REACHING FOR THE STARS

[Music] e [Music] on Mount Hamilton 4200 ft above sea level overlooking Santa Clara Valley in Northern California sits Lick Observatory named after its donor James lick construction of Lick Observatory began July 23rd 1880 and all materials had to be hauled up 19 miles of steep mountain side today this small self-sufficient Community a part of the University of California has 75 residents including numerous children in 1936 University of Califor californ astronomers first expressed a desire to build a 120in telescope after many years in the thinking and design stages drawings were submitted for public bid and the Judson Pacific Murphy Corporation of amville California having submitted the only bid was awarded the contract work which started in July 1953 required all the technical knoow possessed by this steel firm and its Associated subcontractors this is the story of Bill building lick observatory's new 120in telescope the first order of business was to fabricate and assemble in the shop the many heavy steel components which made up this instrument after 6 months of work in the Emoryville plant the initial parts were ready to be set in place at the observatory the remaining parts to follow closely behind in the middle of January 1954 the field forces of Judson Pacific Murphy Corporation began the tortuous Trek up the mountain side with the base frame of the telescope in tow it was a cold foggy day as the small Caravan of trucks Automobiles and a Truck crane tugged and hauled this awkward welded assembly up 19 miles of steep narrow Mountain Road our initiation to the task which faced us was disheartening for it took two long days to arrive at Lick Observatory [Music] the base frame as its name implies was to support or cradle the entire telescope for all the time spent in reaching its destination this heavy weldment was handled with dispatched by the truck Crane and maneuvered by it through the access doorway of the observatory further handling was necessary inside the building to locate it in its final position it was a tight squeeze in indeed the next part to arrive at the mountain was the polar axle this model will enable you to understand the position of the Polar axle relative to the base frame weighing some 33 tons the hollow cylindrical steel polar axle may be compared to the handle of a gigantic tuning for resting on the base frame at an angle parallel to the axis of the earth it required the use of optical instruments in order to check its EXA exact location the next dment to be maneuvered through the hatchway was the yolk weighing some 35 tons this was the heaviest of all individual Parts heavy duty rigging temporarily attached to the observatory Dome carried it safely into the building made of thick steel plate yet beautifully fabricated this massive structure was no child's toy the Yol appropriately named formed the base of the fork rigging for lifting this weldman was so arranged that it hung at the proper angle thus facilitating its bolted connection to the upper end of The Polar axle we're now ready for the two Fork [Music] arms the fork arms were long rectangular weldments made of heavy steel plate they also had to be jockeyed through the small hatchway and when connected to both ends of the yolk formed the tines or arms of the fork these arms like all the other steel workor for this instrument had been fabricated by Judson Pacific Murphy Corporation heated in Bethlehem Pacific's huge ovens in order to relieve welding stresses machined by Oakland machineworks and fitted up at Todd shipyards an excellent example of an industrial team in the San Francisco Bay Area pooling its resources and know how with the arm safely bolted in position the telescope began to take shape but no one could deny that it was indeed a strange looking sight one of the basic actions of the telescope could now be produced this was called right Ascension it was the rotation of the entire Fork about its polar Axis or handle in this instance the hoisting equipment was used as a source of power however in the final stages of completion a huge gear would permanently rotate the fork assembly the entire Fork weighing some 100 tons was supported by oil pads which were part of the base frame a hydraulic pumping system forced oil Under Pressure to these pads electrically operated panels and valves controlled the flow of the oil an oil film 2,000 of an inch thick or the thickness of a piece of paper supported the entire result there was no metal to metal contact friction was so slight that man could rotate this entire assembly with very little effort what had appeared to many to be an impossibility was now in fact a reality a good deal of thought had been given to planning our next move just how would we install the large tube assembly this was a strange looking cylindrical structure made of heavy pipe which when in place was supported between the two arms of the fork we decided to assemble the tube on the floor and raise it in two large sections the upper half is shown going into place just what did this tube do well in one sense it might be considered the heart of the telescope or it supported a large mirror at its lower end and a place for the Observer and his equipment at the upper end the tube nested between the two Fork arms could be rotated by a large gear some 12T in diameter this gear is called the declination gear engineers