News

02  April 2024. I recently had the pleasure of visiting the 'Space Investigators North East' exhibition at the Hancock Museum in Newcastle. The exhibition does have some Grubb Parsons content including a nice model of the Issac Newton telescope and examples of the two models of telescope produced by Grubbs  aimed at  the amateur astronomy market. The Perseus is a 9-inch Maksutov telescope and the Andromeda a 5-inch Newtonian telescope. More information about the exhibition can be found here:  https://greatnorthmuseum.org.uk/whats-on/space-investigators-north-east

24 November 2023. I am pleased to say that I have been given the opportunity to re-work a historical Grubb Parsons telescope mirror. The 24-inch mirror is from the 17/24 Schmidt Camera made for Cambridge University and installed in the early 1950's. This telescope was gifted to the Spaceguard Centre in Wales in 2009. Unfortunately, the 24-inch  mirror is worse for wear and needs a complete re-work. Find out more about the work I am doing with the mirror here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063705720836

To find out more about the Spaceguard Centre look here: https://spaceguardcentre.com/

1 March 2022.  In 1975 a 1.2m telescope was installed in the Kryoneri observatory in Greece. In 2017, after some modifications, this telescope was used to monitor the moon for impacts and flashes resulting from collisions of Near Earth Objects. More information about this and the telescope can be found here:  https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/content/-/article/neliota      A video showing the 1.2m telescope can be seen below....

18 February 2022. In the 1960's Grubb Parsons made two 20 inch telescopes, one for Edinburgh (1967) and one for Glasgow (1968). The Edinburgh telescope was given to the Mid-Kent Astronomical Society in 2012, more details can be found here: https://www.midkentastro.org.uk/?&p=telescope-gp20  The Glasgow telescope was renovated  by Professor Giles Hammond who gives a fascinating account of the telescope and the work done with it together with a brief history of Grubb Parsons which can be seen here:

10 February 2022. One of David Sinden's many achievements was the restoration of the 24 inch Calver telescope used by The Rev. Espin at his observatory in Tow law, Co. Durham. David presented the restored telescope to Newcastle university who housed it in a nice dome at their Close House observatory. Unfortunately, the Close House estate was sold and subsequently developed as a golf course. The observatory was abandoned and together with the 24 inch telescope the domes were left at the mercy of the elements and vandals. The old Calver telescope has seen it all before. Such a pity that the historic telescope, restored by David, was not saved. The following video shows the decaying observatory, towards the end of the clip the 24- inch telescope can be seen in its dome. For more information by the Rev. Espin look here: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/803/1/Espin+his+life+and+work.pdf

07 February 2022.  Uploaded the missing documents to the Grubb Parsons document page.

06 February 2022. Unfortunately when this site was moved from the classic google site format to the new format some news items were lost from 2018 to 2021.

26 November 2018. Found a nice link giving in formation about the 36 inch Yapp Telescope: http://www.royalobservatorygreenwich.org/articles.php?article=1262

23 May 2018. I am starting a new section on the web site, David Sinden, A life in Pictures. Will be adding new material over the coming weeks/months.

29 April 2018. Although still in use the 74 inch Helwan telescope no longer has the original mirror made by Grubbs, this was replaced with a Zeiss mirror. In 1969 it was found that the original mirror could not be successfully re-coated. The reason for this was that surface damage had accumulated through the use of acid to remove old aluminium coatings. Ref:https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1539299600012521

12 April 2018. Updated the 74 inch Mt Stromlo telescope page to include a link to a historical gallery of the telescope.

07 April 2018. Updated the page on the 74 inch Helwan telescope.

12 March 2018. The Armagh Observatory website has an excellent set of pictures of historical telescopes some made by the Grubbs and some by Grubb Parsons. Well worth a look, it can be found here: http://star.arm.ac.uk/images/historical/Instruments/

10 March 2018. I came across this article: https://heatonhistorygroup.org/2018/03/07/the-two-davids-grubb-parsons-stellar-double-act/comment-page-1/#comment-11846 which draws much from this website. Nice to know the information here is being accessed.

04 December 2017. I recently discovered that the mount from a Grubb Parsons telescope made in 1930 was given a new telescope tube assembly in 1951. This telescope is now an exhibit in The National Museum of Scotland. For more details see this page.

30 November 2017. Updated the page about the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope to include notes about its evolution and optics.

25 November 2017. Further to my last notice I have updated the site to include material kindly supplied by Gordon Moir who I met at the talk given to the explore group in Newcastle. The updates include pictures of the 74 inch telescope made for the Radcliffe observatory, South Africa. Also, pictures of the 24/20 twin refractor made for Sweden, and in the documents section a copy of the Parsons Lecture given in 1951 by F Twyman. It contains some information about Grubb Parsons telescopes.

