Dollond Telescope

Description

A refracting telescope uses a lens, as opposed to mirrors, to observe distant objects. This particular telescope was created by John Dollond and his son Peter. The duo had been manufacturing optical instruments since 1750. John Dollond is also credited with patenting the achromatic lens, which allowed an individual to observe without color distortion. While in London in 1786, Thomas Jefferson purchased his first telescope from the Dollonds, likely one quite similar to this.

Object Information

Date Created:

Ca. 1785 

Local ID:

FI Catalog # 1601

Collection:

The Franklin Institute Astronomy Collection 

Credit Line:

Gifted in 1931

Citation:

Dollond Refracting Telescope (FI Catalog # 1601) from the collections of The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA. USA 

Dimensions:

102.87cm high x 102.87cm long x 33.02cm deep 

Creator(s):

Peter and John Dollond 

Materials:

brass, mahogany, glass 

Classification:

T&E For Science & Technology, Astronomical T&E   

Rights:

Fair Use for educational purposes

Appears In

Resource Kit
The Franklin Institute

Treading Among the Stars: How We’ve Found Our Way

Long before there were advanced technologies available for studying the sky, people devised ways of depicting the sun, moon, planets, and stars in relation to the Earth to figure out how our planet fit into the vast universe. Our method of exploring the night sky has grown to now include actual trips into space, even visiting another celestial body in person. But before technology made direct exploration possible, we had to use remote methods to map the expanse we could see from Earth.

Created by: The Franklin Institute

Grade 3-8