Comet seeker

A comet seeker is a type of small telescope adapted especially to searching for comets: commonly of short focal length and large aperture, in order to secure the greatest brilliancy of light.[1] This style of telescope was used to discover the asteroid 9 Metis in 1848.

Design
Comet seeker telescope, Helsinki observatory. Made by Utzschneider and Fraunhofer in 1830s.
A comet closeup, visited by a probe in the early 21st century
A comet as seen from Earth

A comet seeker telescope is a type of optical device that is known for having a short focal length but a wide field of view.[2]

Examples

A comet seeker with about 3.9 inch aperture was installed at the United States Naval Observatory in 1843, and later transferred to the Smithsonian Museum in 1866.[2] It had an aperture of 4 inches (10.2 cm) and was made by Utzschneider & Fraunhofer in Munich.[3] This was operated as part of suite of several other instruments including a larger refractor on an equatorial mounting, a meridian transit, mural circle, etc.[3]

Markree Observatory added a 3-inch aperture Comet Seeker on an equatorial mount by Ertel.[4] It was ordered in 1842, and in place until 1874.[4]

The Markree Comet Seeker was used to discover 9 Metis in April 1848.[5] It was discovered by Edward Cooper's assistant Andrew Graham, who worked at that observatory until 1860.[4][5] Graham also observed and sketched the Orion nebula with this Ertel Comet seeker.[5]

An 8.6-centimetre (3.4 in) aperture Comet Seeker was used, with some customizations, to produce the Bonner Durchmusterung star catalog from Bonn Observatory, in the 19th century.[6]

In 1866 a Comet Seeker telescope of 18 centimetres (7.1 in) aperture by Martin was acquired by the Marseille Observatory in France.[7]

See also

References
  1. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Comet-seeker". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 763.
  2. "Utzschneider & Fraunhofer, Merz & Mahler Refracting Telescope (Comet Seeker)". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  3. The General History of Astronomy. Cambridge University Press. 1900. ISBN 9780521242561.
  4. Doberck, William (1884). "Markree Observatory". The Observatory. 7 (91): 329–332. Bibcode:1884Obs.....7..329D.
  5. Steinicke, Wolfgang (2010-08-19). Observing and Cataloguing Nebulae and Star Clusters: From Herschel to Dreyer's New General Catalogue. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139490108.
  6. Howard-Duff, I. (1987). "Joseph Fraunhofer (1787-1826)". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 97 (6): 339. Bibcode:1987JBAA...97..339H.
  7. Lequeux, James (2013-03-15). Le Verrier—Magnificent and Detestable Astronomer. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9781461455653.
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