I think that Herschel was more well know for reflectors, and he built one with a 1.2m diameter mirror. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40-foot_telescope http://en

I think that Herschel was more well know for reflectors, and he built one with a 1.2m diameter mirror. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40-foot_telescope http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40-foot_telescope ...although I'm sure that he probably ground his own tiny lenses for the eyepieces. This site says that: "He began by putting together refracting telescopes from lenses and tubes that he bought, but quickly decided that refractors were too long and clumsy to handle." http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/scopes/herschel/ http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/ground...