1878 Alvan Clark 8" refractor

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1878 Alvan Clark 8" refractor

#1

Post by Ben Cartwright SASS »


I am one of the Trustees at the Seagrave Observatory in N. Scituate RI. We were founded in 1914 when Frank Seagrave moved his 8" Clark refractor from East Providence to N. Scituate and built an observatory. His parents gave him the Clark for his 16th birthday in 1876 but it took two years for it to be built.

The telescope that sits atop the silo-like structure at Seagrave Memorial Observatory is the pride and joy of the Skyscrapers organization. It is a refractor with a lens 8 ¼ - inches in diameter and a focal length of 105 inches, providing an f-ratio of about 13. The Clark telescope was purchased by Skyscrapers in November 1936 from the estate of Walter F. Angell, a cousin of Frank Evens Seagrave who had bequeathed it to him in August 1934. Though this antique telescope was refurbished in 2003, the quality of the images provided by the refractive glass elements in the front of the tube has never wavered.

In fact, while Skyscrapers history with the instrument goes back to 1936, it is indeed much older than that. You see, in 1878, a young man from Providence, Frank Evens Seagrave, received this Clark telescope for his 16th birthday present. (Frank turned 16 years old in 1876. However, it took two years for the scope to be built and delivered.) At his father’s residence at 119 Benefit Street they built the first Seagrave observatory (also a silo-like structure) to house the telescope.

There it stayed, collecting the light of the Moon, the planets, comets, asteroids and variable stars until coal dust and gas lamps lighting the city streets started to affect Frank’s observations. He looked around New England and finally settled upon 47 Peeptoad Road in North Scituate, where he built our Seagrave Memorial Observatory and moved his beautiful Alvan Clark to in 1914.

And the rest, they say, is history.
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Re: 1878 Alvan Clark 8" refractor

#2

Post by The Happy Parrot »


What a beautiful telescope, and in such good shape.

There is a similar Alvan Clark telescope at Amherst College, not as clean and well kept, but still in use until Covid started. It was built in 1903 and I believe it is an 18 inch design.
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Re: 1878 Alvan Clark 8" refractor

#3

Post by Michael131313 »


Thanks very much for the interesting historical post.
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Re: 1878 Alvan Clark 8" refractor

#4

Post by Ylem »


Very nice, we also have an Alvan Clark at our club's observatory, 8" f15.

Don't recall the year it was built, but some elderly lady in Charleston, SC gave it to us :)

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Re: 1878 Alvan Clark 8" refractor

#5

Post by Ben Cartwright SASS »


Nice
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Re: 1878 Alvan Clark 8" refractor

#6

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Beautiful instruments, I would love to spend a evening viewing with it.

Thank you for the history Jeff :)
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Re: 1878 Alvan Clark 8" refractor

#7

Post by helicon »


Beautiful instrument. The scopes are as much works of art as they are scientific instruments. The East Bay Astronomical Society uses an 8" Alvan Clark housed in the Chabot Observatory in Oakland that dates back to 1883, gifted by Anthony Chabot, a water magnate who designed the water supply of Oakland.
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Re: 1878 Alvan Clark 8" refractor

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Post by Ben Cartwright SASS »


Our Clark is open to the public on our public nights. www.theskyscrapers.org
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Re: 1878 Alvan Clark 8" refractor

#9

Post by Arctic »


Imagine getting that scope for your 16th birthday! Haha

I suspect that the vast majority of those old, Clark refractors are located in places that are pretty light polluted. But because they are best suited for planetary and double star observations, they are still useful--especially for public outreach.
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Re: 1878 Alvan Clark 8" refractor

#10

Post by helicon »


Arctic wrote: Thu Sep 30, 2021 1:26 pm Imagine getting that scope for your 16th birthday! Haha

I suspect that the vast majority of those old, Clark refractors are located in places that are pretty light polluted. But because they are best suited for planetary and double star observations, they are still useful--especially for public outreach.
Definitely true about LP. Folks used to be able to see the Milky Way from the city back in the 19th century, certainly most of these observatory locations associated with urban areas are in red/white zones now.
.
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Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
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