| Aperture | Observatory |
| 36 inch | [Lick] California. |
| 30 ” | Pulkowa, Russia. |
| 30 ” | [Bischoffeim] Nice. |
| 28 ” | Greenwich. |
| 27 ” | Vienna. |
| 26 ” | Washington. |
| 25 ” | [Newall] Cambridge. |
| 24 ” | [Lowell] Mexico. |
| 23 ” | Princeton, New Jersey. |
It is right to add, however, that opinion is still greatly divided as to whether these telescopes of large aperture really repay the expense and labor involved in their erection and use. On the very rare occasion when the “seeing” is practically perfect—which occurs perhaps only a few hours in a year—it is probable that the superiority of a large telescope is very marked, but under average conditions there seems to be little advantage over instruments of moderate size for many classes of observations.
Certain it is that a great deal of valuable work is done with comparatively small telescopes, ranging from six to fifteen inches aperture, and this in all departments of astronomical research. Hence, some of the most active observatories do not figure in the above list; among them may be mentioned the observatories of Harvard College, Potsdam, Paris, Heidelberg, Cape of Good Hope, Edinburgh, South Kensington, Stonyhurst College, and the observatory of Dr. Isaac Roberts at Crowborough, England.
Housing of Equatorials.—The building which accommodates an equatorial telescope must evidently be designed to admit of giving a clear opening to any part of the sky. Usually this is accomplished by making the roof, or dome, with a circular base, provided with wheels, which run on rails. It is then only necessary to open a narrow portion of the dome, extending from top to base, and to turn the dome until this aperture is in the required direction. One of the most elaborate domes now in existence is that built by M. Eiffel for the great refractor of the Nice Observatory. The lower part of the building is in the form of a square, having a side of about eighty-seven feet and a height of about thirty feet. The dome itself is seventy-four feet in diameter, and the moving parts alone weigh ninety-five tons.
There are two shutters, each a little wider than half the possible opening; these run on short rails, and are moved simultaneously by means of an endless rope. The whole of the dome is built up of steel angle iron, covered with very thin sheet steel. In order to facilitate the manipulation of the dome, its great weight is buoyed up by means of a float attached to its base and immersed in a circular tank of water of a little greater size than the base of the dome. If any mishap occurs with this gigantic tank, the dome rests on wheels which run on a circular rail, so that the work need not be interrupted. The whole arrangement is very easily turned with the aid of a winch by one man when the dome is floating, but when resting on the wheels several men are required at the winch.
This brief description will serve to illustrate some of the problems which confront the possessor of a very large telescope. For smaller instruments, the observatories follow pretty nearly the same plan, except that it is unnecessary to provide an arrangement for floating the dome.
The observatory which shelters a reflecting telescope need not differ very greatly from one which contains a refractor. If the instrument be a Newtonian, it is generally convenient to sink the polar axis below the level of the floor in order that the observer may not be at too great a height from the ground, and in that case, the dome, or its equivalent, is all that is necessary. For his five-foot reflector, Dr. Common designed an observatory which is not of the ordinary form, but gives the necessary opening partly by means of large shutters and partly by a revolution of the whole house. It is not every one who is able to lay out $40,000 on such a dome as that erected at Nice by M. Bischoffeim.
The varying position of the eye end of a telescope, when it is turned to different parts of the sky, makes it necessary to provide comfortable and safe seating accommodation for the observer, more especially when the telescope is a very large one. In the case of the Yerkes telescope, the eye-piece is thirty feet higher when observing near the horizon than when observing near the zenith, and the observer must necessarily follow the telescope. The most convenient arrangement in such a case is to raise or lower the floor of the observatory as occasion demands. The floor of the Yerkes Observatory is seventy-five feet in diameter, and by means of electric motors it can be given a vertical motion of twenty-two feet. A similar arrangement was provided for the Lick telescope from the designs of Sir Howard Grubb. With smaller instruments, observing ladders and adjustable chairs of various forms are employed.
The Equatorial Coudé.—A form of equatorial telescope which has possibly a great future before it is one introduced at Paris under the name of the equatorial coudé, or elbowed telescope. Its practical advantage is that the observer remains in a constant and comfortable position, so that revolving domes and elevating floors, or other arrangements serving similar purposes, are no longer necessary. The telescope tube is of two parts of nearly equal length, and what is ordinarily the lower half of the tube forms part of the polar axis, while the other half is attached to it at right angles. At the point of intersection of the two halves of the tube is a plane mirror, and there is another mirror in front of the object-glass. If the latter mirror were removed, such a telescope would only enable the observer to see objects lying along the celestial equator, but by its means objects in all parts of the heavens can be brought within range to an observer gazing down the hollow polar axis. The largest instrument is that at the Paris Observatory, which has an object-glass 23½ inches in diameter for visual observations, and another of the same size for photographic purposes.