The Worlds Biggest Telescopes Through History - From Galileo to Gran Telescopio Canarias

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  • Опубліковано 7 чер 2024
  • 400 years ago the first telescopes were used to study the skies, Galileo's largest telescope was believed to have an aperture of 33mm. From there the largest telescopes in the world steadily grew until modern large telescopes have mirrors over 10meters in diameter. We can follow the evolution of the astronomical telescope by looking at the largest telescopes in the world over the centuries.
    I'm only covering optical telescopes, there are understandably larger aperture radio telescopes, but that's a whole separate story.
    This wikipedia page included all the the telescopes I mention listed by date, but I skip many of the early ones as the telescopes weren't major installations until Herschel's 40 foot telescope.
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
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  • Наука та технологія

КОМЕНТАРІ • 931

  • @scottmanley
    @scottmanley  2 роки тому +157

    Do you want to know the story behind my t-shirt? ua-cam.com/video/4H_d5imXZF0/v-deo.html

    • @therocinante3443
      @therocinante3443 2 роки тому +4

      I don't know how you have such knowledge and insight, but I'm happy I discovered your channel looking for Eve Online tutorials way back when ;)

    • @brettatton
      @brettatton 2 роки тому +2

      Thanks! Astronomy meets Joy Division...perfect!

    • @alttabby3633
      @alttabby3633 2 роки тому +2

      Love Joy Division Unknown Pleasures. I have the same shirt w/out the text. No offense Scott but oof that font, I think it's Calibri....whatever, it's fine it's fine. Design safe!

    • @BenJamin-rt7ui
      @BenJamin-rt7ui 2 роки тому

      The Lunar Crater Radio Telescope looks interesting project.

    • @djopdam199
      @djopdam199 2 роки тому +1

      Nice shirt and yes . Just wanna ad a short fact in 1618 a translation error added an S to Lipperhey's name (Lipper(s)hey) and that's why in English is often pronounced as Lippershay.

  • @marcogenovesi8570
    @marcogenovesi8570 2 роки тому +214

    8:30 "he eventually died and apparently none of his contemporaries have learned any skills from him"
    As a person working in IT support, this resonates with me

    • @towers3372
      @towers3372 2 роки тому +5

      Word. My peers ask for instruction manuals instead of teaching

    • @LizardKing1086
      @LizardKing1086 2 роки тому +4

      As a building automation technician that works for a public entity, this also resonates with me.

    • @neithere
      @neithere 2 роки тому +4

      Ah the bus factor. Everyone knows about it and still always a surprise.

    • @Insightfill
      @Insightfill 2 роки тому +2

      I have several documents titled "If I get hit by a bus..."

    • @timocallaghan4408
      @timocallaghan4408 2 роки тому +2

      As long as they don't learn, they'll always need you!

  • @H4hT53
    @H4hT53 2 роки тому +113

    Arsenical bronze is actually a thing and the resulting alloy is both stronger and has better casting behaviour than regular bronze and thus can make much more exact mirrors.
    It's also quite old - it was pretty common in Ancient Greece because it made harder and sharper weapons than normal bronze, but fell out of favour because it tended to kill the blacksmiths.

    • @eriktempelman2097
      @eriktempelman2097 2 роки тому +1

      Good one

    • @MrGoesBoom
      @MrGoesBoom 2 роки тому +8

      Nice. Didn't know any of that. Love it when a channels comment section can actually be informative and fun to read, rather than the toxic cesspits so many are

    • @Bird_Dog00
      @Bird_Dog00 2 роки тому +5

      Heard that as well. Antimony-bronze was also used iirc in the levante and anatolya.
      Generally it was a question of what metals were found with or in close proximity of copper deposits, as the classical alloy metalls for bronze, copper and tin were rarely found together.
      Afaik in the classical period in the mediterean area (greece, rome ect), copper generally was sourced from cyprus and tin from england.

  • @MrGonzonator
    @MrGonzonator 2 роки тому +213

    This video has huge scope.

    • @ForeverNeverwhere1
      @ForeverNeverwhere1 2 роки тому +24

      Sadly, I had trouble focusing.

    • @RCAvhstape
      @RCAvhstape 2 роки тому +23

      It made me reflect on things.

    • @MrGonzonator
      @MrGonzonator 2 роки тому +17

      @@ForeverNeverwhere1 great observation.

    • @benejeneb
      @benejeneb 2 роки тому +3

      😁

    • @stevenson720
      @stevenson720 2 роки тому +1

      You should all be ashamed of yourselves. 😂

  • @PMakerYT
    @PMakerYT 2 роки тому +40

    "very large telescope"
    "extremely large telescope"
    "overwhelmingly large telescope (cancelled)"
    I just love it when science names stuff :D

    • @LouseGrouse
      @LouseGrouse 2 роки тому +3

      Few decades later
      "Absolutely humongous telescope"
      "Holy cow this is going to be a mahoosively sized lad of a telescope (still in planning)"

    • @greghansen38
      @greghansen38 2 роки тому +1

      I was looking forward to the OWL.

  • @PlanetEarth3141
    @PlanetEarth3141 2 роки тому +170

    As an old child who has always admired the heavens, earned his astronomy merit badge, visited a few major telescopes 🔭 and memorized the constellations, I think this is the best video I've seen in a long time. It covers history, my favorite subject. Then my second favorite, Astronomy. Unlike my other tech channels, it doesn't repeat info redundantly, over and over, again and again. It's concise.
    Thank you Scott.

