29:
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374:, and constructed steam-powered grinding machines for parabolic mirrors. His 3 foot (91 cm) mirror of 1839 was cast in smaller pieces and then fitted together before grinding and polishing; its 1840 successor was cast in a single piece. In 1842, Parsons cast his first 6 foot (1.83 m) mirror, but it took another five casts before he had two ground and polished mirrors. Speculum mirrors tarnished rapidly; with two mirrors, one could be used in the telescope while the other was being re-polished. The telescope tube and supporting structure were completed in 1845.
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394:. The azimuth range is limited to about one hour by the supporting walls that flank the tube on its eastern and western sides. The walls are 23 feet (7.0 m) apart, 40 feet (12 m) high, and 71 feet (21.6 m) long. A chain and counterweight keeps the telescope in balance, another chain with a winch controls the altitude. A
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radio-telescope station IE613, one of some 50 similar stations in Europe, was constructed in the grounds of the castle. This is the westernmost station in the LOFAR network. LOFAR makes observations in the 10 MHz to 240 MHz frequency range with two types of antennas: Low Band
Antenna (LBA)
385:
The mirror was 5 inches (13 cm) thick and weighed almost 3 tons. This required a mirror cell to support and to prevent the mirror deforming under its own weight. The length of the tube and mirror box is about 54 feet (16.5 m); including the mirror it weighed about 12 tons. The tube is
409:
on its western side. At low altitude, the observer accesses the eyepiece from a wooden gallery that spans the distance between the walls and can slide up and down guides to follow the telescope in altitude. A cage on the gallery moves sideways to reach the eyepiece at different azimuth. At high
494:
was called in to research and re-design the Rosse six-foot telescope. The original plans were lost, and so it took detective work to review the remains of the telescope, incidental comments in observing logs, and contemporary photographs taken by
483:, there was renewed interest in the six-foot telescope in the 1970s. Gradually, the telescope became a visitor attraction. But it was not until the 1990s that plans to actually rebuild the telescope came to fruition. In 1994 the retired
426:. These catalogues list star clusters as well as nebulae, and the question was whether the latter were merely unresolved star clusters or genuinely nebulous regions of space. It resolved into stars unclear areas which might be the first
499:, wife of the 3rd Earl. Reconstruction work lasted from early 1996 to early 1997. It had been planned to include a working mirror, but due to budget constraints this had to be left for a separate project.
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in 1876, the six-foot telescope remained in use until about 1890. After his death in 1908, the telescope was partly dismantled, and in 1914, one of the mirrors with its mirror box was transferred to the
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and High Band
Antenna (HBA), optimized for 10-80 MHz and 120-240 MHz respectively. The Birr Castle station consists of 96 LBA's and 96 HBA's and a total of 96 digital Receiver Units (RCU's).
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beam underneath the tube controls the azimuth. This beam is connected to the eastern supporting wall, where it can move on a circular iron arc to allow the telescope to change altitude.
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original, and unlike modern aluminium- or silver-coated glass mirrors, this is made of aluminium, as a compromise between authenticity and utility in astronomical observation.
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to be identified as such. Parsons discovered that several nebulae had a spiral structure, suggesting "dynamical laws". The most notable spiral nebula observed by
Parsons was
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The Birr Castle station on its own is the Irish Low
Frequency Array (I-LOFAR) I-Lofar telescope. In 2018, I-LOFAR observed for the first time a billion-year-old
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supported at the mirror end by a "universal joint", a hinge with two axes, which allows the tube to be inclined through a large range of
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elevation, curved galleries on top of the western wall are used, which can be moved across the wall to follow the telescope in azimuth.
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755:, by Wolfgang Steinicke, year 2010, 650 pages. The book discusses Parsons' Leviathan telescope in section 6.4 (including page 115).
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351:
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346:, which was the largest telescope in the world from 1845 until the construction of the 100-inch (2.5 m)
925:". Interviews the 7th Earl of Rosse, gives the history of the Leviathan and how it worked, starting at 1:50
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Observing and
Cataloguing Nebulae and Star Clusters: From Herschel to Dreyer's New General Catalogue
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Parsons improved the techniques of casting, grinding and polishing large telescope mirrors from
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in London. The walls remained. The tube, second mirror box, and universal joint survived.
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The purpose of the telescope was to re-visit the nebulae in the catalogues of
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Birr radio telescope catches flaring red dwarf 75 trillion kilometres away
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Michael
Tubridy (1998). "Reconstruction of the Rosse Six Foot Telescope".
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After
William Parsons (the 3rd Earl of Rosse) died in 1867, the 4th Earl (
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73:
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William
Parsons (Lord Rosse) (1850). "XXV. Observations on the Nebulæ".
