Inside & beyond @museumsvictoria, a team of staff & volunteers are focussed to restore Australia's first giant telescope. Tweets by curator @tildsvaughan
The significance of the Great Melbourne #Telescope to Australian #astronomy and science (the largest object in @museumsvictoria Science & Measurement collection) is being preserved through its heritage restoration, and future display & operation📽️ https://t.co/mZHJDXnEji
Our original speculum #GMTMirror has a new view. And a new sign 😉The mirror is currently reflecting part of @museumsvictoria transport collection. You can see the 1951 Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle on the lower level & 1916 BSA Model K above it. #MuseumCollections#MuseumSigns
Doesn't time fly! This app has told us that we sent our #FirstTweet from this account OTD 10 years ago! Of course it featured our 19thC speculum mirror. Currently in storage, but it's been on display twice since then, silently reflecting the people & objects that pass by 🔭👀
Work continues on fitting parts to the telescope’s Right Ascension Fine Control. Guided by historic photos including one showing the system leaning up against a pillar in Grubb’s Dublin Workshop in 1868 #HeritageRestoration
The new gunmetal bevel gears for the Right Ascension Fine Control of the telescope have been fitted to the Polar Axis Drive. They look shiny and work beautifully with their authentic cycoidal tooth profile 🔭👀
New gunmetal bevel gears are fitted for the fine control of the right ascension drive - and they work so smoothly, complete with their authentic 19th century cycloidal tooth profile🔭👀
This icon of our world's scientific heritage has had generous support from donors to get it to this stage. But to get it moving, we need help. If you love our scientific heritage & want to contribute, we'd love to hear from you 🔭👀#HeritageRestoration
https://t.co/NPnM7PryhB
The significance of the Great Melbourne #Telescope to Australian #astronomy and science (the largest object in @museumsvictoria Science & Measurement collection) is being preserved through its heritage restoration, and future display & operation📽️ https://t.co/mZHJDXnEji
Shiny things! The Tuesday GMT restoration team received a delivery of new gunmetal gears, designed with the cycloidal tooth profile typical of 19thC machines. Keeping the mechanical operation of the telescope's movement system as authentic as possible #HeritageRestoration 🔭👀
The retrieval of fire-affected 19thC remains was achieved in Nov 2008. Those parts would be assessed & later rejoin the unwanted parts (from an earlier Mt Stromlo upgrade) that had already been collected by the museum in 1984. And 21stC #telescope restoration project began...
It's 20 years since the horrific & tragic bushfires ripped through Canberra & Mt Stromlo Observatory, leaving behind the burnt remains of the Great Melbourne #telescope, amongst all the devastation. A pause to remember our restoration project origins. https://t.co/U8qmxYY1lk
Farewell to 2022. Hello 2023. Here's a 1 minute review of the past year from our Project Manager Simon, showing some of the faces who worked on the Great Melbourne Telescope restoration and the things they did. Looking forward to continuing the good work in 2023 and beyond 🔭👀
@MuseoAstroUnipd@DFAUnipd@sydneyobs@RoyalAstroSoc The photograph shows Great Melbourne Telescope assembled for testing in Grubb’s Dublin workshop prior to being packed & shipped to Australia in 1869. Note the difference in the Polar Axis angle between Dublin & Melbourne.
@MuseoAstroUnipd@DFAUnipd@sydneyobs@RoyalAstroSoc The photograph shows Great Melbourne Telescope assembled for testing in Grubb’s Dublin workshop prior to being packed & shipped to Australia in 1869. Note the difference in the Polar Axis angle between Dublin & Melbourne.
@Astro_yyz Hi Katrina, the new mirrors are expected to be completed in Oct 2022 and expected to arrive at the Scienceworks Engineering workshop sometime early 2023. The mechanical & optical restoration is expected to be completed in mid-2026. 🔭👀
The history of our Great Melbourne telescope was written by Richard Gillespie, 2009. In his review, Fred Watson said, “extraordinary insights into the lives & times of both the telescope and the people who surrounded it, while setting its scientific importance firmly in context.”
A comprehensive reading list. The cover of Henry C. King’s “The history of the telescope” has an image of the Great Melbourne Telescope, currently under restoration.