- Timeline of telescopes, observatories, and observing technology
Timeline oftelescope s, observatories, and observingtechnology .Before Common Era (B.C.)
2100
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Xiangfen Astronomical Observatory ,Xiangfen County,Linfen City,Shanxi Province,China 1100
* 11th-7th century B.C.,
Zhou dynasty astronomical observatory (灵台) in today'sXian ,China 300
* Thirteen Towers solar observatory,
Chankillo ,Peru 200
* 206-220 B.C.,
Han dynasty astronomical observatory (灵台 ) inChang'an andLuoyang . During East Han dynasty, astronomical observatory (灵台) built in inYanshi ,Henan Province,China Common Era (A.D.)
600s
*632-647
Cheomseongdae , an astronomy build in the reign ofQueen Seondeok inGyeongju , then the capital ofShilla , now in present daySouth Korea
*618-1279Tang dynasty -Song dynasty , observatories built inChang'an ,Kaifeng ,Hangzhou ,China 700s
* 700-77 - The first
Zij treatise, "Az-Zīj ‛alā Sinī al-‛Arab", written byIbrahim al-Fazari andMuhammad al-Fazari
* 700-96 - Brassastrolabe constructed byMuhammad al-Fazari based on Hellenistic sources
* ca. 777 -Yaqūb ibn Tāriq wrote "Az-Zij al-Mahlul min as-Sindhind li-Darajat Daraja" based onBrahmagupta and "Surya Siddhanta "800s
* 800-33 -
Baghdad observatory inIraq by Arabic astronomers underal-Mamun
* 800-50 - "Zij al-Sindhind" written byMuhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī (Algorismi)900s
* 900-29 - "Az-
Zij as-Sabi" written byMuhammad ibn Jābir al-Harrānī al-Battānī (Albatenius)1000s
* 1000 - Mokattam observatory in
Egypt foral-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
* 1023 -Hamedan observatory in Persia
* ca. 1030 - "Treasury of Optics" byIbn al-Haytham (Alhazen) of Iraq and Egypt
* 1074-92 -Malikshah observatory atIsfahan used byOmar Khayyám
* 1086 -Northern Song dynasty astronomical observatory1100s
* 1114–87 - "
Tables of Toledo " based onAbū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī (Arzachel) published byGerard of Cremona
* 1115-16 - "Sinjaric Tables" written byal-Khazini
* 1119-25 -Cairo al-Bataihi observatory forAl-Afdal Shahanshah
* cs. 1020 -Gear ed mechanicalastrolabe invented by Ibn Samh1200s
* 1252-72 - "
Alfonsine tables " recorded
* 1259 -Maragheh observatory and library ofNasir al-Din al-Tusi by Mangu underHulagu Khan
* ca. 1270 - Terrace for Managing Heaven 26 observatory network ofGuo Shoujing underKhubilai Khan
* 1272 - "Zij-i Ilkhani " written byNasir al-Din al-Tusi
* 1276 - Dengfeng Star Observatory Platform,Gaocheng ,Dengfeng City,Henan Province,China 1400s
* 1400-29 - "Khaqani
Zij " byJamshīd al-Kāshī
* 1417 - "Speculum Planetarum" by Simones de Selandia
* 1420 -Samarkand observatory ofUlugh Beg
* 1437 - "Zij-i-Sultani " written byUlugh Beg
* 1442 -Beijing Ancient Observatory
* 1467-71 - Observatory atOradea , Hungary forMatthias Corvinus
* 1472 -Nuremberg observatory1500s
* 1540 Apian "Astronomicum Caesareum"
* 1560 - Kassel observatory under Landgrave Wilhelm IV of Hesse
* 1575-80 -Istanbul observatory of al-Din under SultanMurad III
* 1576 - Royal Danish Astronomical ObservatoryUraniborg atHven byTycho Brahe
* 1577 -Istanbul observatory of al-Din byTaqi al-Din
* 1577-80 - "Unbored Pearl" byTaqi al-Din
* 1581 - Royal Danish Astronomical ObservatoryStjerneborg atHven byTycho Brahe 1600s
* 1600 - Prague observatory in Benátky nad Jizerou by
Tycho Brahe
* 1603 -Johann Bayer 's "Uranometria "
*1608 -Hans Lippershey tries to patent an optical refractingtelescope
*1609 -Galileo Galilei builds his first optical refracting telescope
*1633 - Construction of Leiden University Observatory
*1641 -William Gascoigne invents telescope cross hairs
* 1641 - Danzig/Gdansk observatory of Jan Hevelius
*1642 - Copenhagen University Royal observatory
*1661 - James Gregory proposes an optical reflecting telescope
*1667 -Paris Observatory
*1668 -Isaac Newton constructs the first optical reflecting telescope
*1672 -Laurent Cassegrain designs the Cassegrain telescope
*1675 -Royal Greenwich Observatory of England1700s
*
1704 - First observatory at Cambridge University (based at Trinity College)
*1724 - Indian observatory ofSawai Jai Singh atDelhi
*1725 - St. Petersburg observatory at Royal Academy
*1732 - Indian observatories of Sawai Jai Singh atVaranasi ,Ujjain ,Mathura ,Madras
*1733 -Chester Moor Hall invents theachromatic lens refracting telescope
*1734 - Indian observatory of Sawai Jai Singh atJaipur
*1753 - [http://www.astro.ff.vu.lt Vilnius observatory] at Vilnius University, Lithuania
*1758 -John Dollond reinvents the achromatic lens
