2-716-536 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'The Great Telescope constructed by Lord Rosse, 1828-1845', (1901). Irish astronomer and engineer William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse (1800-1867) built what was then the largest telescope in the world on his estate at Birr (then known as Parsonstown), Ireland. The instrument, a 72 in/1.8m reflecting telescope, was known as 'the Leviathan of Parsonstown'. With it Lord Rosse discovered 15 spiral nebulae, and named the Crab Nebula. From "The Illustrated London News Record of the Glorious Reign of Queen Victoria 1837-1901: The Life and Accession of King Edward VII. and the Life of Queen Alexandra". [London, 1901]