In the grip of the big telescope age

Abstract

George Ellery Hale was a man of many dreams. One of his most persistent was to find the means to collect as much light as possible, but there is another element in his designs for the modern astrophysical observatory that has even greater significance, as it defines and distinguishes the practice of astrophysics from that of classical astronomy. Here we examine factors that either impeded or drove the acceptance of reflectors over refractors around the turn of the twentieth century at the outset of what may best be called the “Hale era.” This commenced in the late nineteenth century, when the first large multi-focus photographic reflectors emerged during the reign of the great refractors. It lasted through to the onset of World War II when astronomical practice was dominated by ten reflectors with mirrors between 60 and 100 in., and was about to add one more whose surface area would almost double that of all the rest combined. We will touch upon how design choice reflected both scientific priorities and technological limitations.