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telescopes - instruments - meteorites

Objects of historical interest

Currently, three categories of objects that are of historical interest are listed in the database:

• telescopes,

• instruments, and

• meteorites.

Telescopes

Due to the lenght of the documents links have been inserted at the top of the page under the heading index to make browsing easier. For example the link source will take you to the section about the sources on the same page of the document that is open.
For each telescope, the following information is supplied:

• The name the instrument is known by.

A Brief Summary

• Important Contribution:If the instrument contributed to science, it should be mentioned. Important factors are the discovery itself, the role of the instrument, important attachments and the observer.
• Description: A short overview of the instrument.

Historical Background

• Owner/s: A history of the legal owners of the instrument.
• Where Located:This section is meant to keep track of the instrument as it may have moved location.

Current Information:

• Present Location:Whereis the instrument now.
• Owner:
• Status:Is the instrument operational, under repair, disassembled, etc.
• Condition:Is the instrument in excellent condition, in need of a service, or in bad shape and in need of rescue.

Technical Details:

• Type: Reflecting (mirror) or refracting (lens) telescope.
• Aperture: How wide is the telescope, in other words how much light it can gather.  The width will be given in the measurement unit for the time, usually inches, with centimetres given in brackets where applicable.
• Focal Length: Length the light travels in the instrument: this indicates a slow or fast instrument.
• Mirror / Lens: More information concerning the mirror or lens where necessary.
• Mounting: Type of mounting.
• Attachments: Any attachments that might be of importance i.e. cameras, spectrographs etc.
• Manufacturer: Any relevant information about the manufacturer or alterations that were made.
• Operational History: When was the instrument built, installed, first light, serviced, etc.
• Building: In some instances the building may be of interest.

Sources

• Sources: Documentation: Any documentation which can be considered as part of the instrument, i.e. instruction manual, logbook if observations, maintenance manual and logbook, etc.
• Pictorial Sources: Photos / Paintings / Drawings
• Bibliography: Sources where information contained on this page can be verified.

The Bibliography refers to sources about the telescope / instrument / meteorite. Sometimes I will state next to a reference that it is a General Source.  I don't give reference to every item of information in the script, for it can be found in the General Source. Specific Information, or those from other sources are referred to in the text, are given in an abbreviated form, e.g. [Moore, p. ?].  The references in the Bibliography are more detailed; the section on Sources contains the full reference to the source.

Instruments

The section of instrument deals briefly with the instrument, whether it is a camera, spectrograph, etc. No technical details are given. The information consists of the following:

Description: Name of the instrument
A brief description follows, usually consentrating on where it was used and on which telescopes.

Source: Where to look for more information.

Meteorites

No details available

Director Historical Section: Chris de Coning - siriusa@absamail.co.za

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