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Browning Equatorial Reflecting Telescope (Ionidis’)
Manufacturer: Browning of London
Year of Manufacture: 1882
Diameter: D=20cm
Focal length: f= 2m
The telescope belonged to Ionidis, a Greek living in London, who donated it to the Observatory in 1891. The telescope was equipped with an astrostat (a mechanism, which moves the telescope so as to compensate for the daily movement of the Earth), as well as a micrometer for double stars. The astrostat had been manufactured according to London’s latitude and was converted, with a small cost, for use in the latitude of Athens. It was installed in March 1891 in the only available mobile dome of the Observatory, that of the Ploessl telescope, which was temporarily put out of use due to its “visual weakness and its other imperfections and deficiencies.” It was used for various observations, such as stellar and lunar eclipses, the study of the planets, as well as in searches for new comets.
In a measurement conducted in 1950, it was determined that the telescope was capable of observing stars of a 14.2 size. In 1963 the telescope was disassembled so that a triple Heliographer could be put in its place. Currently, the mirror and the tube of the telescope are found in the Penteli Station, while the base and the rest of its accessories are missing.
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS OF THE NATIONAL OBSERVATORY OF ATHENS: click here
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