    • @rydplrs71
      @rydplrs71 2 роки тому +10

      20 minutes of video for 6 minutes of content kills me.
      Scott really is great

    • @PlanetEarth3141
      @PlanetEarth3141 2 роки тому

      @@rydplrs71 Exactly. I prune out channels that need too long to get to the point and finish. Content providers like hearing themselves talk. I don't like listening to them. Say it up front and be done.

  • @cubfan
    @cubfan 2 роки тому +173

    Really nice video about the history of the telescope. Good job Scott.

    • @SyNcLife
      @SyNcLife 2 роки тому +1

      Also of the history of the efforts of gaining knowledge!

    • @danielburnett910
      @danielburnett910 2 роки тому +3

      Idk why, but I never expected to see u here cub

    • @noahwilke
      @noahwilke 2 роки тому +2

      @@danielburnett910 cub’s super smart and into space!

    • @DennisC43
      @DennisC43 2 роки тому

      Great job Scott

  • @LadyAnuB
    @LadyAnuB 2 роки тому +10

    The joys of wide angle Mk1 eyeball viewing are being taken away by modern night lighting

  • @MrAluntus
    @MrAluntus 2 роки тому +200

    Scott, I love your sharing of knowledge on these subjects. It's a great reminder of how long it has taken us to get to this point in time. Thank you!

    • @z3et
      @z3et 2 роки тому +2

      Now imagine all that time that this knowledge or other forms of it was lost or not well documented because... wars. Imagine how vastly more advanced we would have been...
      PS: Another great video, as always.

    • @CalmDownShh
      @CalmDownShh 2 роки тому +6

      @@z3et You do realize that we wouldn't be as far along as we are now without wars. The advancement of many technologies such as ones responsible to get the JWST into space only moved as fast as it did due to the funding/race for better tech due to wars.

    • @brucegoodwin634
      @brucegoodwin634 2 роки тому

      Well said Mr. Osman. …and, implied: how much we will learn in the next few decades, yes?

    • @Afro408
      @Afro408 2 роки тому +2

      Nah, it’s only a very short time, compared to the time mankind has been staring and marvelling at the night sky. 😉

    • @user-ux6tk8pi9i
      @user-ux6tk8pi9i 2 роки тому

      I pooped my pants. I sharted.

  • @geoffbarton5917
    @geoffbarton5917 2 роки тому +20

    Been an amateur astronomer for many years although mostly inactive as I grow old. I built a 13" Newtonian with a modified Dobson mount. I ground the mirror myself and built most of the rest from materials anyone can get at your local hardware store. It has been a wonderful hobby where I have spent many a satisfying night gazing at distant objects. Thank you Scott for sharing this great video.

  • @meme2287
    @meme2287 2 роки тому +62

    I remember looking at Saturn through my niece's £80 refracting telescope. Although not as clear a picture as those I've seen on TV and the internet, it was amazing to know that light from the Sun was bouncing back from Saturn and its rings, passing through Earth's atmosphere into the telescope, and entering my eye directly.

    • @florianbappler7242
      @florianbappler7242 2 роки тому +10

      I totally agree. The moment I've seen Saturn through a small cheap telescope I was hooked on astronomy. I've seen countless pictures in books etc since I was a child, but seing the thing in real live was literally eye-opening.

    • @daszieher
      @daszieher 2 роки тому +8

      That sensation of immediate reality of what is being observed, is precisely what I believe keeps human-optical astronomical observations alive.

    • @Mark_Bridges
      @Mark_Bridges 2 роки тому

      @@florianbappler7242 I'm the opposite. I've hardly used my telescope in the last maybe 15 years since the images available online are better than what I could see through the scope.

    • @neithere
      @neithere 2 роки тому +4

      I got my ST80 after Juno had already delivered its fantastic detailed photos with the palpable depth of clouds. And yet the first time I noticed the stripes was a unique powerful experience for the reason you mentioned. Then Saturn... Even some random cluster, first a barely visible smudge and then after a minute you realise that you do see the individual stars... Nothing compares to these moments.

    • @TheRogueWolf
      @TheRogueWolf 2 роки тому +1

      I have a similar story from when I was around twelve years old- standing on the rear porch of the home of a friend of the family as he centered his telescope on Saturn. It was just barely powerful enough to let the eye differentiate the rings from the planet, but I was absolutely stunned that I could see something so far away when all I'd ever seen before was pictures in books. Ever since then, images of space have always wowed me.

  • @thetheflyinghawaiian
    @thetheflyinghawaiian 2 роки тому +8

    I like that "overwhelmingly large telescope (cancelled)" lurking in the background of the scale comparisons in the end. Great name.

    • @gordonrichardson2972
      @gordonrichardson2972 2 роки тому

      Scott didn't mention the OWL proposal.

    • @MarkusNemesis
      @MarkusNemesis 2 роки тому +1

      I went looking for this comment. It did indeed live up to its name.

    • @jmchez
      @jmchez 2 роки тому +3

      @@MarkusNemesis XKCD has proposed, the "infinite telescope", the "ultimate telescope" and the "telescope of devastation" as future names.

  • @jeremytheimer7443
    @jeremytheimer7443 2 роки тому +71

    Quite amazing how far human curiosity has taken us. From the exponentially fast increase in mirror size to adaptive optics, astronomy really is the best representation of the spirit of curiosity.

    • @yndasixela
      @yndasixela 2 роки тому +3

      we couldn’t have accomplished it all without perseverance

    • @jeremytheimer7443
      @jeremytheimer7443 2 роки тому +4

      @@yndasixela I promise the pun was unintended.

