LEADER 03882nam 2200589 a 450 001 9910437982303321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a1-4614-7288-1 024 7 $a10.1007/978-1-4614-7288-9 035 $a(CKB)2670000000370322 035 $a(EBL)1316947 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000904392 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11495993 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000904392 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10923060 035 $a(PQKB)11168616 035 $a(DE-He213)978-1-4614-7288-9 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC1316947 035 $a(PPN)170488683 035 $a(EXLCZ)992670000000370322 100 $a20130531d2013 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 14$aThe great refractor of Meudon Observatory /$fAudouin Dollfus ; translated by Richard McKim 205 $a1st ed. 2013. 210 $aNew York $cSpringer$d2013 215 $a1 online resource (155 p.) 225 1 $aAstrophysics and space science library,$x0067-0057 ;$v398 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a1-4899-8930-7 311 $a1-4614-7287-3 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and indexes. 327 $apt. I. The largest refractor in Europe -- pt. II. Observations and discoveries. 330 $a The large telescope at Meudon, the Grande Lunette, with an 83 centimeter diameter, has become legendary.  When it was conceived (after 1870), Astronomy was limited to visual observation. Knowledge of the sky was limited to what one could see with the human eye, assisted only by optical means. The large telescopes produced at this time allowed for higher magnifications, permitting close-up views; the Meudon telescope was able to accomplish this perfectly. At Meudon, which was to become a Mecca for visual observation, the major planets were examined in a way that no other telescope had previously been able to. The telescope monitored the state of their atmospheres and mapped the appearance of their surfaces.  Through the telescope, one could see the nuclei of comets, revealing their very small size, and by using a micrometer one could measure the separation of double stars and the diameters of asteroids.  With a marvelous little instrument, the polarimeter, the nature of clouds in planetary atmospheres could be determined and the type of surface material identified. The Grande Lunette has remained to this day the largest refracting telescope in Europe. Audouin Dollfus (1924-2010), a world-renowned astronomer who spent his entire working life at the Meudon Observatory, describes the great years of the Meudon refractor.  He gives the entire story of this instrument, from the birth of the concept that drove Jules Janssen at the end of the nineteenth century, to the idea that French astronomy could provide an outstanding telescope which would approach the limits of the technical and industrial resources of that time.  Out of action since the 1990s, the year 2006 marked the first steps toward restoration and public reopening of the great instrument.  This English translation is by Richard McKim, a Past President of the British Astronomical Association who often worked both with Audouin Dollfus and the instrument which forms the subject of this book. 410 0$aAstrophysics and space science library ;$v398. 606 $aAstronomical instruments$zFrance$xHistory 606 $aAstronomy$zFrance$xHistory 615 0$aAstronomical instruments$xHistory. 615 0$aAstronomy$xHistory. 676 $a522.1944364 700 $aDollfus$b Audouin$0917101 701 $aMcKim$b Richard$01757513 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910437982303321 996 $aThe great refractor of Meudon Observatory$94195386 997 $aUNINA