Ohio University astronomy students will be stargazing through a different lens after a large telescope was put out of commission.
A refractor telescope with a 10-inch lens was disassembled and removed indefinitely from the top of the old Research and Technology Center because of its deteriorating conditions and lack of adequate shelter, said Thomas O’Grady, an astronomy instructor.
The telescope was bought in 1948 for $13,500, according to letters from Victor Goedicke, a past OU astronomy professor.
The telescope was kept in a temporary shed that has become rundown.
“The housing for the telescope was this old, plywood shed,” O’Grady said. “The shed never got upgraded, and there wasn’t a dome for the telescope. Eventually, time and moisture affected the gears of the telescope. It slowly got harder for us to adjust it, and eventually, we would have to force the telescope to align.”
Refractor telescopes have clearer magnification, while reflector telescopes better focus on nebulas and galaxies.
“The refractor telescope in question can be used in the city,” said George Eberts, an astronomy instructor. “Light pollution affects how much you can see in the sky. But the refractor telescope can focus in on planets. When people can observe Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, (the telescope) acts as a portal for the people’s imagination.”
Because of uncertainty regarding the costs of reconditioning and cleaning the refractor telescope and relocating it, instructors don’t know what will happen to it.
“Hopefully, we’ll get it figured out,” O’Grady said. “We don’t know what the future for the telescope is in the short term. … We hope in the future there can be an observatory.”
Replacing the telescope would be almost impossible, O’Grady said.
“The company, Fecker, that made the telescopes doesn’t make it anymore,” he said. “If people make it up from parts, make the lens and engineers make the mount, that alone will cost around $100,000, which is unrealistically expensive.”
OU owns two refractor telescopes, but the second, while functional, is kept in storage and isn’t used for astronomy classes.
However, astronomy classes aren’t completely bereft with the loss of the refractor telescope, O’Grady said. OU also has eight or nine portable reflector telescopes, made from more inexpensive materials such as cardboard and plywood, that the classes use.
“The stargazing part of the class is very interesting and unique,” said Kristina Underwood, a senior studying creative writing. “We go into a creepy, dark field and look up and realize the beauty we miss almost every night because we are too busy focusing on other things (in life).”
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