TheSkySearchers

Not quite sure where to post this, but was curious. I'm heading up to Palomar mountain soon and got to thinking about guiding that big telescope up there. How did they guide that monster before computers. I'm guessing that someone had to track a guide star manually? Did that usually fall to a grad student? Resident astronomer? Just trying to imagine what the workflow was like pre computer.

If I remember correctly, the person taking the photographic plate would be in the upper cage riding the 'beast' using what was called a 'guiding microscope' focused on a star at the edge of the fov. The correction were manual and moved the plate holder not the big beast, it would just run at sidereal rate.

Don't try this at home,
Steve

sdbodin wrote: ↑Fri May 14, 2021 4:02 am If I remember correctly, the person taking the photographic plate would be in the upper cage riding the 'beast' using what was called a 'guiding microscope' focused on a star at the edge of the fov.

Wow. I've seen that cage on a previous visit. Not a good place for anyone afraid of heights!

That's one of the things that struck me on a visit to Greenwich Observatory, the very uncomfortable and difficult to reach chair the operator had to sit in to use the Airy's Transit Circle telescope.

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/ai ... versal-day

Regards

Graeme

Moved to the Guiding forum.