Franklin-Adams photographic refractor

Known as Franklin-Adams telescope

25 cm (10 inch)

Index:

Summary; History; Current; Technical; Sources; Links; Gallery:

In brief

Important Contribution:

The Franklin-Adams photographic maps of the southern sky taken with this instrument between 1905 and 1914 were regarded as the standard at the time.
H.E. Wood used this telescope to photograph Halley’s Comet in 1910. (Hers, 1987)
The most celebrated result from the Franklin-Adams telescope was the discovery of Proxima Centauri by Robert Innes in 1915. (Glass, 2015)

Description:

John Franklin-Adams (1843-1912) was a British amateur astronomer who made important contributions to astronomy during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In 1898 he commissioned Thomas Cooke and Sons to build a wide-angle camera telescope. After several alterations, designed by H Dennis Taylor, the 10 inch instrument was completed in 1903. It gave good 12”x12” images and fair images of 18”x18”. No wide-angle lens of such high performance had been constructed before.
It was driven by continuous RA and DA worm wheels with 1080 teeth each. The mount and lens weighed 2¾ tons. (Glass 2015)

Historical Background

Owners:
Franklin-Adams donated this telescope to the Union Observatory (later named the Republic Observatory) in 1909. Ownership was transferred to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 1978 and then in 1982 a brass plaque on this telescope states that it was donated that year by the CSIR to the Department if National Education. It was then owned by Technikon Pretoria and subsequently the Tshwane University of Technology (2004), the current owner.

Where Located:

Republic Observatory: 1909 – 1954
Hartebeespoort: 1954 – present

Current Information

Present Location:
Toppieshoek Adventure Campsite, Tshwane University of Technology, Toppieshoek Road, Hartbeespoort, Broederstroom, 0216.

Owner:
Tshwane University of Technology

Status:
Not in operation.

Condition:
Fair, but requires reconditioning.

Technical Details

Type: Refractor
Aperture: 10 inch (25.4 cm)
Focal Length: 44.2 inches (112cm)
Lens:
Mounting: Thomas Cooke & Sons
Attachments: Fitted with a 10 inch (25.4 cm) triple OG Cook Star Camera (Apparently camera and telescope was one instrument)
Manufacturer: Thomas Cooke & Sons

Sources

Link to the Main Bibliography Section and more information about Sources.

Documentation:

Pictorial Sources:

Bibliography:

Glass, I.S., ‘’The Franklin-Adams Telescope’’, MNASSA Monthly Notes of the Astronomical Society of South Africa 74, nos. 5 & 6, June 2015. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC172751
Hers, J., “The history of the Transvaal Observatory 1””, MNASSA Monthly Notes of the Astronomical Society of South Africa 46, nos. 1 &2, 1987 and “The history of the Transvaal Observatory 2””, MNASSA Monthly Notes of the Astronomical Society of South Africa 46, nos. 3 &4, 1987. Also: personal communications between Hers and Smits. and “The history of the Transvaal Observatory 2””, 5 & 6, June 2015. 5 & 6, June 2015.
Moore, P. and Collins, P., The Astronomy of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Howard Timmins, 1977.
Van Herk, G., Kleibrink, H. and Bijleveld, W., “The Leiden Southern Station”, MNASSA: Monthly Notes of the Astronomical Society of South Africa 47, no. 3,1988.
Vermeulen, D.J. Living amongst the stars at the Johannesburg Observatory. Johannesburg: Chris Van Rensburg Publications, 2006.

Acknowledgement:
Many thanks to Jane and Vincent Carruthers who helped to research and write this page.