Reflecting telescope
Date
30 March 1672
Creator
Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727, British) , Natural philosopher
Object type
Archive reference number
Manuscript page number
p195a
Material
Dimensions
height (page): 120mm
width (page): 165mm
width (page): 165mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Figures explaining improvements to a reflecting telescope, with a cancelled figure 4 at the bottom left, on a slip of paper inserted into the Letter Book. The slip of paper was cut out of Isaac Newton's letter to Henry Oldenburg dated 30 March 1672, in reply to some objections raised by Adrian Auzout. Newton's letter was read to the meeting of the Royal Society on 4 April 1672.
A copy of these figures can be found at LBC/5/214a.
A copy of these figures can be found at LBC/5/214a.
Object history
At the meeting of the Royal Society on 4 April 1672, ‘Mr. Oldenburg communicated a letter to him from Mr. Newton, dated at Cambridge 30th March, 1672, containing his answer to the difficulties objected by Mons. Auzout against his reflecting telescope: as also the queries of Mons. Denys concerning it; together with Mr. Newton’s proposal of a way of using, instead of a little oval metal in that telescope, a crystal figured like a triangular prism. Mr. Hooke was ordered to make such a crystalline prism for the design mentioned in Mr. Newton’s letter, and to try the same’ (Birch 3:41).
Related fellows
Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727, British) , Natural philosopher
Henry Oldenburg (1612 - 1677, German) , Scientific correspondent
Henry Oldenburg (1612 - 1677, German) , Scientific correspondent
Associated place