    • @phillyphakename1255
      @phillyphakename1255 2 роки тому +1

      Can you imagine taking some of those 16th century astronomers to a 30 meter telescope?

    • @jimeththemelancollie351
      @jimeththemelancollie351 2 роки тому +1

      Curiosity is the basis of science. Our cats died nobly.

    • @matgeezer2094
      @matgeezer2094 2 роки тому +1

      And we are lucky enough to be living through the golden age of astronomy

  • @YourMCAdmin
    @YourMCAdmin 2 роки тому +341

    I'm giggling! I love when you deliver a joke with such a dry, scientific-sounding explanation.

    • @Axonteer
      @Axonteer 2 роки тому +4

      me giggle too!

    • @crxtodd16
      @crxtodd16 2 роки тому

      Yes herro I are hunam too.

    • @slcpunk2740
      @slcpunk2740 2 роки тому +2

      And now my telescope is drunk 🤪

    • @Mr.aAdDies
      @Mr.aAdDies 2 роки тому +1

      I didn't giggle Humour more often than not DOES NOT COMPUTE🤔

    • @bravo-93
      @bravo-93 2 роки тому

      Same 😂

  • @Mochu_s_Junkyard
    @Mochu_s_Junkyard 2 роки тому +82

    I would love a video about the evolution of that mounts till getting to actual motorized ones, and the maths behind it :)
    As someone that is trying to build a telescope I find this a lot more complex than the optics

    • @jmchez
      @jmchez 2 роки тому +15

      Joseph Franhauffer designed the first equatorial mounts so that a clockwork mechanism could track an object in space while the earth rotated as opposed to having to change the altitude and azimuth constantly. As Scott said, equatorial mounts were used up to the building of the Hale telescope but, by then, the mount had gotten bigger than the telescope.
      In the 1980's with the advent of extra computing power, alt-azimuth mounts could be used again because the computer could track objects smoothly. This greatly reduced the size of the mounts and the dome housing them. The Kecks had smaller domes than the smaller Hale. A computer could also be used to manipulate segmented mirrors with a new technology called, "Active Optics". Dr. Jerry Nelson at the Lawrence-Berkely National Laboratory pioneered the idea of segmented mirrors and active optics that led to today's mega telescopes, all of which, use segmented mirrors and active optics.

    • @mrb.5610
      @mrb.5610 2 роки тому +1

      +1 for that !
      Also wouldn't mind a little bit on the Barnes Wallis design of mount used on the Australian Parkes telescope.

    • @ceejay0137
      @ceejay0137 2 роки тому +2

      @@jmchez With an alt-az mount you not only have to track the target in two directions, but the field of view also rotates slowly, and for long-exposure images this has to be compensated for as well. It can be done, obviously, but it adds another layer of complexity to everything.

  • @donlourie769
    @donlourie769 2 роки тому +8

    Your last comment is so amazing! Scott can actually wear me out with technical and historical details. But the foundation to his essays gives focus to the human part. Well done.

  • @alexsiemers7898
    @alexsiemers7898 2 роки тому +12

    Still waiting for the release of the MK2 eyeball, hopefully they at least make it a buy-one-get-one-free.

    • @RCAvhstape
      @RCAvhstape 2 роки тому +2

      Oscar Goldman is who you want to talk to about this.

    • @zacklewis342
      @zacklewis342 2 роки тому +3

      I got tired of waiting and just upgraded my Mk.1s to 20/10 with a fancy laser. True story.

    • @PlanetEarth3141
      @PlanetEarth3141 2 роки тому +1

      @@RCAvhstape Exactly my thoughts. That for about six million you can use a Mark 2 eyeball on a mobile mount.

    • @RCAvhstape
      @RCAvhstape 2 роки тому +2

      @@PlanetEarth3141 Well, in the 70s, they'd throw in an arm and two legs along with the eye. Inflation, though.

    • @PlanetEarth3141
      @PlanetEarth3141 2 роки тому

      @@RCAvhstape In terms of TV plus sci-fi, it still could be that Steve turns out to be a near perfect foretelling of humanity's future as a cyborg species. I find that an acceptable combination of the best of biological and technological evolution to counter disease, aging and becoming interplanetary.

  • @wyattclark4222
    @wyattclark4222 2 роки тому +4

    Love this video Scott! I work as a telescope engineer at Lowell Observatory and although I see and work on telescopes every day your videos always teach me something new. I would love to see a future video on optical interferometry. The Navy Precision Optical Interferometer, for example, can synthesize a 314 m aperture telescope. Thanks for the great video, I look forward to the next one!

  • @AndrzejSkrobski
    @AndrzejSkrobski 2 роки тому +18

    Hi Scott, I live in Ireland and totally agree with you on the weather here.
    I purchased my first Newtonian last year and on average there is maybe 1 night a month with really good conditions. This makes me appreciate each one of them even more 😅

    • @bigX0003
      @bigX0003 2 роки тому +2

      No question it was a horrible choice of locations but still pretty cool we had the largest telescope im the world for a while haha. You can actually still go see the telescope at birr castle.

    • @David-xh9cw
      @David-xh9cw 2 роки тому

      If thick cloud observation was a thing we'd be landed

    • @mattbradbury1797
      @mattbradbury1797 2 роки тому

      Check out Birr Castle, I was there a few years ago and the telescope housing is still there and the grounds are pretty nice

  • @supergeek1418
    @supergeek1418 2 роки тому +13

    I'm kind of surprised that you didn't mention the Yerkes observatory on Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, which is the world's largest refractor telescope. It began observations in 1897.
    It was part of the University of Chicago, and its architecture reflects that heritage.
    The observation platform also happens to be the world's largest elevator (in terms of square footage or area).