09 November 2017. Had the great pleasure of presenting a talk about Grubb Parsons to the Explore group in Newcastle, made a interesting contact which should result in more material for this site. More soon.

08 July 2017. A wonderful image of Jupiter taken from Pic du Midi observatory France, 1 metre  Cassegrain optics made by Grubb Parsons.

15 December 2016. Grubbs made a very nice 1.2m telescope for the Kryoneri observatory, Greece. Here is a link to the observatory site giving more details about the telescope: http://kryoneri.astro.noa.gr/info.html

29 October 2016. Had great pleasure in giving a talk, 'Grubb Parsons an Appreciation' at the Kielder Autumn star camp today.

17 October 2016. I have been researching the Great Melbourne Telescope built by Thomas Grubb in 1868. The original mirror was speculum metal, when the telescope was moved to Mt Stromlo and refurbished it was given a new 50 inch glass mirror supposedly made by Grub Parsons. I can find no reference to Grubbs having made such a mirror, no mention of it is made in the the list of Grubbs mirrors produced by George Sisson former general manager. So for the time being this remains a mystery!

20 June 2016. Many thanks to Howard for bringing to my attention the fact that the Schmidt camera, formerly located at Cambridge, has been moved to the Spaceguard centre in Wales. It is good to know that this old Grubb instrument is getting a new lease of life. Details can be found here: https://spaceguardcentre.com/drax/

29 April 2016. Came across this image of two important mirrors made by Grubbs, the 98 inch Isaac Newton Telescope mirror and the 74 inch  for Mt Stromlo, Australia.

11 December 2015. Last evening I had the pleasure of giving a talk to the Newcastle astronomical society entitled, "David Sinden, A Life in Optics". David passed away in 2005. In the audience where some of David's family including his son-in-law who worked for the Sinden Optical Company. I was able to establish that the largest mirror made by SOC was a 48 inch for an observatory in India. A little further research has enabled me to track down this mirror and details can be found here...http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1995BASI...23...13D

5 November 2015. Just discovered the following advert in the Handbook of the British Astronomical Association for 1997. It shows David Sinden with a  97cm mirror, the same mirror is pictured elsewhere in these pages and listed as a 36 inch mirror. I can now be fairly certain that it was, in fact, 97cm. I believe the mirror was for an observatory in Japan.

8 August 2015. I will be making posts about the life and work of David Sinden throughout August on the following forums...

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/249563-david-sinden-remembered/

https://britastro.org/node/6620

http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/forum/david-sinden-remembered-t128543.html

13 June 2015. The 29th August  this year marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of David Sinden, in tribute I will be trying to raise awareness of his work and accomplishments. I will be posting some brief highlights of David's life in optics on my Face Book page which can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nichol-Optical/567570396629155

21 May 2015. "When Geordies reached for the stars". Recollections of Grubb Parsons by BBC North East....http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-25627747

27 October 2014. Professor Andy Newsam gave a fascinating talk covering some of the achievements of the Liverpool telescope at the Kielder star camp this weekend gone. The secondary mirror was made in Newcastle by David Sinden, he would have been thrilled to hear that the mirror has done so much useful work for the advancement of science. For more details of the Liverpool telescope look here: http://telescope.livjm.ac.uk/ . Andy Newsam's  web page can be found here: http://www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk/~amn/

11 August 2014. Added new page containing documentation produced by the Sinden Optical Company. The page can be found here:  David_notes

18 June 2014. Grubb Parsons made a number of 74 inch telescopes, one was for Helwan, Egypt. This paper describes the original telescope and subsequent upgrades made to it: http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1402/1402.2926.pdf

4 March 2014. Came across this interesting article and film about the Isaac Newton Telescope: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/jan/30/isaac-newton-telescope

6 February 2014. I have added several more documents to the new documents page, the link to the page is in my previous post.

1 February 2014. I have created a new page called Documents, you will find various Grubb Parsons publications here and more.......https://sites.google.com/site/grubbparsons/home/grubb-parsons/documents

11 January 2014. Seems like this is linked to the Look North feature mentioned in my last post....http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-25627747

10 January 2014. Happy new year! Here is a link to an an article about Grubbs that was shown on BBC Look North recently. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LeyDD5iugo&feature=c4-overview&list=UU8xgvLO6Dtta_rJa6Vtye_A  Many thanks to Hannah Bayman, Look North presenter for sending me the link.

