HISTORY
The telescope was built in the 1970's by the late Alan
Young. It was housed in his observatory at Burwash in
East Sussex.
Alan was an accomplished engineer and businessman,
having been involved in the design and manufacture of
racing cars and car components.
He put his engineering skills to good use when he created
the telescope. We can see today that many of its most
important components were delightfully specified and
machined.
When it was built it was one of the largest amateur
telescopes in Britain and indeed, it remains so today.
Under Alan Young's control, it was extensively used
for astrophotography.
The combination of the large diameter primary mirror,
together with specially treated photographic film, allowed
it to capture very faint objects. Often, it was used
to study distant star fields, in order to verify or
disprove claims of new discoveries, made by other astronomers.
CADSAS acquired the telescope in 2005, through an act
of individual generosity. It had been dismantled to
its component parts and stored for many years. We are
now beginning the process of rebuilding and restoration |
CADSAS.COM