*1761 -Joseph-Nicolas Delisle 62 observing station network for observing thetransit of Venus
*1769 - Short reflectors used at 63 station network fortransit of Venus
*1780 - Florence Specola observatory
*1789 -William Herschel finishes a 49-inch (1.2-meter) optical reflecting telescope, located inSlough, England 1800s
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1840 -John William Draper invents astronomical photography and photographs theMoon
*1845 - Lord Rosse finishes the Birr Castle 72-inch optical reflecting telescope, located in Parsonstown, Ireland
*1849 - Santiago observatory set up by USA, later becomes Chilean National
*1859 - Kirchoff and Bunsen develop spectroscopy
*1864 -Herschel 's so-called GC (General Catalogue) of nebulae and star clusters published
*1868 - Janssen and Lockyer discover Helium observing spectra of Sun
*1871 - German Astronomical Association organized network of 13 (later 16) observatories for stellar proper motion studies
*1872 -Henry Draper invents astronomical spectral photography and photographs the spectrum ofVega
*1878 - Dreyer published a supplement to the GC of about 1000 new objects
*1887 - Paris conference institutes "Carte du Ciel " project to map entire sky to 14th magnitude photographically
*1888 - First light of 91cm refracting telescope atLick Observatory , on Mount Hamilton nearSan Jose, California
*1889 -Astronomical Society of the Pacific founded
*1890 -Albert Michelson proposes the stellarinterferometer
*1892 -George Ellery Hale finishes aspectroheliograph , which allows theSun to be photographed in the light of one element only
*1897 -Alvan Clark finishes the Yerkes 40-inch optical refracting telescope, located inWilliams Bay, Wisconsin 1900s
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1902 -Dominion Observatory , Ottawa, Canada established
*1904 - Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington founded1910s
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1917 - Mount Wilson 100-inch optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Mount Wilson, California
*1918 - 1.8m Plaskett Telescope begins operation at theDominion Astrophysical Observatory , Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
*1919 -International Astronomical Union (IAU) founded1930s
*
1930 -Bernard-Ferdinand Lyot invents thecoronagraph
*1930 -Karl Jansky builds a 30-meter long rotating aerialradio telescope
*1933 -Bernard-Ferdinand Lyot invents theLyot filter
*1934 -Bernhard Schmidt finishes the first 14-inch Schmidt optical reflecting telescope
*1936 - Palomar 18-inch Schmidt optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Palomar, California
*1937 -Grote Reber builds a 31-foot radio telescope1940s
*
1941 -Dmitri Maksutov invents theMaksutov telescope which is adopted by major observatories in theSoviet Union and internationally. It is now also a popular design with amateur astronomers
*1946 -Martin Ryle and his group perform the first astronomical observations with a radio interferometer
*1947 -Bernard Lovell and his group complete theJodrell Bank 218-foot non-steerable radio telescope
*1949 - Palomar 48-inch Schmidt optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Palomar, California
*1949 - Palomar 200-inch optical reflecting telescope (Hale telescope ) begins regular operation, located in Palomar, California1950s
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1953 -Luoxue Mountain Cosmic Rays Research Center ,Yunnan Province, inChina founded
*1954 - Earth rotationaperture synthesis suggested (see e.g. Christiansen and Warburton (1955))
*1957 -Bernard Lovell and his group complete theJodrell Bank 250-foot (75-meter) steerable radio telescope (theLovell Telescope )
*1957 -Peter Scheuer publishes his P(D) method for obtainingsource counts of spatially unresolved sources
*1959 - Radio Observatory of theUniversity of Chile , located at Maipú founded
*1959 - The 3C catalogue of radio sources is published (revised in1962 )
*1959 - The Shane 120-Inch Telescope Opened atLick Observatory 1960s
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1960 - Owens Valley 27-meter radio telescopes begin operation, located inBig Pine, California
*1961 - Parkes 64-metre radio telescope begins operation, located near Parkes,Australia
*1962 -European Southern Observatory (ESO) founded
*1962 - Kitt Peak solar observatory founded
* 1962 - Green Bank 90m radio telescope
* 1962 - Orbiting Solar Observatory 1 satellite launched
*1963 - Arecibo 300-meter radio telescope begins operation, located inArecibo, Puerto Rico
