Telescopes Flashcards
What were the limitations of the early telescopes created by Galileo, and what issues arose due to the use of objective and eyepiece lenses?
Early telescopes by Galileo used refraction with an objective lens and an eyepiece lens, leading to chromatic distortion. Higher resolutions required larger telescopes with thicker lenses.
How did Newton improve on Galileo’s telescope design, and what issue arose with spherical mirrors?
Newton improved the design by using mirrors, which allowed for higher resolutions. However, spherical mirrors introduced spherical distortion, leading to the use of parabolic mirrors.
What common issue affects all ground-based telescopes, and what are two approaches to address or mitigate this problem?
Ground-based telescopes suffer from atmospheric distortion, where the atmosphere absorbs many wavelengths, reducing intensity. This can be improved by using adaptive optics, which tracks the body as it moves through the sky, or solved by using space telescopes unaffected by atmospheric interference.
