Solar spectroscope by T. Cooke & Sons, 1881

Made:
1881 in England and York
maker:
T. Cooke & Sons

Solar spectroscope with stand and two mahogany boxes by T. Cooke and Sons, York, England, 1881. Used at the Solar Physics Observatory, South Kensington between 1881 and 1912. The set of prisms give a high dispersion equal to 20 prisms, by passing the light through the prisms train four times.

Dated to around 1881, this solar spectroscope was used until 1913 at the Solar Physics Observatory in South Kensington, London. Made by T. Cooke & Sons, York, the spectroscope was designed to produce highly detailed spectra of the Sun. When used on its stand, light from the Sun was fed into the instrument using a heliostat, an instrument with a clock-driven mirror. The spectroscope uses a set of five long glass prisms to disperse the Sun's light into a long spectrum. To improve its resolution, the light-path is folded so that it passes through each prism four times. This makes the instrument equivalent to a 20-prism spectroscope, but with far fewer optical components.

Details

Category:
Astronomy
Object Number:
1912-396
Materials:
brass, glass and steel
type:
spectroscope - solar and prism
credit:
Solar Physics Observatory, South Kensington

Parts

Solar spectroscope with stand by T. Cooke and Sons

Solar spectroscope with stand by T. Cooke and Sons

Solar spectroscope with stand by T. Cooke and Sons, York, England, 1881. Used at the Solar Physics Observatory, South Kensington between 1881 and 1912. The set of prisms give a high dispersion equal to 20 prisms, by passing the light through the prisms train four times.

Measurements:
overall: 350 x 750 x 210 mm
Materials:
brass , steel , glass and complete
Object Number:
1912-396 Pt3
type:
spectroscope - solar , prism and prism - optical