EscapeVelocity on Nostr: The largest refractor I personally have ever looked through was the 23" Clark ...

The largest refractor I personally have ever looked through was the 23" Clark refractor at the Charlest E. Daniel Observatory at Roper Mountain, SC. Built in the 1880s by Alvan Clark & Sons in Massachusetts for Princeton University.

quoting nevent1q…5jtv

Here is the 36" diameter Fraunhofer air spaced doublet refractor built by Alvan Clark & Sons in the 1880s for the James Lick Observatory in Southern California. The telescope tube is 57 feet long and the whole thing weighs 12 tons. This is the 2nd largest refractor ever built and likely will remain so for all time.

https://media.nicecrew.digital/051de2bc9ad82caaeb7da9e1e13c0d6147a2484ac4773fb4c8dcfeabebbd94df.crdownload