Click here to start

Table of contents

Optics and Telescopes

Guiding Questions

Telescopes

A refracting telescope uses a lens to concentrate incoming light at a focus

How Light Beams Behave

Slide 6

Slide 7

Magnification

Light Gathering Power

Chromatic Aberration

Slide 11

Slide 12

A reflecting telescope uses a mirror to concentrate incoming light at a focus

Slide 14

Reflecting Telescopes

Gemini North Telescope

Spherical Aberration

Slide 18

Telescope images are degraded by the blurring effects of the atmosphere and by light pollution

Slide 20

Slide 21

Slide 22

Slide 23

Slide 24

An electronic device is commonly used to record the image at a telescope’s focus

Slide 26

Spectrographs record the spectra of astronomical objects

Slide 28

Slide 29

Slide 30

A radio telescope uses a large concave dish to reflect radio waves to a focus

Slide 32

Optical and Radio Views of Saturn

Telescopes in orbit around the Earth detect radiation that does not penetrate the atmosphere

Slide 35

Slide 36

Slide 37

Slide 38

Satellite-based observatories provide new information about the universe and permit coordinated observation of the sky at all wavelengths

Slide 40

Key Words

Author: Michael Cohen

E-mail: mrcohe@ship.edu

Homepage: http://physics.ship.edu/~mrc/