The 24-inch Clarke refractor

I had the privilege of seeing Saturn through this venerable instrument (see next picture). Percival Lowell (who claimed to have seen canals on Mars through it) spent many years at the eyepiece searching for the elusive “Planet X”.  When it was eventually found, a name starting with his initials was chosen for the new world: Pluto.

Incidentally, notice the automobile wheels around the rim of the domw – a novel way to help it to slew smoothly.

Saturn seen through the 24-inch refractor

Not the greatest image of Saturn but interesting considering it was snapped with a Blackberry (remember those?), in a hurry with a queue of people waiting behind me for a look. The strange red light to the right is from the observatory night-vision lights.

The Pluto discovery telescope

This 13-inch astrograph (a telescope designed for photography rather than visual use) was built specifically to complete the search for ‘Planet X’. Some members of my tour group are examining the scope.

Distinguished Visitors

On display at the observatory, these pages from the visitors’ book for 16th January 1963 feature names that would become famous in the Apollo programme, including planetary geologist Gene Shoemaker (who proved that the Barringer crater in Arizona was caused by a meteorite), and astronauts Frank Borman (Apollo 8), Pete Conrad (Apollo 12), John Young (Apollos 10 & 16), Deke Slayton (Apollo-Soyuz linkup), Elliot See (tragically killed in an aircrash before he flew in space), Tom Stafford (Apollo 9) and Neil Armstrong.

The Main Exhibition room at Lowell

Members of our group mingle with the public during our tour of the Lowell observatory. This was part of the ‘2012 Annular Eclipse, US Observatories and Venus Transit Tour’ run by Astronomy Tours/Explorers.