The Ellison Reflector 1912  – Astronotes

Fig. 1. Rev. Ellison as he appeared on the frontispiece of the 2nd version of The Novice’s Telescope

Rev. W.F.A. Ellison 

Rev. William Frederick Archdall Ellison was the sixth Director of the Armagh Observatory and was appointed to the function on 15 October 1918. He would stay on this place till his demise on 31 December 1936. Throughout that point, he made a number of telescopes and mirrors, each for the Observatory, and to complement his earnings, which was very low in comparison with different Astronomers in the UK. He had been making mirrors for twenty years when he arrived in Armagh and had constructed up a status as by publishing articles and pamphlets about telescope-making in The English Mechanic and different periodical journals.  

Fig. 2. The Ellison Reflector because it seems in The Amateurs Telescope (1920)

He stored an in depth optical pocket book, which stays within the archives of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. This means he could have made properly over 2 hundred mirrors, and dozens of full telescopes. They have been made for shoppers in Japan, the USA of America, France, Australia and lots of different nations, in addition to some nearer to house in Northern Eire. Only a few have survived into the twenty-first century, and none remained within the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. As of 2024, just one handcrafted Ellison telescope has been recognized and remains to be useful.  

The Ellison Reflector 

The final identified Ellison rejoined the gathering of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium in September 2024. This was due to the assist of the Esme Mitchell Belief, and the proprietor, Keith Venables. Keith discovered the telescope in East London, in 2009, trying considerably worse for put on after ninety-seven years. He restored the telescope over a number of years, and documented the method on his web site: The Rev. WFA Ellison telescope | AstroKeith 

Fig. 3. The Ellison Refractor, again in Armagh after a century

The telescope is a 6.25-inch reflector, which is likely one of the smallest sizes that Rev. Ellison provided for public sale. He initially started to supply them on the market within the early 1900’s, for the value of £3.10s (about £450 at the moment). This was for simply the mirror, the tube, stand and eyepieces would all must be sought out, or made by the customer. This instance was featured in his well-known guide The Novice’s Telescope (1920) which was tailored from a collection of articles he revealed in 1918 in The English Mechanic. The Ellison Reflector was included in determine 29 for example how an alt-azimuth stand might be made cheaply and successfully from discarded furnishings legs. 

Ellison mentions that the tube and mount have been made for the telescope by an engineer on the Nice Southern and Western Railway yard in Inchicore, Dublin. No additional info is understood in regards to the maker, however the design, because the tripartite supporting construction for the mirror, is referenced in The Novice’s Telescope.  The telescope was discovered with a single eyepiece nonetheless within the focus aperture, a Steinheil-München eyepiece, seemingly just a few many years older than the telescope itself. That is additionally prone to be the unique eyepiece, as a number of comparable Steinheil-München eyepieces are a part of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium historic assortment.  

We all know the telescope is an Ellison as a result of the again of the mirror is engraved with “Wm. F. A. Ellison” and “WFAE” engraved between two shamrocks. Farther from the optical notebooks we all know that Ellison recognized his mirrors by pairs (and later trios) of Greek characters. The mirror on this telescope was recognized as λ ζ (Lambda Zeta) 1912. Ellison was fluent in Greek, Latin, French and Hebrew, and likewise shared an curiosity in different languages with astronomers corresponding to William John Roberts (William John Roberts – Engineer, Astronomer, Linguist and Theologian – Astronotes (armaghplanet.com)).  

In September 2024 the telescope was delivered to the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium by Keith Venables, to rejoin the gathering of scientific devices and archives. Julian Ellison additionally visited to see the telescope and is the Nice-Grandson of the Rev. W.F.A. Ellison. Julian had beforehand visited the Observatory along with his father to donate a lot of the archival materials that survives on the Ellison household, which in flip has made a lot of the historic analysis into the interval 1918-1937 attainable.  

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium want to thank the Esme Mitchell Belief for making this acquisition attainable and to Keith Venables for his excellent dedication and cautious work restoring the telescope to its unique situation.  

Fig. 4. Prof. Michael Burton (Director of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium), Keith Venables and Julian Ellison with the Ellison Reflector.