John Craig's Astronomical Telescope

John Craig, a reverend from London, England, dreamed of constructing his own refracting telescope.

And so in the year 1852, the reverend’s dream became a reality. He was able to build his own refractor telescope.

Albeit the tower where the telescope was located was built in only a few months, the scope itself was built after a few years. The site of the telescope is on Wandsworth Common in London.

And during its time, Rev. Craig’s scope was the largest in the world.

Did you know that Rev John Craig does not have affiliation on any astronomical group or society? Still, he was inspired to create his own refracting telescope with the purpose of searching for answers to two questions that plagued his mind. One, if Venus the evening star also has a moon or satellite like the Earth and other planets, and second, if Saturn indeed has its own rings.

John Craig’s refractor telescope became popular soon after it became operational but the fame was short lived as it was discovered that the scope lens of the scope was inferior to be utilized for astronomical purposes.