Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1866-04-19
Srienfitit.
The Great Chicago Telescope.

The Chicago telescope, which may
be termed The telescope of the world,
being by many degrees the largest ev-
er made on this planet, has at last ar
rived in the city. For more than a
year past it has been a fruitful theme
of speculation from time to time among
our scientific circles, and now that it
has actually come, all eyes will natu-
rally be curious to take a.peep through
it, at the celestial scenery which has
thus been brought within the scope of
our observation. The telescope was
heralded on Friday by the maker, AL
van Clark, Esq, of Cambridge, Mass,
who arrived here, accompanied by his
son and Prof T. A. Stafford, the astron-
omer of the University They were re.
ceived by j. Young Scammon, Esq,
Thomas Hoync, Esq, and other MEM
bers of the Astronomical Society, who
conducted them to the Chicago Univer-
sity for the purpose of inspecting the
arrangements now in progress for the
erection of the instrument. A few days
will suffice to complete the arrange
ments at the Dearborn tower, in the
dome of which it is to be placed. The
telescope was shipped az Boston on
the 18th, and passed Buffalo on the
2lst. 1t arrived in Chicago at 2 o'clock
on Saturday afternoon, all safe and
sound. 1t was packed in nineteen
boxes, besides which there were two
large wooden frames and three heavy
metallic castings. 1t will be conveyed
to the University on Monday per the
Burlington and Quincy railroad. The
microscopes, being too valuable to be
trusted by rail, were packed and car
ried in box by hand to their destina-
ton.
Our readers are already familiar
with the history of this powerful instru-
ment, aud we need only therefore re-
capitulate the events in its eventful
(carthly) career. 1t was originally
ordered by the State of Mississippi,
and purchased for the University but
at the outbreak of the rebellion, the
Mississippians somehow lost all inter
est in the course of the planets, being
too busily occupied with mere terres-
trial matters, and the contract was Civ
en- up. The University of Harvard
next cast their eyes upon it, and
thought they had it safe, when Thomas
Hoyne, Esq, acting for the Astrono-
mical Society of Chicago, secured it
for our University. Here. according
ly, it has come at last, after long
watching on cur part, and in a few
days the people of the Garden City
will be several millions of inches near
er to the heavens than they now are,
and will be in position to receive di.
rect information as to the doings oi
Jupiter, Venus and Mars, and special
dispatches, perhaps, from the man in
the Moon, daily.
The telescope is an equatorial re
tractor, now the largest in the world
the aperture of its object glass, which
is the only dimension of Importance
being l2k inches, while that of the
next largest is only l6 inches. 1t is
worthy Of remark that the glass is en
tirely without single speck or flaw
a circumstance of rare occurrence in a
glass of such dimensions. The focal
lengh of the instrument is twenty three
feet. The reason why glasses of this
size are SO rare is on account Of The
difficulty experienced in casting. them
| Many casting arc thrown aside a!