An Irish Astronomical Connection…
After posting yesterday about the sizeable differences between Maynooth and Barcelona in terms of Physics, I stumbled across an Irish connection in the foyer of the Physics Department.
I’ve posted before about the famous optical instrument manufacturer, the Grubb Telescope Company, founded in Dublin by Thomas Grubb and later renamed Grubb Parsons after its relocation to Newcastle upon Tyne. I’ve posted about other connections too. The presence of this telescope in Barcelona is further evidence – as if it were needed – that, in its time, the Grubb Telescope Company really was the world leader in optical instrumentation.
In the Dark 
September 27, 2023 at 10:11 am
Charles Parsons of course is also Irish, the son of the Third Earl of Rosse — the discovery of spiral structure.
And to brag, I have a copy of the ‘Collected Papers of the Third Earl of Rosse’ that was bound and published by Charles Parsons.
September 28, 2023 at 12:49 pm
I’ve seen “grub screw” (the kind you might well find on a telescope) spelled “grubb screw”. Any connection with Mr Grubb?
October 10, 2023 at 7:10 pm
[…] after I arrived in Barcelona, I posted a piece about the telescope in the foyer of the Physics […]
November 14, 2023 at 10:05 am
[…] the foyer of the Physics Department at the University of Barcelona, you will find as well as a fine refracting telescope, an example of the Atwood Machine. For some years before my current sabbatical I have been teaching […]
February 7, 2024 at 12:03 pm
[…] its relocation to Newcastle upon Tyne. I’ve posted about other connections too, including the presence in the Physics Department in Barcelona of a refracting telescope made by Grubb. Imagine my surprise, then, when I saw yet another Grubb Telescope near the entrance to the Physics […]