Notes
Outline
Telescopes and Astronomical Instruments
Light-Gathering Power
Angular Resolution
Examples of Resolution
Astronomical “Seeing”
Refracting telescopes
Reflecting Telescopes
Detectors are very important too…
The Quest for Light: The Biggest Telescopes
Segmented Mirrors
The European VLT (very large telescopes)
Active Mirrors and Optics
Observatories like to be high and dry
Observatories like to be high and dry
…so they can see more of the EM spectrum
The “Great Observatories” Space Program
The Hubble Space Telescope
Astro Quiz
It is above all the atmospheric turbulence, so it can take really sharp images that show very fine detail.
It is above the atmosphere, so it can see wavelengths we cannot access from the ground (both infrared and ultraviolet).
It is above the atmosphere, where it is never subject to bad weather, and the sky is always dark.
Other Space Telescopes
Radio Telescopes
The Quest for Resolution – Adaptive Optics
Make your own correction star…
…or do even better
Interferometry
Radio Interferometers
Optical Interferometers