TELESCOPE TOUR

• Radio and visible waves can go through Earth’s atmosphere

Mauna Kea Observatory

Optical telescopes

• Need clear weather

• Away from city lights (light pollution)

• Above clouds (mountain tops)– Less distortion

• Many in AZ and HI

REFRACTING TELESCOPES

Use multiple lenses to focus light and magnify images.

The USNO 26-inch Refracting Telescope

                                                     

REFLECTING TELESCOPES

Uses a series of mirrors to gather and focus light.

8” REFLECTOR

Keck Observatory10 m reflector

largest in world

LBT2- 8.4 meter mirrors

10x resolution of Hubble

REFRACTORS VS REFLECTORS

REFRACTORS

•good for observing solar system objects

•See details

•expensive to manufacture (lens, support)

•Chromatic aberration (halo affect;bad)

•Smaller- easy to travel with

• REFLECTORS

• cheaper to manufacture (mirrors are easier than lenses & mirrors can be supported from behind)

• See farther than refractors– Lose detail

• Can build larger (10 meters vs. 1 meter)

CATADIOPTRIC TELESCOPES

combines the best features of refractors and reflectors

Radio telescopes

• Gather incoming radio waves

• Convert waves to colors

• Produce false color images

Very Large ArraySocorro, NM

40 meter radio telescope

Green Bank, WV

305 meterArecibo Radio Telescope

SUPERNOVA REMNANT

THE MOON

A GALAXY

Advantages of Radio Telescopes

• Use anytime (day, clouds, etc)

• No dome needed

• “see” much farther

McMath Solar Observatory

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

Advantages of Space Telescopes

• No atm. Interference– See clearer

• NOT CLOSER

• Can detect wavelength

that atm. blocks

                                                    

    

Hubble vs. Ground based telescopes

Spitzer infrared telescopelaunched 2003

                

GLAST- gamma ray telescopeproposed launch 2006

Chandra X-ray telescopelaunched 1999

                              

                   

                                                           

HUT (HOPKINS UV TELESCOPE)

Clumpy universe

Milky Way Visible

Milky Way Radio

Milky Way Gamma rays

Milky Way- X Ray