    • @shagiephoto
      @shagiephoto 2 роки тому

      For a few years, the Lick Observatory, outside of San Jose was the largest refracting telescope. It was also the first telescope located in a permanently occupied mountain-top observatory. The story of James Lick could get its own "wait, really?!"

    • @BlueSkaros444
      @BlueSkaros444 2 роки тому

      I lived near Yerkes Observatory and was also disappointed it wasn't mentioned. You can see it called out in the upper left corner of the telescope diagram shown towards the end.

    • @raycote568
      @raycote568 2 роки тому +1

      Yerkes deserved a mention as much as the others. Such a beautiful facility.

  • @RobinWootton
    @RobinWootton 2 роки тому +24

    Feel like this adds yet another facet to your repertoire of compact presentational formats. Much appreciated

  • @brentjablonski3730
    @brentjablonski3730 2 роки тому +10

    You always deliver great videos but this one was superb. Thank you.
    I only knew a few of the highlights of scope development, this really filled in some gaps!
    I wondered why you skipped Herschel's discover of Uranus - then learned that he used the older 20 Foot scope for that.

  • @MMM_MADness
    @MMM_MADness 2 роки тому +31

    True, the big telescopes haven't taken away that view.
    Most of that was taken away by light pollution, at least where I live.
    The amount of stars visible to the Mk-1 eyeball now compared to when I was a child kind of sadden me when looking up at the night sky.

    • @johnosullivan675
      @johnosullivan675 2 роки тому +1

      I lived in a city growing up and I could see all 7 pleiades. Now I live in the countryside and i can only see 5.

    • @drewthompson7457
      @drewthompson7457 2 роки тому

      I"m planning on selling my scope. Light pollution is so bad now there are no dark skies withing driving range.

  • @ailivac
    @ailivac 2 роки тому +5

    If you go to the glass museum in Corning, NY you can see their first attempt at casting the Palomar mirror, which failed as the glass was being poured because pieces of the mold broke apart.

    • @jmchez
      @jmchez 2 роки тому +1

      The Corning guys made a 60 inch and a 120-inch practice mirrors, both of which were sold and used. The 120 inch "practice" mirror was sold to the Lick observatory and became the second largest telescope in the world at the time.

  • @ThisFinalHandle
    @ThisFinalHandle 2 роки тому +9

    I sometimes dilate my aperture and yell at the moon.

  • @brick6347
    @brick6347 2 роки тому +4

    Hevelius owned a brewery. Doubtless it helped his apertures a fair bit.

  • @ivanscottw
    @ivanscottw 2 роки тому

    As usual, an iconic delivery of knowledge ! Thank you !

  • @haesge61
    @haesge61 2 роки тому

    Scott, what a great video again. Enjoyed it very much!

  • @danielwendlick784
    @danielwendlick784 2 роки тому +3

    Re Newton using arsenic in his mirrors: Arsenic bronze is harder and tougher than tin bronze, and this had been known for thousands of years. This would likely make it easier to grind without scratching or warping. The problem was that smelting the arsenic ore produced toxic fumes and would shorten the lives of the people making items from it dramatically.

    • @jmchez
      @jmchez 2 роки тому

      Ironically, Newton lived to his mid-eighties, even though he was using arsenic and mercury for many of his experiments.

    • @rickkwitkoski1976
      @rickkwitkoski1976 2 роки тому

      @@jmchez I think that he suffered a bit from dementia... perhaps brought on by heavy metal toxicity.

  • @SeaTacDelta
    @SeaTacDelta 2 роки тому +5

    I love these videos Scott please keep doing them. They are greatly appreciated. I'd also like to mention to everyone that many observatories have great visitor centers and are great places to go visit. I've been to both Mount Wilson, outside LA, and Lick, outside San Jose. The drive (or ride) out to them is great along winding mountain roads, they often have good hiking around them due to said mountains, and the visitor centers are really educational. Where ever I travel for work or play I look to see if there is an observatory to visit.

    • @jpdemer5
      @jpdemer5 2 роки тому

      The Lick has a great photo of Half Dome, in Yosemite (on the other side of the state), taken through the telescope. It'll be a long time before California's air is ever clear enough to repeat that feat.

  • @st.charlesstreet9876
    @st.charlesstreet9876 2 роки тому

    Love this brief history of the telescopes! One of the best posts or videos on the subject. Thanks Scott🤓

  • @tomferrin1148
    @tomferrin1148 2 роки тому +1

    Scott, amazing job researching telescope history! Very impressive and communicated so well, with clarity and the ability to hold viewer interest. Well done sir.

  • @donaldjmccann
    @donaldjmccann 2 роки тому +12

    I have always been interested in astronomy. In 2006 I took the evening tour of Kitt Peak during which I was able to observe planets and galaxies first hand. There is nothing quite like looking at the light coming from a faraway galaxy through an eyepiece. No photograph does it justice. I highly recommend the Kiitt Peak tour.

    • @jsmariani4180
      @jsmariani4180 2 роки тому

      I toured Kitt Peak during the day, and they wouldn't let us beyond a glass partition far from the telescopes. Did you really look through an eyepiece?

  • @alexlandherr
    @alexlandherr 2 роки тому +20

    I’ve been on a tour of Gran Telescopio Canarias. Very cool (and so was the experience). Also came quite close to the two Tjerenkov telescopes at Roque de los Muchachos.

