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XXIII.—On Three Huygens Lenses in the Possession of the Royal Society of London

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2014

R. A. Sampson  and
A. E. Conrady
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Extract

The three Huygens lenses in the possession of the Royal Society of London are the most remarkable long-focus lenses that were produced at that epoch; they are described in the Record of the Royal Society (1912) as follows:—

3. Huygens's Aerial Telescope.

(1) An object-glass of 122 feet focal length, with an eye-glass of 6 inches, and original apparatus for adjustment, made by Huygens, and presented by him to the Royal Society in 1691.

(2) The apparatus for using Huygens's object-glass, constructed by Hooke.

(3) Additional apparatus, by Dr. Pound. Presented by Dr. Bradley.

(4) Ditto, by Mr. Cavendish.

4. An object-glass by Huygens, of 170 feet focal length. Presented to the Royal Society by Sir Isaac Newton, P.R.S.

5. An object-glass by Huygens, with two eye-glasses by Scarlet, for a telescope of 210 feet. Presented by the Rev. Gilbert Burnet, M.A., F.R.S., in 1724.

Type
Proceedings
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 49 , 1930 , pp. 289 - 299
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1930

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References

page 289 note * See below.

page 291 note * Constantine died at the Hague in 1697, presumably Burnet retained the glass in his own hands after purchasing it from the executors until 1724.

page 292 note * The letters and other papers, quoted by Uylenbroek from the manuscripts, are now available in the Collected Works of Christian Huygens. The chief letters are those numbered 2635, 2725, 2729, 2731. Christian's observing notes are in vol. xv.

See also Kaiser, , Ast. Nach., 25, No. 592, p. 245Google Scholar, who considers that the largest glass that Christian himself worked, and that not a remarkable one, was one of 61 feet focus.

page 293 note * For this information we are indebted to M. Ch. Fabry.

page 294 note * Cf. Letter No. 2441

page 294 note † Edition 1704. Prop, vii, Th. vi, pp. 76 et seqq.

page 298 note * Huygens' two-lens eyepiece was invented before this date. He records the use of one in his Systema Saturnium, published in 1659.