The Telescopes
The collection of telescopes at the Stull Observatory has been described as one of the best for teaching anywhere.
All told, we have 7 independently housed telescopes ranging in size from 8 to 32 inches, as well as several smaller
instruments used as finders and guiders Most of the names given our telescopes reflect important connections with and
contributions to our observatory.
Details of the Individual Telescopes
The Fitz 9 inch refractor
Our oldest,
most historic telescope, the Fitz was purchased by
Alfred University in 1863. Built by the American optician, Henry Fitz (hence its name), it is a nine inch, f/13 refractor. Originally housed in
the Rogers Observatory formerly near the heart of the Alfred University campus, it was mothballed for decades and then rediscovered and put back
to use in the late 1950's and early 1960's. The orginal wooden tube was badly damaged during the instrument's "lost years" and was replaced with
a metal one at that time. Used for our public nights as well as our introductory labs, it remains a fine telescope for the study of planets, double stars
and bright clusters.
The Hunt, Schwartz and "Baby Dome" 8 inch Schmidt-Cassegrains
These three
telescopes are 8 inch Celstron Schmidt-Cassegrains of various vintages.
Named for Lee and Mary Hunt, the father and mother-in-law of the Observatory's modern founder, John Stull, the Hunt is a computer-controlled
8 inch Celestron Nexstar.
The
Schwartz, named for the late founder of SBIG, Richard Schwartz, is a Celestron Fastar,
and can be used for prime focus imaging.
The Baby Dome houses an older Celstron
8” on a Losmandy Titan mount
(not shown) and is used mostly for H alpha solar observations.
The Olson –Grindle 16 inch Newtonian/Cassegrain reflector
The Olson –Grindle
is a significant rebuild of a 16 inch Ealing Educator.
The mounting is entirely a local product, and the telescope can be used either as a Newtonian (as it most often is) or as a Cassegrain. In Newtonian mode
it is by far our “fastest” and widest field telescope at about f/3. It is named for two people important in the history of the observatory; the late “Ole”
Olson, founder of Ash Manufacturing and the late Paul Grindle of the Ealing corporation.
The Alden 16 inch Richie-Chretien Reflector
The Alden is the only of our large telescopes manufactured completely out-of-house. It is a computer-controlled DFM Engineering RC telescope,
coupled with an STL-1001 research-grade CCD camera and filter wheel. It was purchased with the help of a grant from the George I. Alden Trust.
The "Rich" Rose 6 inch Solar Heliostat
The Rose,
named for former university president, Richard Rose, is a 6-inch
heliostat, used to project an image of the Sun nearly 4 feet in diameter, as well as occasional solar spectroscopy.
The Metzger 20 inch Newtonian Reflector
Named for a
local artist and amateur astronomer who was active in the re-establishment of
the
Observatory, the Metzger is a 20 inch f/5.5 Newtonian reflector. It is the largest of the telescopes regularly used by our introductory astronomy lab.
The Austin-Fellows 32 inch Newtonian Reflector
This is our
largest telescope, at 32 (and 1/4 !) inches, at f/4. It is computer-controlled
from a
warmroom in one corner of the dome and includes an automated filter wheel and focusser as well as the option for various CCD's. It is used by upper-level
students as well as faculty for more advanced projects and research. Its name recognizes both the contributions of Austin Grindle, late general manager of
Harvard Instruments, and those of all Alfred University faculty and staff who have died since the re-establishment of the Observatory in 1966.