    • @alaric_
      @alaric_ 2 роки тому +3

      Did it include a exciting and hair raising adventure of a bus ride towards the top? And even more exciting and even more hair raising trip down?
      I have once been on a bus on Canary islands on the narrow roads of a mountain and never, never ever again! :D The speed was not the whole issue, big part was the lack of guard rails!

  • @jonkayl9416
    @jonkayl9416 8 місяців тому

    This is the best telescope video on youtube. Thank you so much for making!

  • @TomUlcak
    @TomUlcak 2 роки тому

    Incredible video. I'm blown away. You are in the groove, mate.

  • @SRFriso94
    @SRFriso94 2 роки тому +4

    I feel like your last point is underappreciated. Over the Christmas week, I spent the holiday with my parents in a sparsely populated area of the country - those are not very numerous in The Netherlands. One night, the skies were nice and clear, so I went out stargazing even though it was bitterly cold, but I walked out beyond the light pollution, and it was one of the most beautiful things ever. I inspired my dad, because he did the same thing when I came back, and he shared my opinion. Then the next day, a friend came by, and apparently my dad had texted him, because he told me he had done the same thing as well, and again, thought it was gorgeous.

    • @timocallaghan4408
      @timocallaghan4408 2 роки тому

      I'll never forget when I first went to very rural normandy in 2014 and realised just how many stars there really are.. wanted to cry it was so beautiful! Where in the Netherlands is possible for this?

  • @miketothe2ndpwr
    @miketothe2ndpwr 2 роки тому +3

    Scott I miss your gaming videos. I absolutely adore your space vids, that's how I found you, so no harm. But your Kerbal and my special favorite your programming related games were always a treat. Anyways thanks for the great vid.

  • @malcolmthomas817
    @malcolmthomas817 2 роки тому +1

    Thanks Scott, concise, informative and interesting as ever. Keep up the good work.

  • @DerangedTechnologist
    @DerangedTechnologist 2 роки тому

    Hi, Scott. Nicely done, as usual. Thanks, and Happy New Year.

  • @joshuakohr7602
    @joshuakohr7602 2 роки тому +6

    Everyone: Clicking on a rocket video
    Scott: So now we are comparing sizes throughout history.
    I love the video. Good info tbh.

  • @IronTulikettu
    @IronTulikettu 2 роки тому +3

    Birr Castle where Leviathan is located is in the middle of a beautiful arboreal garden. Been there before and it was incredible.

  • @robpersons
    @robpersons 2 роки тому

    Terrific video. Love the historical perspectives.

  • @willemkaret1568
    @willemkaret1568 2 роки тому +2

    You're a great educator. Thanks a lot for this overview.

  • @BytebroUK
    @BytebroUK 2 роки тому +13

    Some nice dry one-liners; well done Scott!
    Anyway, do you have any idea how long it may have been *after* the development of the telescope that someone said something like "If I point this at the sun it will boil my eyeball - we need to project this image onto a screen!", and thus solar astronomy may have been born?

    • @jpdemer5
      @jpdemer5 2 роки тому

      Evidently, Galileo thought of it, and with the help of Benedetto Castelli, developed a method for projecting the image of the sun onto a screen. Christoph Scheiner, at the same time, used colored glass filters, which not only cut down on the intensity of the light but presumably reduced chromatic aberration as well.

  • @JeffreyBue_imtxsmoke
    @JeffreyBue_imtxsmoke 2 роки тому +3

    Great history lesson Scott.

  • @steveolson1148
    @steveolson1148 2 роки тому +1

    Outstanding video. Thanks for the history lesson - much appreciated.

  • @ravensrulzaviation
    @ravensrulzaviation 2 роки тому +1

    What a great video Scott. Great history lesson. You are awesome

  • @EstelonAgarwaen
    @EstelonAgarwaen 2 роки тому +3

    as a photography and lens nerd i love the talk about abberations!!!!!!!!111!!!

  • @alejandrocapell2780
    @alejandrocapell2780 2 роки тому +4

    Great video Scott! It would be cool to get a companion video on space based telescopes to accompany the deployment of Webb

  • @cactusfloydx5d
    @cactusfloydx5d 2 роки тому

    amazing work as usual Scott!

  • @paulhaynes8045
    @paulhaynes8045 2 роки тому

    Excellent - really enjoyable. Definitely the best UA-cam channel.

  • @MoonWeasel23
    @MoonWeasel23 2 роки тому +3

    The large binocular telescope is weird. It has better resolution in one axis than another, so you can theoretically get an image of an object at the same resolution all around, but it takes all night to do it.

    • @johndododoe1411
      @johndododoe1411 2 роки тому

      You can probably get the same effect with a pair of Mk1 eyeballs in their usual configuration.

  • @yumazster
    @yumazster 2 роки тому +10

    Great video! Thanks for mentioning Hevelius. Funny fact with his monster telescope is that it was burned in a feud with a neighbour of Hevelius. Hevelius was a mean spirited codger as the legend would have it 😁. I can also strongly recommend Richard Learner's 'Astronomy through the Telescope' as a book on the subject (telescopes, not Hevelius specifically).

    • @arctic_haze
      @arctic_haze 2 роки тому +4

      Hevelius became the royal astronomer to the Polish king and even named a constellation "Sobieski's Shield" after him, now called simply Shield.

