Telescopes have grown in size since they first appeared around 1608. The following tables list the increase in size over the years. Different technologies can and have been used to build telescopes, which are used to magnify distant views and gather light (especially important in astronomy).
By overall aperture The following is a list of largest single mount optical telescopes sorted by total objective diameter (aperture), including segmented and multi-mirror configurations. It is a historical list, with the instruments listed in chronological succession by objective size. By itself, the diameter of the primary optics can be a poor measure of a telescope's historical or scientific significance; for example, William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse's 72-inch (1.8 m) reflecting telescope did not perform as well (i.e. gather as much light) as the smaller silvered glass mirror telescopes that succeeded it because of the poor performance of its speculum metal mirror.
+ Optical Telescopes (List by Overall Aperture) Name Aperture Type Built by Location Year Meter Inch Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) 10.4 m 409" Reflector – Segmented, 36 Spain (90%), Mexico, USA ORM, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain 2009 Keck 1 10 m 394" Reflector – Segmented, 36 USA Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii, USA 1993 BTA-6 6 m 238" Reflector Soviet Union Zelenchukskaya, Caucasus 1976 Hale Telescope 5.08 m 200" Reflector USA Palomar Observatory, California, USA 1948 Hooker Telescope 2.54 m 100" Reflector USA Mt. Wilson Observatory, California, USA 1917Leviathan of Parsonstown 1.83 m 72" Reflector – metal mirror William Parsons Birr Castle, Ireland 1845 Herschel's 40-foot telescope 1.26 m 49.5" Reflector – metal mirror William Herschel Observatory House, England 1789–1815 John Michell's Gregorian reflector 75 cm 29.5" Reflector – Gregorian John Michell Yorkshire, Great Britain 1780–1789 Father Noel's Gregorian reflector 60 cm 23.5" Reflector – Gregorian Father Noel Paris, France 1761 James Short's Gregorian reflector 50 cm 19.5" Reflector – Gregorian James Short Great Britain 1750 James Short's Gregorian reflector 38 cm 14" Reflector – Gregorian James Short Great Britain 1734 Christiaan Huygens 210 foot refractor 22 cm 8.5" Refractor – Aerial telescope Christiaan Huygens Netherlands 1686 Christiaan Huygens 170 foot refractor 20 cm 8" Refractor – Aerial telescope Christiaan Huygens Netherlands 1686 Christiaan Huygens 210 foot refractor 19 cm 7.5" Refractor – Aerial telescope Christiaan Huygens Netherlands 1686 Hooke's reflector 18 cm 7" Reflector Robert Hooke Great Britain 16?? Hevelius refractor 12 cm 4.7" Refractor Johannes Hevelius Gdańsk, Poland 1645 Hevelius Scheiner's helioscope 6 cm 2.3" Refractor Johannes Hevelius Gdańsk, Poland 1638 Galileo's 1620 telescopeNote: Diameter of cardboard objective stop 3.8 cm 1.5" Refractor Galileo Galilei Italy 1620 Galileo's 1612 telescope 2.6 cm 1" Refractor Galileo Galilei Italy 1612 Galileo's 1609 telescope 1.5 cm 0.62" Refractor Galileo Galilei Italy 1609 Hans Lippershey's telescope ? cm .?" Refractor Hans Lippershey Middelburg, Netherlands 1608
By historical significance Chronological list of optical telescopes by historical significance, which reflects the overall technological progression and not only the primary mirror's diameter (as shown in table above).
+ Optical Telescopes (List by Historical Significance) Name Aperture Type Significance Location Year Meter Inch James Webb Space Telescope 6.5 m 256" Beryllium mirror reflector – Segmented, 18 Largest space based telescope Sun–Earth L2 orbit 2021 Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) 10.4 m 409" Reflector – Segmented, 36 World's largest 2009 ORM, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain 2009 Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) 8.4 m x 2 (22.8 m LBTI) 464.5" glass mirror reflector – Multi-mirror (2) World's largest 2008 with Beam Combiner Mount Graham International Observatory, Arizona, USA 2005 Hobby-Eberly Telescope 9.2 m 362" Reflector – Segmented, 91 First HET McDonald Observatory, USA 1997 Keck 1 10 m 394" Reflector – Segmented, 36 World's largest 1993 Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii, USA 1993Hubble (HST) 2.4 m 94" glass mirror reflector Largest Visible-light space based telescope Low Earth orbit NASA+ ESA 1990 BTA-6 6 m 238" glass mirror reflector World's largest 1976 Zelenchukskaya, Russia 1976McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope 1.61 m 63" glass mirror reflector Largest solar telescope Kitt Peak National Obs., USA 1962 Hale Telescope (200 inch) 5.08 m 200" glass mirror reflector World's largest 1948 Palomar Observatory, California, USA 1948 Samuel Oschin telescope 1.22 m 48" glass mirror reflector – Schmidt camera World's largest Schmidt camera 1948 Palomar Observatory, California, USA 1948 George Ritchey 40-inch (1 m) 102 cm 40" glass mirror reflector First large Ritchey-Chrétien Flagstaff, Arizona, USA (Washington, D.C. until 1955) 1934 Plaskett telescope 1.83 m 72" glass mirror reflector Designed as world's largest but beaten by the 100-inch Hooker telescope Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Canada, USA 1918 Hooker Telescope 2.54 m 100" glass mirror reflector World's largest 1917 Mt. Wilson Observatory, California, USA 1917 