ASTRO: Porter Turret Telescope

Picture taken at the 2007 Stellafane Convention.

From the Stellafane website: "This unique 12-inch f/17 equatorial turret
telescope is part of the Stellafane Observatory National Historic
Landmark....... The Porter Turret Telescope is just a modified Newtonian,
with the diagonal before the primary."

The idea of a turret telescope is that the observer stays inside where it's
warm (important in Vermont), while the optics stay outside in the cold. See:
http://www.stellafane.com/history/early/ptt1.html

Directly in front of the Porter is a modified 8" SCT tube on a mount for use
by a person in a wheel chair. The "Springfield Mount" has an eyepiece that
does not move as the scope is pointed to any part of the sky, and the
observer can read the setting circles with out moving.

George N