Blink Photographic Plate Comparator

Year: 197?
Manufacturer; Carl Zeiss –Jena (DE)
Materials: cast iron, aluminum, steel, brass, optical glass
Dimensions: L = 150 mm; P = 100 mm; H = 70 mm

Produced in the 1970s by Carl Zeiss in Jena, the Blink comparator is an optical-mechanical instrument designed to compare two photographic plates of the same celestial field, taken at different times. It allows viewing them alternately, as in a film, or simultaneously, quickly highlighting variations in the size or position of stars.

Subsequently improved with a system to measure the coordinates of pointed objects, the Blink was essential for the study of asteroids, variable stars, proper motions, and stellar parallaxes, offering a fundamental contribution to astrophotography, and observational astronomy.