Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage , 13(3), 235-254 (2010). THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE ‘CATTS TELESCOPE’: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A NINETEENTH CENTURY 20-INCH GRUBB REFLECTOR Wayne Orchiston Centre for Astronomy, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.
[email protected] Abstract: An historic 20-in (50.8-cm) Grubb reflector originally owned by the London amateur astronomer, Henry Ellis, was transferred to Australia in 1928. After passing through a number of amateur owners the Catts Telescope— as it became known locally—was acquired by Mount Stromlo Observatory in 1952, and was then used for astrophysical research and for site-testing. In the mid-1960s the telescope was transferred to the University of Western Australia and was installed at Perth Observatory, but with other demands on the use of the dome it was removed in 1999 and placed in storage, thus ending a century of service to astronomy in England and Australia. Keywords: Catts Telescope, Henry Ellis, Walter Gale, Mount Stromlo Observatory, Mount Bingar field station, photoelectric photometry, spectrophotometry, Lawrence Aller, Bart Bok, Priscilla Bok, Olin Eggen, Don Faulkner, John Graham, Arthur Hogg, Gerald Kron, Pamela Kennedy, Antoni Przybylski, David Sher, Robert Shobbrook, Bengt Westerlund, John Whiteoak, Frank Bradshaw Wood. 1 INTRODUCTION what of other telescopes, like the 20-in (50.8-cm) ‘Catts Telescope’? After passing from amateur owner- One of the roles of the Historic Instruments Working ship to Mount Stromlo Observatory in 1952, this was Group of the IAU is to assemble national master lists used over the following twelve years to make a valu- of surviving historically-significant telescopes and able contribution to astrophysics and to provide data auxiliary instrumentation, and at the 2000 General for five different Ph.D.