Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 16.djvu/361

Rh fine silver-on-glass reflector, with an aperture of eighteen inches and a focal length of nearly ten feet. This telescope was mounted by him on an equatorial stand of his own design, on what is known as the "Sissons" principle. For efficiency, power, and excellence this eighteen-inch reflector is as yet without a rival in England, and was only beaten, perhaps, by the great refractor of the Washington Observatory. With this instrument were made a number of observations of the faint satellites of Saturn and Uranus, which rendered the Ealing Observatory a familiar name to all astronomers. When, in 1877, the astronomical world was electrified by the announcement of Professor Asaph Hall's discovery of the two satellites of Mars, it was to Ealing that astronomers looked for systematic observations of these faint objects, and it was from Ealing Observatory that came the only systematic series of measures of these objects which has been furnished by England. Astronomers may congratulate themselves, therefore, upon this new telescope being in good hands, and in an observatory where it will not be allowed to rust in idleness like so many of the finest instruments in England.

Satisfied from the performance of his eighteen-inch Newtonian reflector that it would be possible to successfully construct much larger instruments of this kind, it seems to have been about two years ago that Mr. Common first seriously thought of constructing a very large reflecting telescope with a silver-on-glass speculum. It was obvious that this would be a serious undertaking, and one which would require much thought and ingenuity to carry it out successfully. Many difficulties would require to be boldly faced and successfully overcome. The expense alone would have been sufficient to deter most men. Experience, skill, courage, perseverance, money—all would be required if success was to be won.

It was decided to first undertake the manufacture of a telescope with an aperture of thirty-seven and a half inches and a focal length of about eighteen or twenty feet. This was a much shorter focus than had usually been thought essential for an instrument of this large aperture. Generally instruments of this kind are made with a focal length of from nine to ten times their diameter. This would correspond to about thirty feet focus for a speculum of the given size. The fine performance of his eighteen-inch telescope had convinced Mr. Common that it was not necessary to give a greater focal length than fifteen or sixteen feet. But there were two conflicting interests to be reconciled. The shorter the instrument the easier it would be to mount, and the easier to observe with; but, on the other hand, the longer the focus the better it would be for taking photographs of the heavenly bodies, and this last was one of the main uses that the new telescope was intended for. With the view of best reconciling these two views the instrument was designed with a focus of some twenty feet.

The very first step to be taken was to undertake the manufacture