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Credit: Courtesy  
J. O'Leary  
(Maryland Science Center)  
  
  
Explanation:
The Massachusetts-based firm of Alvan Clark and Sons became famous for  
making telescope optics near the end of the last century.  
  
Near the end of this century, major astronomical observatories still boast of  
telescopes with lenses and mirrors made by them including  
Lowell Observatory's 24 inch diameter refractor,  
the United States Naval Observatory's 26 inch refractor,  
the McCormick Observatory's 26 inch,  
Lick Observatory's 36 inch, and  
Yerkes Observatory's 40 inch refractor - the largest  
refracting telescope in the world.  
  
Small observatories too can claim such a link to  
telescopic history and many  
offer the general public a chance to "look through a classic".  
  
This gorgeous, completely  
refurbished 8 inch refractor was  
originally bought from Alvan Clark and Sons in 1927.  
  
On Thursdays it stargazes from the  
Crosby Ramsey Memorial Observatory dome atop the Maryland  
Science Center near Baltimore's Inner Harbor.  
  
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& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Observatory - refractor - telescope
Publications with words: Observatory - refractor - telescope
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