Dome of the Grand Prisme Objectif telescope

The dome of the Grand Prisme Objectif telescope, circa 1969. The Grand Prisme Objectif is a copy of a telescope installed at the Observatoire de Haute Provence in France. One half of the telescope is a 40-centimetre objective prism for obtaining the spectra of many objects at the same time. The other telescope is for guiding. The GPO was first operated in Zeekoegat, South Africa from 1961. The Grand Prisme Objectif was ESO's only refracting (lens) telescope.