Hale 60-Inch Telescope 1.524 m 60" glass mirror reflector The first of the "modern" large research reflectors, designed and located for precision imaging.mtwilson.edu-Building the 60-inch Telescope Article by Mike Simmons written in 1984 (and updated in 2008) for the Mount Wilson Observatory Association Mt. Wilson Observatory, California, USA 1908 Great Paris Exhibition Telescope of 1900 125 cm 49.21" refractor – achromat Largest refractor ever built, scrapped after Exhibition. Exposition Universelle (1900), Paris, France 1900–1901 A. A. Common's 60-inch Ealing reflectorNew York Times "NEW HARVARD TELESCOPE.; Sixty-Inch Reflector, Biggest in the World, Being Set Up. "April 6, 1905, Thursday Page 9 1.524 m 60" glass mirror reflector World's largest glass mirror reflector 1889, sold to Harvard 1904, moved to South Africa 1920s (Boyden Observatory) where it was largest telescope in the southern hemisphere. Ealing, Harvard College Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA;Boyden Observatory, South Africa 1889 Yerkes Refractor 102 cm 40" refractor – achromat Largest operational refractor Yerkes Observatory, Wisconsin, USA 1897 A. A. Common's 36 inch Ealing reflector 91.4 cm 36" glass mirror reflector First to prove fainter than naked eye astrophotography; sold, became Crossley Reflector A. A. Common Reflector, Great Britain / Lick Observatory, California, USA 1879 Great Melbourne Telescope 1.22 m 48" speculum metal mirror reflector Last large reflector with a speculum metal mirror, world's largest equatorially mounted telescope for several decades.sciencephoto.com, Great Melbourne Telescope, Casting a telescope mirror, 1866 Melbourne Observatory, Melbourne, Australia 1868–1889Foucault's telescope0.8 m31.5"glass mirror reflectorFirst metal coated glass mirror telescopeMarseille Observatory, France1862 William Lassell 48-inch 1.22 m 48" speculum metal mirror reflector Malta 1861–1865Rosse telescope: Leviathan of Parsonstown 1.83 m 72" metal – speculum metal mirror reflector World's largest 1845 Birr Castle, Ireland 1845–1908 William Lassell 24-inch 61 cm 24" speculum metal mirror reflector Liverpool, England 1845 Great Dorpat Refractor (Fraunhofer) Dorpat/Tartu Observatory 24 cm 9.6" refractor – achromat "...the first modern, achromatic, refracting telescope."Fraunhofer and the Great Dorpat Refractor, Waaland, J. Robert, American Journal of Physics, Volume 35, Issue 4, pp. 344–350 (1967) Dorpat, Governorate of Estonia 1824 Rosse 36-inch Telescope 91.4 cm 36" speculum metal mirror reflector Birr Castle, Ireland 1826 Herschel's 40-foot (126 cm d.) 1.26 m 49.5" speculum metal mirror reflector World's largest 1789 Observatory House, England 1789–1815 Herschel's 20-foot (47.5 cm d.) 47.5 cm 18.5" speculum metal mirror reflector Observatory House, England 1782 Reverend John Michell's Gregorian reflector 75 cm 29.5" speculum metal mirror – Gregorian reflector World's largest 1780 Yorkshire, Great Britain 1780–1789 Dollond Apochromatic Triplethttp://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/gif/1948PA.....56...75K/0000083.000.html Title: The invention and early development of the achromatic telescope, Author: King, H. C., Journal: Popular Astronomy, Vol. 56, p. 75, Bibliographic Code: 1948PA.....56...75K, Page 83 9.53 cm 3.75" Refractor – apochromat First apochromatic triplet England 1763 Father Noel's Gregorian reflector 60 cm 23.5" speculum metal mirror – Gregorian reflector World's largest 1761 Paris, France 1761 James Short's Gregorian reflector 50 cm 19.5" speculum metal mirror – Gregorian reflector World's largest 1750 Great Britain 1750 James Short's Gregorian reflector 38 cm 14" speculum metal mirror – Gregorian reflector World's largest 1734 Great Britain 1734 Chester Moore Hall's DoubletPaul Schlyter, Largest optical telescopes of the world 6.4 cm 2.5" Refractor – achromat First achromatic doublet Great Britain 1733 Hadley's Reflector 15 cm 6" speculum metal mirror reflector First parabolic newtonian Great Britain 1721 Christiaan Huygens 210 foot refractor 22 cm 8.5" Refractor – Aerial telescope World's largest 1686 Netherlands 1686 Christiaan Huygens 170 foot refractor 20 cm 8" Refractor – Aerial telescope World's largest 1689 Netherlands 1686 Christiaan Huygens 210 foot refractor 19 cm 7.5" Refractor – Aerial telescope World's largest 1686 Netherlands 1686 Hooke's reflector 18 cm 7" speculum metal mirror – Gregorian reflector First Gregorian Great Britain 1674 Newton's Reflector3.3 cm 1.3" speculum metal mirror reflector First reflecting telescope England (mobile) 1668 Hevelius refractor 12 cm 4.7" Refractor World's largest 1645 Gdańsk (Danzig), Poland 1645 Hevelius Scheiner's helioscope 6 cm 2.3" Refractor World's largest 1638 & First Equatorial Gdańsk (Danzig), Poland 1638 Galileo's 1620 telescope 3.8 cm 1.5" Refractor World's largest 1620 Italy 1620 Galileo's 1612 telescope 2.6 cm 1" Refractor World's largest 1612 Italy 1612 Galileo's 1609 telescope 1.5 cm 0.62" Refractor World's largest 1609 Italy 1609 Hans Lippershey's telescope ? cm .?" Refractor World's first recorded telescope Netherlands 1608
+ Legend
See also
References
External links Largest optical telescopes of the world List of large reflecting telescopes The World's Largest Optical Telescopes Selected largest telescopes The Historical Growth of Telescope Aperture (2003)
it:Cronologia dei telescopi più grandi del mondo