and mechanics worked hand in hand endeavoring to attain the dimensional fit up and accuracy that this tube assembly required although we had worked our way in building this telescope from the basement of the observatory to the upper reaches of the Dome there was more yet to be added connected to the top of the tube was the Prime Focus cage this weldman of high Precision housed a small compartment or cell wherein an astronomer could sit while he operated the entire telescope for the purpose of observing observing a [Music] star the instrument was fast beginning to take shape but little did we realize the problems yet to face us the Observer cell was supported at the center of the Prime Focus cage here the light of the star reflected from the mirror below would come to a focus thus enabling the astronomer to take a photograph of the are once again the sequence of work brought us back to the confined area at the rear of the telescope base frame where the right Ascension gear in protective wrapping had been stored for many months this attached to the south end of The Polar axle or for candle which extended into the basement of the observatory western gear Corporation has manufactured this 4ton gear at their Lynwood California plant with accuracy requirements similar to those of a delicate watch it was no Small Wonder then that this masterpiece in gearing valued at $100,000 was handled with kid gloves Spectators on the mountain heaved a sigh of relief when the gear was permanently located of the many strange terms associated with this instrument one of the most unusual was the right Ascension cradle as shown here this intricate piece of Machinery manufactured by Oakland Machine Works contained the worm gearing which when position properly would motivate or drive the large right Ascension gear these scenes show the Cradle being moved into position directly under the [Music] gear the alignment of these Warriors and cradle relative to SAR was a long tedious job which taxed the patience and Engineering ability of all concerned after many months of adjustment we were ready to operate the entire gear system very cautiously the right Ascension Drive mechanism was energized while astronomers engineers and mechanics closely observed The Mating action of the gears which turned the entire telescope in right Ascension this mechanism would allow the instrument to or follow a star in its course through the heavens immediate success in this operation was far beyond our grasp for problems in gearing and lubrication presented themselves which could only be solved by trial and error methods yet experimentation was so valuable a piece of equipment must not result in damage to its accuracies a year passed and seasonal changes were drastic for those men who spent all of their time and energies on this job after extensive study and trial we were able to give the astronomer the compatibility and wearing qualities in this gearing that he must have a lapping or polishing operation shown here was the final step gear accuracies had been maintained the mechanical operation of the telescope was now complete the model shows the location of the mirror at the lower end of the tube all of the optical work in conjunction with this telescope was performed by University of California Opticians and astronomers special handling equipment was required in order to raise the 4ton mirror in place this huge piece of Pyrex glass 120 in in diameter and 16 in thick had been ground and Polished on its top side to a highly accurate concave surface a cover protected the polished surface which had yet to be aluminized so that it might reflect light the telescope having been positioned properly would function in this manner the light of the star under observation would travel down the tube to the concave mirror where it would be reflected back to the Observer cell here a photographic plate exposed to the reflected light would result in a photograph of the star the right Ascension movement of the telescope shown here enables the instrument to accurately track or follow a star as it moves in the heavens with respect to the Earth exposure time of a photographic plate to the reflected light depends upon the star's magnitude or Brilliance in some instances exposure may be as long as 5 hours during this time the instrument must follow the star with extreme accuracy failure to do so would result in a blurred and therefore unacceptable photograph declination as applied to the telescope is the rotation of the tube between the fork Arms This movement also enables the astronomer to position the instrument on the star which he wishes to observe a console houses all of the electrical equipment and controls whereby the telescope is automatically operated the entire Dome of the observatory rotates thereby giving the telescope a complete view of the night [Music] sky therefore when the astronomer seated in The Observer cell has on a chosen night tracked a star and taken its picture he has provided for himself and his associates a permanent record which with the aid of special equipment may be studied at a later date this then is the the story of the new 120in reflector telescope which stands today in all its greatness on top of Mount Hamilton California the story of Industry working hand inand with science to solve those problems that stand in the path of man's reaching for the [Music] Stars [Music] [Music]