29 November 2013. One of David Sinden's many accomplishments was the restoration of the 24 inch Calver telescope owned by the Rev Espin, an astronomer of some note. George Calver was a mirror maker of some standing. The restored telescope was presented to Newcastle University and installed in the Universities Observatory at Close House. In 2004 the University sold Close House and the observatory fell into neglect. The old Calver telescope has seen it all before when the Rev. Espin's observatory fell into disuse after his death. Now the same thing is happening again. I can only hope that the historical instrument is rescue, some might consider it a museum piece as it lacks the computer controlled mount common to many 'modern' telescopes. Perhaps Beamish museum might find a home for it? More information and pictures of Close House Observatory can be found here, and here.

25 October 2013. Added a page giving details of two Hewitt Cameras made by Grubb Parsons. 34-inch Hewitt Camera 1962

17 October 2013. More news on the UKIRT can be found here: http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/UKIRT/news/UKIRT_Extension.htm

11 September 2013. Tyne and Wear archives have a very extensive set of files relating to Grubb Parsons, here is a link to their flickr page showing a few images from the archives. http://www.flickr.com/photos/twm_news/sets/72157634542127065/

13 August 2013. News regarding the future of one of Grubb Parsons finest instruments, the United Kingdom Infra-red Telescope (UKIRT) can be found here : 

http://www.stfc.ac.uk/2813.aspx

25th June 2013. On the 9th March I reported here that the 20 inch Grubb Parsons telescope originally made for the Royal Observatory Edinburgh (ROE), now in the possession of the Mid Kent Astronomical Society, had been damaged in transit. I have since been contacted by Noel Clark ( Special Projects coordinator, Mid-Kent Astronomical Society) who has kindly clarified the situation. Noel points out that it was the upper clutch bearing that was damaged and that this is not used during observing. The polar axis has been serviced and is now being assessed for straightness, all of the indications are that if the axis is bent it is not by much. So that is good news and bodes well for the instruments future. Noels stresses that anyone who is interested will have the opportunity to use the telescope.The Mid Kent Astronomical Astronomical Society are keen to find sponsors to support this project, their website can be found here....www.midkentastro.org.uk

15 June 3013. Follow this link to a Sky at Night clip showing some of the telescopes made by Grubb Parsons, including the AAT, UKIRT and thw WHT : http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00bq8bb

30 May 2013. Despite an uncertain future the UKIRT continues to be a very productive telescope judging by the number of publications it generates, see here :  http://outreach.jach.hawaii.edu/publications/publication_record_2012.html

15 March 2013. Added a link to an article on the 98 inch Isaac Newton Telescope written by Richard Woolley.

9 March 2013. Some time ago the 20 inch Grubb Parsons telescope originally made for the Royal Observatory Edinburgh (ROE) was awarded to the Mid Kent Astronomical Society, it appears that the mount was damaged during removal from the  ROE. For details see...http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/5722203/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1

6 March 2013. Added pictures of the Mills Observatory 18 inch telescope and pictures of the 74 inch Radcliffe Telescope.

25th January 2013. To find out more about the proposed sale of the UKIRT look here..http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/UKIRT/news/Update_121218.htmhttp://www.jach.hawaii.edu/UKIRT/news/Update_121218.htm

19th December 2012. I have added a new page, Grubb Miscelleny, for images and short pieces of interest.

18th December 2012. Sadly, just heard of the death of Alan Heslop.  Alan was a former employee of Grubb Parsons and a good friend of David Sinden who would consult Alan on matters of optical design.

26th October 2012. Added some links at the bottom of the David Sinden page. https://sites.google.com/site/grubbparsons/home/david-sinden

16 October 2012. Added a link reporting David Sinden's  talk to the BAA. https://sites.google.com/site/grubbparsons/home/david-sinden

13 October 2012.  World-Class Telescope For Sale. Scroll down this page for details...http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/newsblog  It refers to the proposed sale of the UKIRT

6 October 2012. Added a couple of images of the 40 inch telescope at the Pic du Midi observatory. https://sites.google.com/site/grubbparsons/home/grubb-parsons/telescopes-made-by-grubb-parsons/40-inch-reflector-pic-du-midi-france-optics-only-1962?pli=1

15 September 2012.  During it's existence the Sinden Optical Company made at least two large mirrors. There has been some confusion over the size and destination of these mirrors. After some research and communication with an ex-employee I can now say with some certainty that a 36 inch mirror was made for an observatory in Japan (possibly the Okayama observatory http://www.oao.nao.ac.jp/en/telescope/ ) and a 48 inch mirror was made for an observatory in India ( possibly at the observatory shown on this page  http://meetup.ghac.in/events/22877681/?eventId=22877681&action=detail).

