The originator and architect of this magnificent instrument had long
been distinguished in scientific research as Lord Oxmantown; and
may be considered to have gracefully commemorated his succession to
the Earldom of Rosse, and his Presidency of the Royal Society, by
the completion of this marvellous work, with which his name will be
hereafter indissolubly associated.
The Great Reflecting Telescope at Birr Castle (of which the
Frontispiece represents a portion[1]) will be found fully described at
pp. 96-99 of the present volume of _Curiosities of Science_.
This matchless instrument has already disclosed “forms of stellar
arrangement indicating modes of dynamic action never before
contemplated in celestial mechanics.” “In these departments of
research,--the examination of the configurations of nebulæ, and the
resolution of nebulæ into stars (says the Rev. Dr. Scoresby),--the
six-feet speculum has had its grandest triumphs, and the noble
artificer and observer the highest rewards of his talents and
enterprise. Altogether, the quantity of work done during a period of
about seven years--including a winter when a noble philanthropy for
a starving population absorbed the keenest interests of science--has
been decidedly great; and the new knowledge acquired concerning the
handiwork of the great Creator amply satisfying of even sanguine
expectation.”
The Vignette.