List of largest optical telescopes in the 18th century, are listings of what were, for the time period of the 18th century, large optical telescopes. The list includes various refractor and reflector that were active some time between about 1699 to 1801. It is oriented towards astronomy, not terrestrial telescopes (e.g. spyglass).
The main telescope technologies during this period were refractors with non-achromatic objectives (single lens), speculum metal reflectors, refractors with achromatic doublets objective (doublet lens), and apochromatic triplets (after 1760s) objectives. The list is inherently limited by what examples and records survived.
Legend
Contents |
Name(s) | Aperture cm (in) |
Type | Significance | Location then/Original Site | Extant* |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Herschel 40-foot (1.26 m diameter)[1] | 126 cm(49.5″) | Reflector | Worlds largest 1789 | Observatory House; England | 1789–1815 |
Rev John Michell's Gregorian reflector[2] | 75 cm (29.5″) | Reflector - Gregorian | Worlds largest 1780 | Yorkshire, Great Britain | 1780–1789 |
Herschel "X Feet"[3] or "Large 10 Feet"[4] | 61 cm (24″) | Reflector | England | 1800 | |
Father Noel's Gregorian reflector[2] | 60 cm (23.5″) | Reflector - Gregorian | Worlds largest 1761 | Paris, France | 1761 |
James Short Gregorian reflector | 50 cm (19.5") | Reflector - Gregorian | Worlds largest 1750 | Scotland | 1750 |
Schröter 27 foot Newtonian[3] | 47 cm (18.5") | Reflector | Lilienthal, Lower Saxony (Germany) | 1793 | |
Herschel 20-foot[5][6] | 47 cm (18.5″) | Reflector | Observatory House; England | 1782 | |
James Short Reflector for King of Spain[3] | 46 cm (18.1″) | Reflector - Gregorian | Spain | 1752 | |
James Short's Gregorian reflector | 38 cm (14″) | Reflector - Gregorian | Worlds largest 1734 | Scotland | 1734 |
Huygens aerial for Royal Society of London[7] | 19 cm (7.5″) | aerial | London, England | 1691-1786[8] | |
William Herschel 7-foot[7] | 16 cm (6.3″) | Reflector | Discovered Georgium Sidus | England | 1776–1783 |
Hadley's Reflector[9] | 15 cm (6″) | Reflector | First parabolic newtonian | England | 1721 |
Van Deyl of Amsterdam telescope[10] | 11.4 cm (4.5″) | achromat | England | 1781 | |
Shuckburgh telescope | 10 cm (4.1″) | achromat | First large equatorial[11] | Warwickshire, England | 1791–1923 |
Dollond Apochromatic Triplet[12] | 9.53 cm (3.75″) | apochromat | First apochromatic triplet | England | 1763[12] |
Francesco Bianchini's aerial telescope[13] | 6.6 cm (2.6") | aerial | Rome, Italy | 1726 | |
Chester Moore Hall's Doublet[7] | 6.4 cm (2.5") | achromat | First achromatic doublet | England | 1733 |
Troughton Equatorial Telescope[14] | 5.08 cm (2") | achromat | Equatorial mount | Armagh Observatory, Ireland | 1795 |
Newton's reflector[15] (1st) | 3.3 cm (1.3") | Reflector | First reflecting telescope | England | 1668-1704[15] |
* (First light or Build Completion to Inactive or Deconstruction)