The Telescope

The Yerkes telescope itself was an improvement on the largest one previously at Lick Observatory, heavier in construction and more rigid. It also had an innovative system of electronic motors to control the telescope and dome, a major innovation at the time. By simply touching a button on a keyboard, the position of the telescope, the shutter of the dome or the floor the telescope rested on could be moved.

A huge telescope in a large round room.
Yerkes Observatory 40-inch refractor telescope.

From the Photographic Archive, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library. Available at: http://photoarchive.lib.uchicago.edu/. Identifier: apf6-01289
Two men sit at the base of the telescope.
Alvan Graham Clark and Carl Lundin with the objective lens of the Yerkes Observatory 40-inch refractor telescope.

From the Photographic Archive, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library. Available at: http://photoarchive.lib.uchicago.edu/. Identifier: apf6-01294