Adler Planetarium.
Morgan's Milky Way Model, 1951 (NS-97-1)	From the first telescopic observations in 1608, people wondered about the size and shape of the Milky Way Galaxy. In 1951, William Morgan determined the distances to various stars, mapping portions of three of the Milky Way's spiral arms. His original model, shown here, is the first ever map of the Milky Way. © Adler Planetarium.
Straw Telescope 1810 (M-450)	This unusual straw telescope is one of Curator Dr. Marvin Bolt's favorite pieces. Prisoners captured by England in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) made decorative straw marquetry ornaments. The mosaic consists of straw pieces, made by bundling dyed straw and slicing the straw to get a thin cross-wise multicolored sheet, glued to the telescope © Adler Planetarium.
Vincenzo MariaCoronelli Drawing 1693 (P-167)	Few 17th century images exist of people observing with telescopes. In this drawing by cartographer and Franciscan monk Vincenzo Maria Coronelli, the quadrant and suspended weight attached to the telescope help to determine the coordinates of a celestial object. © Adler Planetarium.
James Mann and James Ayscough 1743-1747 (W-283)	The tough skin of a stingray protects this telescope. The bumps have been shaved, leaving large white areas, while the red coloring likely comes from the same rouge used to polish its lenses. © Adler Planetarium.
Dollond Pocket Telescope 1775 (M-432)	This pocket telescope, created by noted English telescope craftsman Peter Dolland, is encased in tortoise shell inlaid with silver. The tubes are made of pasteboard with the reflecting surfaces matte black. Red leather tooled in platinum covers the single draw, with the overall design based on leafy vines. © Adler Planetarium.
18th Century Italian Telescope (M-458)	Red Moroccan leather, gold-tooled with floral motifs and scroll patterns, covers the main tube of this beautiful piece by an unknown maker. Green vellum covers the three draws, while red and yellow paper decorate the erector tube. © Adler Planetarium.
Dollond Telescope 1760 (W-181)	Around 1757, telescope maker John Dollond adjusted the structure of his eyepiece design to include five rather than three lenses. A few years later, he adjusted his design to use only four, making this five-lens example from 1760 quite rare. © Adler Planetarium.
Telescope Patent 1800 (MS-48)	Telescope maker Dudley Adamss telescope innovation led to this original patent of 1800, complete with the wax seal of England's King George III. His invention of an improved method of connecting the draw tubes enabled those tubes to collapse into a very short length for storage. © Adler Planetarium.

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Sarah Beck, Manager of Media Relations
Adler Planetarium
312.542.2424
sbeck@adlerplanetarium.org