Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Oct 25, 2006 6:32:00 GMT -6
Here is an Idea - I just don't know why never caught on...
9-1/2-inch refractor
Manufacturer: Carl Zeiss/Jena Germany 1920s?
Installation: Originally mounted on automobile owned by Ed Turner of Whittier California in 1933, and sold to Griffith Observatory in 1954. Piggy back mounted on 12" Zeiss in 1955.
Objective Diameter = 9-1/2 inches (242 mm)
Objective Focal Length = 141 inches (3.58 m)
Objective Focal Ratio = F/14.8
The setup was running around LA in the 1930's to some time after WW2 according to recent postings on the Antique Telescope Society's associated Yahoo group. The OTA is a 9+" Zeiss and it still exists.
"Two views of a man looking through the Stoody Scope, which was attached to the top of a V-8 automobile. The long telescope could be fastened down for transportation, and then cranked up into place for use. The scope was attached to a pole which ran through the middle of the car. It was manufactured by Carl Zeiss, Inc."
Shelly Stoody, seen looking through the scope. Scope was mounted on a car (caption indicates Stuts?) owned by Ed Turner. It stayed mounted on that car till 1954 when it was sold to Griffith Observator and is now mounted on their 12 inch Zeiss Refractor as a guide scope.
Here is the Griffith Obervatory site with the 9" refractor mounted:
www.griffithobs.org/exhibits/bzeiss.html
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It has an extendable pier operated by a crank, quite uncomfortable for passengers in the back, but good enough for undergrads.
It looks like he's using a binoviewer, quite novel for the time period, and has a terrestrial prism attached. I wonder how he locks the RA and Dec axis's?
But why the partial hood at the objective end of the scope?
It isn't a dew extender, but it seems to be made to block the Sun. Perhaps it was used for daytime observations of planets or terrestrial objects. The closed "observation box" he is looking into, could be an isolation viewer, blocking out all extraneous light for both daytime and night time sessions. Maybe it fit over the binoviewer. Or perhaps it's a solar viewer.
Anything below 30 degrees elevation would certainly be troublesome for the observer. Perhaps one would align the car to the object and jump on the hood or rumble seat.
But regardless, it's a great scope.
I want to do this to my Chevelle!
