U of I’s 117-year-old telescope getting repairs

URBANA, Ill. — Like anything that’s 117 years old, the telescope in the University of Illinois’ observatory could use a little work. This summer, it will get it.

A crew dismantled the telescope this week and is sending it to a business in Pennsylvania that will work on it.

Professor Bryan Dunne is assistant chair of the astronomy department at the university. He told The News-Gazette in Champaign on Tuesday that while the telescope hasn’t been used for research since the 1960s it’s still used in introductory classes and public open houses.

The observatory is a National Historic Landmark because of pioneering work done there in the early 1900s by astronomer Joel Stebbins to record the brightness of distant stars.

The restoration work will cost $54,000 and be finished by August.