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Reflecting telescope, 1957 Built in 10th grade when I was in the Louisville Junior Astronomical Society. The telescope consisted of a 6-inch f:10 spherical mirror and an equatorial mount, which were mail ordered. The tube was aluminum irrigation tubing obtained locally, and painted by the body shop of the local Buick dealer. |
Photo was taken with a Kodak Retina IIIC 35mm rangefinder camera. The eyepiece was removed from the telescope's focusing tube, and the back of the camera was opened to receive a snap-in ground glass plate. The camera was hand held against the focusing tube, using the camera's lens to focus the image on the ground glass. Then the ground glass was removed, a roll of film inserted, and various exposures taken with the camera's self timer to avoid jarring it. A single lens reflex camera with an adapter to mount it to the telescope would have made the procedure easier and the picture sharper, but that camera came later. The picture was developed and printed in a basement darkroom.