*1964 -Martin Ryle 's 1-mile radiointerferometer begins operation, located inCambridge, England
*1965 - Owens Valley 40-meter radio telescope begins operation, located inBig Pine, California
*1967 - FirstVLBI images, with 183 kmbaseline
*1969 - Observations start atBig Bear Solar Observatory , located inBig Bear, California
*1969 -Las Campanas Observatory 1970s
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1970 - Cerro Tololo 158-inch optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located inCerro Tololo, Chile
*1970 -Kitt Peak National Observatory 158-inch optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located nearTucson, Arizona
*1970 - Uhuru x-ray telescope satellite
*1970 - Antoine Labeyrie performs the first high-resolution optical speckle interferometry observations
*1973 -UK Schmidt Telescope 1.2 metre optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located inAnglo-Australian Observatory nearCoonabarabran ,Australia
*1974 -Anglo-Australian Telescope 153-inch optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located inAnglo-Australian Observatory nearCoonabarabran ,Australia
*1975 - Gerald Smith, Frederick Landauer, and James Janesick use a CCD to observe Uranus, the first astronomical CCD observation
*1975 - Antoine Labeyrie builds the first two-telescope opticalinterferometer
*1976 - The 6-mBTA-6 (Bolshoi Teleskop Azimutalnyi or “Large Altazimuth Telescope”) goes into operation on Mt. Pashtukhov in the Russian Caucasus
*1978 - Multiple Mirror 176-inch equivalent optical/infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located inAmado, Arizona
* 1978 -International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) telescope satellite
* 1978 - Einstein High Energy Astronomy Observatory x-ray telescope satellite
*1979 -UKIRT 150-inch infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located atMauna Kea Observatory ,Hawaii
*1979 - Canada-France-Hawaii 140-inch optical reflecting telescope begins operation, located atMauna Kea Observatory ,Hawaii
*1979 - NASA Infrared Telescope Facility [http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/] 120-inch infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea, Hawaii1980s
*
1980 - Completion of construction of the VLA, located inSocorro, New Mexico
*1983 -Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) telescope
*1987 - 15-mJames Clerk Maxwell Telescope UK submillimetre telescope installed atMauna Kea Observatory
*1987 - 5-m Swedish-ESO Submillimetre Telescope (SEST) installed at the ESOLa Silla Observatory
*1988 -Australia Telescope Compact Array aperture synthesis radio telescope begins operation, located nearNarrabri ,Australia
*1989 -Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite1990s
*
1990 - Hubble 2.4m space Telescope launched, mirror found to be flawed
*1991 -Compton Gamma Ray Observatory satellite
*1993 - Keck 10-meter optical/infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea, Hawaii
*1993 -Very Long Baseline Array of 10 dishes
*1995 -Cambridge Optical Aperture Synthesis Telescope (COAST) -- the first very high resolution optical astronomical images (fromaperture synthesis observations)
*1995 -Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope of thirty 45 m dishes at Pune
*1996 -Keck 2 10-meter optical/infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located at Mauna Kea, Hawaii
*1997 - The JapaneseHALCA satellite begins operations, producing firstVLBI observations from space, 25,000 km maximumbaseline
*1998 - First light atVLT 1, the 8.2 m ESO telescope2000s
*
2001 - First light at theKeck Interferometer . Single-baseline operations begin in the near-infrared.
*2001 - First light atVLTI interferometry array. Operations on the interferometer start with single-baseline near-infrared observations with the 103 mbaseline .
*2005 - First imaging with theVLTI using the AMBER optical aperture synthesis instrument and threeVLT telescopes.
*2005 - First light at SALT, the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere, with a primary mirror diameter of 11 meters.ee also
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Timeline of telescope technology References
* Cambridge Illustrated History of Astronomy ISBN 0-521-41158-0
* History of Science and Technology ISBN 0-87196-475-9
* Wilson Chronology of Science and Technology ISBN 0-8242-0933-8
* Encyclopedia of the history of Arabic science ISBN 0-415-12410-7
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