![]() ![]() Whether you are doing research, or just gazing up at the night sky, everything that you see is in the form of light. But it is really about the study of light. Open Professional Learning × Close Professional LearningĪstronomy comes from the Greek words “ astron” meaning ‘star’ and “ nomos” meaning ‘law.’ It is the study of everything that exists beyond the Earth. They also use a completely closed tube setup, which means the chances of dust or humidity creating any problems are virtually non-existent, and there are almost no maintenance or cleaning requirements.Open Educational Resources × Close Educational Resources ![]() They produce a high-quality image and are typically lighter and more transportable than most other telescope options. Refractor telescopes do a great job in many areas, and it’s why they’re so popular. Advantages of a Refractor Telescope Image Credit: KAZLOVA IRYNA, Shutterstock However, since there’s a limit on how large you can make the objective lens, they’re not great for viewing fainter and more distant objects. Refracting telescopes do a phenomenal job of producing high-quality images with great contrast and sharpness, making them outstanding for terrestrial viewing. The point is that refracting telescopes are all over the place if they’re the right choice for you depends on what you’re trying to view. You can get a refracting telescope for under $100 on Amazon, or you can go with a higher-priced option with more features and capabilities. They’re common in amateur backyard telescopes, and you can also find them in massive observatories, like the Yerkes Observatory, which has the largest refracting telescope in the world - it has a 40-inch objective lens! Today, you can find refracting telescopes just about anywhere. That said, apochromatic reflecting telescopes cost more than achromatic ones. This corrects the wavelength issues of the achromatic design by adding another convex lens behind the concave lens, which now has a concave design on both sides. However, this design isn’t perfect, and it’s why the best refractor telescopes today use an apochromatic design. It meshes with the “flint glass,” which is concave, and they work together to help remove distortion and provide a quality image. The first piece is called the “crown glass,” and it’s a convex design. The term “achromatic” refers to the type of lens in the front of the telescope.Īn achromatic lens uses two pieces of glass meshed together for the objective lens in the telescope. The first is the achromatic refractor telescope. When it comes to modern refractor telescopes, there are only two types to consider. Modern refracting telescopes have a more complicated design for the objective lens to achieve higher magnification without sacrificing image quality and resolution. We’ve come a long way since then, even if we use the same principles that Galileo first used. When Galileo invented the refracting telescope in 1609, it was a crude design and only had a magnification range of 8 to 20. What Are the Different Types of Refractor Telescopes? Image Credit: AstroStar, Shutterstock It might not make too much sense unless you dive into the practical details of how light works when it shines through different surfaces, but basically, refractor telescopes take full advantage of these scientific properties to increase the size of an image. The curvature of the eyepiece is concave, and it picks up the light right at the point where the objective lens bends the light to, also known as the focal point. The eyepiece is the piece that you look through, and it bends in the opposite way of the objective lens. The objective lens sits at the front of the telescope, and its convex design bends the light toward a single point inside the telescope. From the first time that Galileo pointed a refractor telescope to the sky to every time a scientist does the same thing today, it opens up an entirely new world to observe.īut what exactly is a refractor telescope, and how does it work? It might seem like magic when you look through the eyepiece, but it’s all science! Keep reading, as we break it all down for you here.Ī refracting telescope works by using two convex lenses: the objective lens and the eyepiece. ![]() Few inventions have transformed the way that we view the universe and our place in it like the refracting telescope.
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