  • @simontyrrell8866
    @simontyrrell8866 2 роки тому +2

    Hi Scott, I love your videos, thanks for making them. I spent summer 1980 listening to Closer, we didn't know Ian was dead, when we found out it just seemed to make the music even better. Great to see a joy division t shirt, brings back old memories

  • @Carstuff111
    @Carstuff111 2 роки тому

    And stuff like this, is one of many reasons I love this channel :)

  • @RCAvhstape
    @RCAvhstape 2 роки тому +4

    15:14 "Overwhelmingly Large Telescope (canceled)" cool name, too bad it didn't get built.

  • @DSOImager
    @DSOImager 2 роки тому +15

    These giant scopes that are coming online are very exciting!
    What's also pretty incredible is that today.. with modest telescopes, a computer, and a cmos sensor... amateurs/hobbyist can take pictures of these deep sky objects that rival (and in some cases surpass) the very best prior to Hubble.

    • @kharnethebetrayer4125
      @kharnethebetrayer4125 2 роки тому +1

      Even without the computer and sensor, a simple t adapter for a camera or phone attachment can get some amazing pictures.

    • @DSOImager
      @DSOImager 2 роки тому +2

      @@kharnethebetrayer4125 Correct! Except dedicated consumer grade astro camera's use the same cmos sensor technology that's found in DSLRs/Mirrorless cameras.... and cell phones.
      Many of the newer phones even have an astrophotography mode. If you could put them on a tracker.. you'd even be able to take longish exposures with them..
      What an age we live in :)

    • @kharnethebetrayer4125
      @kharnethebetrayer4125 2 роки тому +1

      @@DSOImager I am just getting into astrophotography using my phone, its very exciting how phones have come such a long way. I wonder if my phone has that setting(galaxy s7). Still a lot to learn, but I want pictures of nebulae preferably.

    • @DSOImager
      @DSOImager 2 роки тому +2

      @@kharnethebetrayer4125 The galaxy 7 should have the "pro mode" for the camera (from camera app, go to more, then you can see the pro mode, there is also a night mode). The pro mode allows you to manually control exposure and iso settings. Nebula will be tough straight from the phone... although you can get shots of the Orion nebula with it. In the summer you can get milky way shots from a decently dark sky (bortle scale 4 or lower). Try 3-5 second exposures.. and adjust the iso up until you can see it. Going longer in exposure will give star trails due to the Earths rotation.
      Astrophotography is a great hobby.. I fell for it pretty hard.. as evidenced by my channel :)

    • @kharnethebetrayer4125
      @kharnethebetrayer4125 2 роки тому +1

      @@DSOImager there is a lot of info there, thanks. It will take me a little time to work all that out, but I didnt even know s7 had that, so big thanks. Will have a lot of fun playing now.

  • @parlainthtownie85
    @parlainthtownie85 2 роки тому

    Loved this presentation. Very well done.

  • @johnhjic2
    @johnhjic2 2 роки тому

    Hello Scott, What a super little video as always. Great work, thank you for all you do. Keep well, keep safe and enjoy life.

  • @dvv18
    @dvv18 2 роки тому +7

    The observatory that the BTA belonged to also had a huge radio telescope at the foothills, the RATAN-600. A small town halfway between the two hosted resident astronomers and engineers. I spent a week or so there in the late 80s helping to adapt some software for their computers. Mountain hikes, skinny-dipping in mountain streams, ah, the memories…

  • @padraicbrady
    @padraicbrady 2 роки тому +3

    The Leviathan has actually been restored to working order - those old photos came in handy! It's been years since I last visited, but it's back on my list now to get back to Birr Castle over the Summer. They installed a LOFAR radio telescope in the same area too more recently.

  • @yes_head
    @yes_head 2 роки тому

    Awesome video, Scott. Thanks!

  • @baddestmofoalive
    @baddestmofoalive 2 роки тому

    Holy cow man you have a great voice for doing these videos! Very interesting and well done!

  • @diegoaduriz9433
    @diegoaduriz9433 2 роки тому +3

    The story of how they built and drove the Hale telescope mirror to Mount Palomar, which I read as a kid from the pages of "The Universe", one of the science books of an incredible collection of TIME Books, simply got me hooked for life.
    Once I could I visited the Hale telescope. Amazing memories. And I managed to get one second hand "The Universe" book copy through ETSY last year.
    We are living very interesting times.
    Best regards!

    • @lethargogpeterson4083
      @lethargogpeterson4083 5 місяців тому +1

      They have, or at least had, a failed first attempt at casting the Palomar mirror on display at the Corning Museum of Glass, if you are ever in Western New York state.

  • @alta367
    @alta367 2 роки тому +3

    At 8:20, the price list is in guineas, which didn't help me much. Perhaps the Brits already know this, but a guinea contains 1/4oz of gold. In gold price, today the entry level scope would cost $1500 ranging up to a whopping $400K for the flagship option.

    • @johndododoe1411
      @johndododoe1411 2 роки тому +1

      In standard British currency, 1 guinea = 21 shillings = £1.05 . It was commonly used as an advertising trick to make shop prices seem lower.

    • @esquilax5563
      @esquilax5563 2 роки тому +1

      A guinea was also 21 shillings, which would be equivalent to £1.05

  • @androidmandroid7647
    @androidmandroid7647 2 роки тому

    Hey Scott. Great research u are doing. Thanks for this video. 👍

  • @chrispeoples4606
    @chrispeoples4606 2 роки тому +1

    Excellent presentation Scott! I'll definitely use it in my high school physics classes when I teach applications of geometric optics.

