The Vienna
Observatory has for the last two years been using an instrument of
this kind whose objective has an aperture of 15 inches. Another
equatorial of the same kind, of 16 in. aperture, is now in course of
construction for the Nice Observatory, where it will be especially
employed as a seeker of exceptional power--a role to which this kind
of instrument lends itself admirably. The optical part of all these
instruments was furnished by the Messrs. Henry, and the mechanical
part by Mr. Gautier.
The largest elbowed equatorial is, therefore, that of the Paris
Observatory. Its optical power, moreover, corresponds perfectly to its
huge dimensions. The experimental observations which have already been
made with it fully justify the hopes that we had a right to found upon
the professional skill of the eminent artists to whom we owe this
colossal instrument. The images of the stars were given with the
greatest sharpness, and it was possible to study the details of the
surface of the moon and other planets, and several star clusters, in
all their peculiarities, in the most remarkable manner.
When it shall become possible to make use of this equatorial for
celestial photography, there is no doubt that we shall obtain the most
important results. As regards the moon, in particular, the
photographing of which has already made so great progress, its direct
image at the focus of the large 24 in.
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