Stars in the constellation of Cygnus, 1887

Stars in the constellation of Cygnus, 1887. Photograph of a star field centred on the constellation of Cygnus (Swan) taken on 14 August 1887 with an exposure of 60 minutes. Dr Isaac Roberts, an amateur astronomer and pioneer astrophotography, took this image using a 20 inch aperture reflecting telescope. Made by Howard Grubb of Dublin, the telescope was first installed at his home near Liverpool, but later in 1890 he moved it to the less smoky skies of Crowborough, Sussex. In 1887, Roberts was invited to attend the first international conference in Paris on celestial photography. Here astronomers decided to embark on the, 'Carte du Ciel' an ambitious project to photograph the whole sky in unprecedented detail. ©SSPL/Science Museum