User's Guide to the Lick 36" Refracting Telescope

Introduction
Dome
General
Floor
Slit (shutter)
Windscreen
Rotation
Lighting
Telescope
General
Balance
Lens Cover
Motion
Position Indicators
Finderscope
Tangent Arm
Reversal
Access Ports
Control Desk
Console
Contents
Limits
Pointing
Weather
Safety
Observing Hits
Checklist
Trouble Shooting
Mt. Hamilton Homepage

Telescope General

The historic Lick 36" Refractor is a completely manual telescope. While there is a motor for tracking the telescope, slewing the telescope from one position on the sky to another is done by pushing the telescope by hand or using the ship's wheels on the telescope pier (see Telescope Motion).

The principal instrument is the eyepiece (the commonly used eyepieces are shown in Figure 1). The other currently supported instrument is a bifilar micrometer. As of June 2010 the available eyepieces are:

  • 55mm (TeleVue Plossl)
  • 35mm (TeleVue Panoptic)
  • 22mm (TeleVue Panoptic)
  • 16mm (TeleVue Nagler Type 2)
  • 32mm Binocular Eyepiece (Figure 2)
  • Historic Moon Eyepiece (available by special request only, as it is now stored in the Historical Collection).


Figure 1: Commercial eyepieces for the 36" refractor.


Figure 2: 32mm Binocular eyepiece (with storage case). Donated by Rich Neuschaefer.

 

The bifilar micrometer (Figure 3) is currently in use for the Washington Double Star Catalogue . For information on the bifilar micrometer see Sanders, W. L. 1966 and contact the support astronomers.

 


Figure 3: Bifilar Micrometer