Henry Skey
Henry Skey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1836 London |
| Died | 1914 (aged 77–78) New Zealand |
| Known for | |
| Children | 1 (Henry Fawsit Skey) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomer, Meteorologist |
| Institutions | |
Henry Skey (1836–1914) was an English surveyor, astronomer and meteorologist who emigrated from England to New Zealand in 1860 on the Evening Star[1] with his elder brother, William Skey.[2] He worked for the Government Survey Office before his retirement.[1]
Liquid Mirror Telescope
[edit]In 1872, he built the first prototype of a liquid-mirror telescope in Dunedin, New Zealand, announcing it in a letter to Nature in 1874.[3][4][5] He was also father of the scientist Henry Fawsit Skey.[6]
Skey constructed his first liquid mirror telescope in the 1850s, working independently. He constructed a 35-centimetre mirror from a bowl of mercury and showed that it could give clear images.[7] Mercury was easily found in New Zealand, since it was used for gold extraction in the province of Otago, where Skey lived.
He showed his telescope model at a meeting of the Otago Institute in 1872,[8] together with a written description and diagrams. His telescope incorporated a plane reflector, so that the view was not limited to the zenith, a typical issue for liquid telescopes.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Obituary". Papers Past. 1914-02-26. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Michael (1993). "Skey, William". Te Ara. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
- ^ Olson-Steel, Duncan (8 October 1985). "A Note on the History of the Liquid Mirror Telescope". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Vol. 80. p. 128. Bibcode:1986JRASC..80..128O.
- ^ Gibson, B.K. (9 April 1991). "Liquid Mirror Telescopes - History". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Vol. 85. p. 158. Bibcode:1991JRASC..85..158G.
- ^ Williams, Toni (10 September 2023). "Rare 1860s telescope out for display". The Ashburton Courier.
- ^ Baird, H.F. (June 1947). "Henry Fawsit Skey, 1877–1947". Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity. 52 (2): 261–262. Bibcode:1947TeMAE..52..261B. doi:10.1029/TE052i002p00261.
- ^ Brooks, Michael (30 November 2002). "The liquid telescope". New Scientist.
- ^ Hickson, Paul (June 2007). "Liquid-Mirror Telescopes: An old idea for astronomical imaging is undergoing a technology-driven renaissance". American Scientist. Vol. 95, no. 3. pp. 216–223. JSTOR 27858960.
- ^ Steel, Duncan (December 1984). "The liquid-mirror telescope - an early example of kiwi ingenuity?". South. Stars. Vol. 31, no. 1. pp. 32–40. Bibcode:1984SouSt..31...32S.
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