Accession No

2662

Brief Description

reflecting telescope, Newtonian, replica of Newton’s telescope of 1671, 1953

Origin

Maker

Class

astronomy; optical; demonstration

Earliest Date

1953

Latest Date

1953

Inscription Date

1953

Material

paper (card); wood; metal (brass)

Dimensions

length (barrel) 227 mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Inscription

‘Replica of Reflecting Telescope made by Isaac Newton in 1671.
The original is in the possession of the Royal Society
Replica made for Trinity College in 1953.’

Description Notes

Replica of Newton’s telescope of 1671. Barrel of cardboard with wood and brass fittings; length adjusted by brass screw; eye-piece lens mounted on side of barrel. Barrel mounted on ball and socket joint. Turned wooden base with metal plaque carrying inscription; green felt underlay.

Complete.

References

Events

Description
This telescope is a twentieth-century replica of the reflecting telescope that Isaac Newton made in 1671. Like its predecessor the Gregorian telescope, Newton’s design employed two mirrors to reflect light rays into the eyepiece. In the case of Newton’s telescope, a parabolic mirror focuses light onto a flat mirror, which is tilted 45˚ in order to reflect the image into an eyepiece at the side of the instrument. The first successful design of the telescope was made from wood. Commercially, fewer Newtonian telescopes were produced than the Gregorian design. The primary reason being that the Newtonian telescope generated an upside-down or sideways image of the object, whereas the Gregorian telescope produced images the right-way up. The Gregorian telescope was thus more apt for terrestrial use and was more useful for prospecting.

08/07/2014
Created by: Allison Ksiazkiewicz on 08/07/2014

FM:40133