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by 3rd Earl of Rosse in 1845 based on observations using the
Leviathan
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441:) continued to operate the six-foot telescope. From 1874 to 1878,
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in
California in 1917. The Rosse six-foot telescope was built by
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worked with the telescope and began the compilation of his
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855:"I-LOFAR : Exploring the Radio Universe From Ireland"
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715:
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London
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A 1:24 model of the telescope made by Parsons in 1844-45.
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List of largest optical telescopes in the British Isles
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List of largest optical telescopes of the 19th century
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New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars
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Astronomical observatories in the Republic of Ireland
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33:
Victorian picture of the "Leviathan of Parsonstown"
886:. The Tribune Printing and Publishing Group, Birr.
502:The new mirror was installed in 1999. Unlike the
390:and also to be turned through a limited range of
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454:Although the 4th Earl built a smaller 3 ft
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1050:Buildings and structures in Birr, County Offaly
680:
609:List of largest optical telescopes historically
479:Following a TV programme, lecture, and book by
889:Patrick Moore (1997). "The Leviathan Reborn".
475:Reconstructed telescope seen from a distance
775:". Birr Castle. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
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651:"The Earl of Rosse's Leviathan Telescope"
834:"LOFAR Stations: Description and Layout"
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683:Journal of the Antique Telescope Society
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522:radio telescope in the castle grounds.
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296:Location of Leviathan of Parsonstown
616:(refracting telescope of the 1850s)
590:Drawing of M51, later known as the
16:Historic Irish reflecting telescope
13:
916:William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse
903:(2004). "Miracle at Birr Castle".
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352:William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse
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857:. I-LOFAR. Retrieved 13 June 2019
222:16 m (52 ft 6 in)
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653:. Kenyon College. Archived from
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510:Modern companion radio telescope
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566:One of the two original mirrors
918:". Retrieved 22 November 2009.
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518:The Irish low-frequency array
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1:
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884:The Astronomy of Birr Castle
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7:
921:WGBH NOVA/Time-Life Video "
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578:The reconstructed telescope
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342:of 72 inches (1.83 m)
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649:Greenslade Jr., Thomas B.
771:27 September 2008 at the
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869:Irish Times, 2018-03-27.
336:Rosse six-foot telescope
332:Leviathan of Parsonstown
313:Related media on Commons
191:astronomical observatory
138:60 nights per year
114:53.0967722°N 7.9175782°W
22:Leviathan of Parsonstown
366:Design and construction
882:Patrick Moore (1981).
727:10.1098/rstl.1850.0026
523:
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358:, at Parsonstown (now
175:15 February 1845
119:53.0967722; -7.9175782
39:Alternative names
914:Wolfgang Steinicke. "
812:"Antenna Description"
786:"The Build - I-LOFAR"
766:Telescope Restoration
517:
474:
380:
923:Beyond the Milky Way
340:reflecting telescope
261:/telescope-astronomy
187:Telescope style
905:Sky & Telescope
891:Sky & Telescope
695:1998JATSo..14...18T
657:on 29 October 2013.
630:Lists of telescopes
485:structural engineer
401:The tube is of the
195:Newtonian telescope
110: /
23:
1055:Optical telescopes
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489:amateur astronomer
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212:72 inches (183 cm)
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405:design with the
348:Hooker Telescope
338:, is a historic
322:edit on Wikidata
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1005:Solar System
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790:the original
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655:the original
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218:Focal length
42:Great Rosse
18:
993:Outer space
981:Spaceflight
721:: 499–514.
467:Restoration
356:Birr Castle
117: /
93:Coordinates
74:Birr Castle
70:Location(s)
1039:Categories
636:References
540:flare star
497:Mary Rosse
456:equatorial
432:Messier 51
257:birrcastle
102:53°05′48″N
1017:Education
957:Astronomy
901:D.H. Levy
735:115269149
689:: 18–24.
536:red-dwarf
526:In 2017,
520:(I-LOFAR)
414:Operation
403:Newtonian
157:1842–1846
153:1842–1846
105:7°55′03″W
88:, Ireland
56:Leviathan
836:. ASTRON
814:. ASTRON
796:27 March
769:Archived
603:See also
550:Pictures
544:Wolf 359
504:speculum
428:galaxies
407:eyepiece
388:altitude
344:aperture
233:Mounting
209:Diameter
86:Leinster
1029:Science
945:Ireland
931:Portals
691:Bibcode
392:azimuth
252:Website
155: (
840:12 May
818:12 May
733:
306:
240:
197:
58:
969:Stars
909:107.1
731:S2CID
528:LOFAR
334:, or
320:[
150:Built
895:94.5
842:2015
820:2015
798:2018
487:and
422:and
360:Birr
259:.com
78:Birr
723:doi
719:140
1041::
907:,
893:,
743:^
729:.
717:.
703:^
687:14
685:.
663:^
538:,
451:.
84:,
80:,
76:,
933::
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800:.
764:"
737:.
725::
697:.
693::
324:]
263:/
159:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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