Rachel is a 20 inch f/18 refracting telescope which was constructed for the Pan Pacific Exposition in 1915. The optics were done by the famous American telescope maker John Brashear, and the mounting was done by the Warner & Swazy company. She's the largest refracting telecope which is open to public viewing on a regular basis.
When the old Chabot Observatory moved to their new digs at the Chabot Science Center, a group of dedicated volunteers decided that she needed some restoration. All her parts were stripped back to bare metal, dents pounded out, and carefully refinished. She's now quite a beautiful site at the Chabot Science Center, and is open for public viewing every Friday and Saturday. It is the hope of everyone who worked on the restoration effort that she be enjoyed for another eighty five years.
These pictures were snapped by me during our restoration efforts. I took them mostly just to remember what a terrific project it was, so they aren't particularly organized or necessarily artistic, but you might find them interesting.
Some photos that I took during the last legs of our assembly of Rachel.
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All materials on this website are Copyright 2001, Mark T. VandeWettering. Permission is granted to reproduce and distribute these files for non-profit, personal use.
Mark T. VandeWettering <markv@telescopemaking.org>