  • @gerdisrael5301
    @gerdisrael5301 2 роки тому +7

    2019 we happened to visit the small Irish town of Birr by chance and learn to our surprice that the once largest telescope of the world stands in the park right beside our B&B. The Leviathan is very impressive even in the Irish rain. Unfortunately we missed the demonstration of its function they still do for the public now and then.

    • @markfla
      @markfla 2 роки тому

      My parents grew up across the street from the castle there. It's a cool place

    • @jbmurphy4
      @jbmurphy4 2 роки тому

      I must take a trip to see it sometime. I must admit the Irish weather does put me off putting in the effort to upgrade my own telescope, but visibility is very good here on clear frosty nights.

  • @dansv1
    @dansv1 2 роки тому +4

    For a very in depth account of the building of the Palomar Telescope, read The Perfect Machine: Building the Palomar Telescope by Ronald Florence. It’s one of the best books I have ever read. It’s truly awe inspiring.

    • @eriktempelman2097
      @eriktempelman2097 2 роки тому

      Does it include the story of the mirror's transport across the states?

    • @dansv1
      @dansv1 2 роки тому

      @@eriktempelman2097
      Yes, in detail.

    • @jmchez
      @jmchez 2 роки тому

      The Road to Palomar is a documentary based on the book. Fantastic story. It really shows what a great man, George Ellery Hale was. His idea and efforts to get wealthy philanthropists to build bigger and bigger telescopes really paid off. He also was the one who hired Shapley (measured the size of the Milky way), then Hubble.

  • @nakfan
    @nakfan 2 роки тому

    Wow - what a great walkthrough of the history of telescopes. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and excitement.

  • @gdarbari
    @gdarbari 2 роки тому +1

    What a beautifully compiled presentation of scientific history. Hats off to you Scott 👍

  • @frankbieser
    @frankbieser 2 роки тому +7

    Great vid Scott. If you haven't read it already, I highly recommend the book, "The Perfect Machine" by Ronald Florence, on the history of the construction of the Mount Palomar telescope, which necessarily covers the construction of earlier large telescopes in the early 20th century.

    • @AaronOfMpls
      @AaronOfMpls 2 роки тому +1

      Yup, and progress stalled for a good 30+ years after the Hale Telescope, because it was pushing the limits of what was practical to build at the time (single mirror, equatorial mount) in that size. We didn't start getting a lot of big telescopes again until the '80s and beyond, when the Multiple Mirror Telescope of 1979 showed a new way forward: combining light from multiple (smaller and cheaper) mirrored surfaces, and using computers and precision motors to keep focus and to track with a (smaller and cheaper) altitude-azimuth mount.
      Edited to add: And even single-mirror telescopes benefited from the innovation. The active optics tech in multiple-mirror telescopes could also adjust a flexible-enough single mirror. And a single mirror could be cast in a rotating mold to get approximately the right curvature while the glass was still liquid -- you just had to spin it at the right speed.

    • @illuminati.official
      @illuminati.official 2 роки тому +1

      @@AaronOfMpls The back ends of the newer generation of monolithic telescopes, from the WIYN to Gemini, look weird and amazing with all the piston mounts sticking out of them. An underappreciated aspect of their design!

  • @Visuwyg
    @Visuwyg 2 роки тому +4

    15:24 what's the story of the "Overwhelmingly large telescope"? :D Did its cost overwhelm them?

    • @mikicerise6250
      @mikicerise6250 2 роки тому +1

      Yep. Turned into the Overwhelmingly Expensive Telescope. xD

  • @anthoneyking6572
    @anthoneyking6572 2 роки тому

    Wow that was a Lot of Info to take in that must of been Hard work to do so thank you Scott Great Vlog

  • @Stratboy999
    @Stratboy999 2 роки тому

    I really enjoyed this. Great stuff Scott.

    • @bobspafford3519
      @bobspafford3519 2 роки тому

      Declare your Adoration. . . . . Great Scott !!

  • @stevenemert837
    @stevenemert837 2 роки тому +4

    9:33 ... and it is cool that today you can see the surviving bottom portion of Herschel's telescope at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, and the original speculum mirror from the scope in the London Science Museum. Edit: Oops, as seen at 9:37 in the video. But if you go there yourself, you can take a picture of it and yourself together.

  • @DeathValleyDazed
    @DeathValleyDazed 2 роки тому +3

    In hindsight this retro- video is 20-20! 🔭

  • @timeflysintheshop
    @timeflysintheshop 2 роки тому

    Great video! I especially liked the end bit about being able to take in wide angle views of the cosmos. 😁👍

  • @frankowalker4662
    @frankowalker4662 2 роки тому

    That was realy interesting. Cheers, Scott.

  • @jeffpkamp
    @jeffpkamp 2 роки тому +3

    Looking at all those independent segment mirror telescopes at the end there, makes me wonder how hard it'd be to put up hundreds of small independent mirror satellites into space, and use them to create a huge space telescope.
    I've always wondered if you could put mirror sections at the l4 and l5 Lagrange points, and create a massive synthetic aperture telescope. I'm not sure how you'd keep the collector in the right orientation though...

    • @faroncobb6040
      @faroncobb6040 2 роки тому +1

      @Dave Pin That is not how it works. In order to treat different mirrors as part of a larger mirror you have to be able to know and control the distance between the mirrors to within a small fraction of the wavelength you are looking at. The Large Binocular Telescope and the Very Large Telescope manage to combine images by sending the light down paths that line it all up so that it is within a few nanometers of perfectly in phase, whereas radio telescopes can just record the phase data of the much larger wavelengths they work with and combine it later on a computer. But nobody has ever managed to engineer a system precisely enough to allow that kind of phase recording for the optical wavelengths, and without that the images cannot be combined in any useful way. Until the requisite technology is achieved we won't be making synthetic aperture telescopes in space.

