Wetaskiwin District Heritage Museum Centre & City of Wetaskiwin Archives

Through the collection’s looking glass we find this set of binoculars once owned by Robert Spencer of Millet in the 1930s. Hans Lippershey of Holland is credited with inventing the lens in the 16th century and was even asked to create binoculars which he fashioned out of a box. However, it wasn’t until 1825 that the first complete and marketable binocular telescope was created by J.P. Lemiere. Their original function was for non-terrestrial or astronomical viewing and it wasn’t until the mid-1800s that they were commonly used for scouting on land in military applications. When the magnification gets higher than 12X hands are often too shaky for optimal observation, which is why most telescopes are stationary. There are two main designs: the Porro-Prism that uses a pair of right-angle prisms to rotate the image; and the Roof Prism that contains a straight and compact Abbe-Prism to correct the image. Keep both eyes on the prize in the skies this month with a set of binoculars to see the Comet NEOWISE, it will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere just after sunset. You will be able to spot it if you look Northwest right under the big dipper.