Arago telescope
telescope at Paris Observatory, installed in 1857
Arago telescope (Lunette Arago) is a 38 cm (15 inch) aperture refracting telescope at Paris Observatory, installed in 1857. Francois Arago ordered this telescope from the telescope making firm Lebreours in 1839, and after a protracted development was completed by 1855. The name Lunette Arago (Arago refractor) is a modern name for the telescope, and other large refractor of Paris observatory, is the one at Meudon. It has gone by a variety of names having to do with various aspects of the telescope, such as its aperture, or location on the East tower of the Paris observatory, or its equatorial mount made by Brunner. In one journal report it was called the 'east equatorial' for example, in another instance '38 cm refractor'. In French language it has been called the La lunette équatoriale de 38 cm de l'Observatoire de Paris.
The telescope had an objective lens 14 pouces across, which is a name for Paris Inches; this works out to about 38 cm (14.96 (usually rounded to 15) English inches). The original objective was completed by Lerebours by 1844. The equatorial mounting made by Brunner was delivered in 1859. The clock drive for the equatorial was made by Breguet.
“Arago telescope” enters the record as telescope at Paris Observatory, installed in 1857. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Arago, telescope and Paris can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Arago telescope” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Arago, telescope and Paris provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 6, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q78478594. Authority coordinates are 48.836, 2.337. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1857, 1839, 1855 and 1844.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Arago telescope”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Arago telescope primary sources, Arago telescope archive and Arago research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Arago telescope”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Arago telescope” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.