J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 107, 6, 1997, p. 345
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From Mr Robert Katz
Like many members I have been curious for some time about the fate of the Isaac Roberts telescope which is mothballed in an observatory at the top of the Science Museum in London. I have been doing some research into Roberts' pioneering work in astrophotography and I thought it might be interesting to see the famous Grubb 20" with which he did so much important work. In order to see the instrument I contacted Kevin Jackson, Associate Curator of Astronomy and Mathematics at the Museum who was kind enough to show me around. The observatory consists of a fine revolving dome by Grubb set on a wood-panelled structure which was familiar to me when I used to visit the Museum as a child. The Roberts telescope, which is mounted co-axially with a magnificent Cooke 7" refractor on Grubb's original mount, is in reasonably good condition, although the primary has not been realuminised for many years. There seems to be a Cassegrain secondary of later provenance than the original telescope and there is some question about when the primary was last refigured. The instrument was last used in a Cassegrain configuration, although the openings for prime focus photography are still visible at the top of the tube. As it was 11.00am I was unable to see how healthy the telescope was optically, but I was certainly impressed by it. The reasons given for the lack of public access are clear enough: there is a rather cramped office where the entrance to the observatory is and the problems of access for the disabled and access at night are quite real. Needless to say, lack of money is behind all this. In addition, a new office building has risen up to the northwest of the observatory, although the view to the south is still relatively unobstructed. Seeing conditions are bound to be poor from a rooftop in central London, but it appears that the telescope could still be profitably used for beginners' tours of the sky and more advanced CCD and video work. Of course it is a terrible shame that Londoners such as myself and the millions of visitors to the Science Museum cannot have access to this important and potentially useful pair of instruments. I wonder if it is beyond our imagination to get the telescope going again, perhaps with the help of Lottery funding. I feel sure that if the Museum were presented with a suitable plan for the telescope's return to the purpose for which it was acquired by the nation we might begin to do something about it. Members who have any ideas on this score are welcome to contact me.
Robert Katz
2 Peary Place, Bethnal Green, London E2 OQW. [ bert@katz.demon.co.uk ]
From Mr Philip Marriage
Thank-you for sending me the obituary of Don Campbell which appeared in the October issue of the BAA Journal.
Don was a lovely man, simply great fun to be with, and I was lucky to know him for the last twenty-eight years of his long and active life. He was always working on something new even into his nineties, and it was no surprise to me when he unveiled his home-made radio telescope to record the Shoemaker–Levy impacts on Jupiter, made from a transparency-screen and chicken wire linked to a short-wave radio with a pen plotter. It worked, of course!
My two sons regarded him as a great friend throughout their childhood and it is no surprise that they have both embarked on careers in science, due I am sure to his enthusiasm and encouragement from the earliest days when we all trooped across the fields of a nearby farmer – the boys in their pushchairs – to view the Perseids. A most remarkable man who enriched the lives of all who were fortunate to know him. That is his real legacy.
Philip Marriage
154 Wellesley Avenue South, Thorpe Hamlet, Norwich NR1 4AD.
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