  • @TheBackyardChemist
    @TheBackyardChemist 2 роки тому +3

    0:40 I mean there are other things well known for dilating the pupils, but I guess there is a reason why Albert Hoffman is not known for astronomy papers

    • @davidb6576
      @davidb6576 2 роки тому +1

      Or Albert Hofmann even... :)

  • @RightWingNutter
    @RightWingNutter 2 роки тому

    Superb short documentary/history. Especially interesting (to me) was the early development of reflectors along with the contemporaneous improvements of refractors. Nicely done.

  • @myramitchell8511
    @myramitchell8511 2 роки тому +1

    I love your videos! I am also a life-long Joy Division fan... I don't have much material to love, but I LOVE that you have the T-shirt!

  • @AD_SPACE_2024_...Aditya...
    @AD_SPACE_2024_...Aditya... 2 роки тому +3

    scott you are the best my freind love from india

  • @S1nwar
    @S1nwar 2 роки тому +4

    i heared you can upgrade the mark1 eyeball with a reflecting retina to let the photons pass twice through the nerves

    • @jeffreypierson2064
      @jeffreypierson2064 2 роки тому

      If you are a cat...

    • @rickkwitkoski1976
      @rickkwitkoski1976 2 роки тому

      Yeah, too bad our eyes were "Made Wonderfully!" backward! How come gawd got it right in cephalopods then? Ok. Side story here...

  • @chdarwin05
    @chdarwin05 2 роки тому

    Excellent historical overview!

  • @timohearn4454
    @timohearn4454 2 роки тому +2

    You are too funny. Never watch these videos for the laughs, but they're there. Keep up the good work 👏 🙌 👍

  • @LadyAnuB
    @LadyAnuB 2 роки тому +3

    So Scott, what is your favorite eyeball impairing alcohol? The one from the land where you grew up? Beer? Wine?

    • @phuzz00
      @phuzz00 2 роки тому +1

      Buckfast?

  • @Feefa99
    @Feefa99 2 роки тому +3

    Yes, let's compare those long and big things

  • @christianhansfort5145
    @christianhansfort5145 2 роки тому

    Absolutely brilliant vid. Thank you

  • @dvbartley
    @dvbartley 2 роки тому

    Outstanding as always!

  • @prasadt772
    @prasadt772 2 роки тому +3

    Can you imagine bringing Newton to today's world and he would be so humbled by sheer advancement.

    • @rickkwitkoski1976
      @rickkwitkoski1976 2 роки тому

      AND perhaps he could speak to the 'flerfurs' too! Once he understood General Relativity, he could explain to them how his equations work JUST FINE... for most things, but Einstien is "more correct" than he is!

    • @prasadt772
      @prasadt772 2 роки тому

      @@rickkwitkoski1976 ha ha. I was saying in a sense that he would need to study at least 10 years to catch up. Child born in 90s would on par with Newton's understanding of the world after 10 years.

  • @RoseIllo
    @RoseIllo 2 роки тому +15

    "They still haven't taken away the simple joys of being able to look up at the dark sky" Nope, it's light pollution that's done that.

    • @paulhaynes8045
      @paulhaynes8045 2 роки тому

      Very true. And equally sad. As a boy, 60+ years ago, I remember looking up at night and seeing the sky full of stars. These days, you're lucky if you can see Mars and Venus, and maybe the Great Bear - on a good night. Only twice, as an adult, have I seen the night sky of my childhood - once at Stonehenge, in the mid-70s, and again in Northumbria, 30 years ago. I have tried to explain the glory of a true night sky to my kids, but, despite all the places they've visited, none of them have ever seen what to me, 60 years ago, was just the normal sky.

    • @justme-ij2qy
      @justme-ij2qy 2 роки тому

      Fortunately it is not an issue where I live.

  • @MonkeyJedi99
    @MonkeyJedi99 2 роки тому

    Thanks for the guide on upgrading the observational capacity of the Mk.1 sight devices, Scott!

  • @DavidAlvarado-js3qq
    @DavidAlvarado-js3qq 2 роки тому +2

    You, sir, are a metaphorical telescope that guides my eyes towards the wonders of space. Thank you!

  • @bobaloo2012
    @bobaloo2012 2 роки тому +3

    Good for you for giving Zwicke credit. He doesn't get much because people couldn't stand him, he was quite the jerk by all accounts, but he was right about a lot of things that were only proven later.

    • @jmchez
      @jmchez 2 роки тому

      He was a brilliant sociopath. Never got along with his colleagues, whom he called "spherical bastards" because they were bastards from any angle (like a sphere is a sphere from any angle). That's why his ideas were disregarded for so long.

  • @vogonjelc
    @vogonjelc 2 роки тому +3

    All I take from this video is size does matter. And Cassegrain design is used on radar antenas.

    • @BronxProject
      @BronxProject 2 роки тому +1

      That's what she said... eventually

  • @nunoairosa
    @nunoairosa 2 роки тому

    Absolutely fabulous video, thank you.

  • @john-r-edge
    @john-r-edge 2 роки тому +2

    The Huygens family lived in Voorburg, South Holland, Netherlands. This is a few km from The Hague. Their residence "Hofwijck" is preserved as a museum definitely worth a visit. Constantine Huygens was famous as a composer. His son Constantijn was the Astronomer referred to as Huygens.
    So fabulously talented family in both art and science.