2 September 2012. Added a couple of images on Telescopes made by Grubb Parsons page.

1 September 2012. Updated information on  Telescopes made by Grubb Parsons page.

18 August 2012. I gave a talk, "David Sinden, A Life in Optics", at the Scarborough and Ryedale AS Starfest meeting in Dalby forest.

20 July 2012. I am grateful to Nik Szymanek for allowing me to reproduce some of his excellent images and videos of the ING telescopes. http://s175657640.websitehome.co.uk/CCDLandWebSite/index.html

19 July 2012. I am grateful to Javier Mendez of the Issac Newton Group (ING) of telescopes for allowing me to reproduce information from the ING site  http://www.ing.iac.es/

8 June 2012. Added a link to Lee T Macdonald's excellent account of the INT 98 inch mirror. 98 inch Reflector

1 June 2012. I read with great sadness that the UKIRT will cease operations in 2013. http://www.ras.org.uk/news-and-press/219-news-2012/2131-stfc-island-site-telescopes-response-from-the-royal-astronomical-society  The 'thin' mirror, made under the watchful eye of David Sinden outperformed expectations and formed the heart of a very productive telescope.

14 April 2012. Added David Sinden:'A Life in Optics'. An article written by me outlining some of Davids achievements.  https://sites.google.com/site/grubbparsons/home/david-sinden/david-sindena-life-in-optics-1   Had some formatting problems with this piece, hope it does not detract too much from the content.

8 April 2012. Added some images of the 15 inch Grubb reflector being renovated by Sinden Optical Company. https://sites.google.com/site/grubbparsons/home/david-sinden/restoration-of-the-grubb-15-inch-reflector-for-armagh-observatory

10 February 2012. Added a nice video showing the Isaac Newton Telescope. https://sites.google.com/site/grubbparsons/home

6 November 2011. Added some information to the William Herschel Telescope page.  https://sites.google.com/site/grubbparsons/home/grubb-parsons/telescopes-made-by-grubb-parsons/170-inch-42-m-reflector-la-palma

21 October 2011. I have been recently contacted by Dr. Giles Hammond of the University of Glasgow concerning the 20 inch GP telescope. Dr Hammond provided images and information which has enabled me to update the page....20-inch reflector, Glasgow University, UK, 1968

28 May 2011. David Kidd has been collecting images from the Grubb Parsons held by Tyne and Wear achives, he has kindly supplied a number of images for my website. You can see more of his images here http://www.flickr.com/photos/57033523@N04/sets/72157626574206625/

17 May 2011. David Brown was a key figure in the history of Grubb Parsons, an obituary detailing some of his achievements can be found here....

http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1989QJRAS..30..279S/0000279.000.html

12 May 2011. Added two further images kindly supplied by David Kidd. 16-inch solar telescope, University Observatory, Oxford, 1934 and David Sinden

11th May 2011. Added two pictures of the 75 inch telescope tube and mount made for St Michel, France. 75-inch reflector (tube and mounting), St Michel, France, 1956 Many thanks to David Kidd for supplying these images.

15th April 2011. Added a picture of the 20 inch Grubb telescope at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. 20-inch reflector, Edinburgh University, UK, 1967

21st March 2011. Added a link to Mike Sweeney's page, a former employee of Grubbs.  https://sites.google.com/site/grubbparsons/home/links/grubb-parsons-links

15th March 2011. I managed to locate a telescope made by Grubbs not list on Ian Glass's list. Well, that's not quite true, as Grubbs only made the optics, the tube and mount were made in France. Grubbs contribution was a 40 inch mirror for the Pic du Midi observatory, France. This telescope was funded by NASA with the intention of using it to photograph the moon in connection with the space programme.

8th March 2011. I am continuing to update the Telescopes made by Grubb Parsons page. I will not detail every individual update to this page.

5th March 2011. Updated the Telescopes made by Grubb Parsons Page.

3rd March 2011. Added some wonderful old footage taken inside the works of Grubb Parsons. http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=50229

2nd March 2011. Added a video of the David Dunlap Observatory with some nice footage of the telescope.

26th February 2011. Added William Herschel Telescope video.

25th February 2011. Added a link to John Mill's ING page. Added the list of telescopes made by Grubbs by Ian Glass.

23rd February 2011. Added some tributes on David Sinden page and extract from Stargazer, Fred Watson's excellent book, on Grubb Parsons spage.

22nd February 2011. Updated David Sinden page with tributes from Dave Newton and R A Marriot

21st February 2011. Updated Davis Sinden page and added David Brown.

19th February 2011. Added some links to the links pages.

18th February 2011. Started development of this website. I had previously maintained a David Sinden tribute site but due to changing my ISP the page was lost. To avoid this happening again I have chosen Google sites as the host, may not be the best but it is free and is independent of my home ISP.