The Perth Observatory Astrograph

Perth Observatory Standard Astrograph with Mr. Hyman Solomon Spigl – Perth Observatory Archives P129-1

The Perth Observatory’s 13-inch* Sir Howard Grubb ‘Standard’ Astrographic telescope arrived in Western Australia aboard the steamship Devon in early 1898. Western Australia’s first Government Astronomer, William Ernest Cooke, was interviewed by The West Australian newspaper in Albany on 6 November 1897, shortly after returning from England on the ship Austral. Having inspected the telescope during his visit to England, Cooke reported that he was carrying with him the two objective lenses of the instrument.

Current research indicates that the telescope was installed at the Observatory in July 1898.

Its first recorded astronomical use is noted in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (Vol. 59, p. 151) on 13 November 1898, when a hand-held camera was attached to the telescope’s tube to photograph the Leonid's meteor shower.

During 1899 and 1900, however, the telescope’s use was limited due to funding restrictions, a shortage of staff, and the Observatory’s initial focus on meteorological work. During this period, it was employed mainly for the benefit of visitors.

By November 1901, the telescope was dedicated exclusively to observations for the International Astrographic Catalogue (AC), covering the declination zone –32°S to –40°S, a project that continued for the next 20 years.

Constructed in 1897, the telescope comprised a 10-inch** visual refractor (the top tube in the image above), and a 13-inch* photographic tube with a glass plate holder (the bottom tube in the image above).

The telescope can still be seen at the Perth Observatory in Bickley, Western Australia.

*33cm

**25.4cm