Optical Telescope

Faint Light
Astronomical objects are
distant and faint.
Effectively at infinity

Light collection is more

important than
magnification.
Refraction
Reflection

The Andromeda Galaxy

(M31) subtends 3.
6 times the moon
Only visible to the unaided
eye in very dark conditions

Refraction
i r
i
r

Light is bent at the surface

between two media.
Index of refraction n

ni sin i nt sin t

c
v

Refraction is governed by
Snells law.

Radius of Curvature
Lenses shaped like parts
of spheres are easy to
make.
R

Easy to calculate rays

Use Snells Law on a

small part of a sphere.
R
(n 1)
f

Radius of curvature R
Focal length f
Index for air is 1

Refracting Telescope
A refracting telescope is designed to concentrate light from
a distant object.
Object light rays nearly parallel
Final image rays also parallel

objective

focal point

eyepiece

Aperture
Lenses collect and concentrate light.
The diameter (D) of the objective lens is the aperture.
Measured in m or mm
Larger apertures for fainter objects

The light gathering power (LGP) is related to the area of

the lens.
Circular lens: A = (D2)/4
Intensification relative to eye aperture 5 mm: LGP = D2/(5 mm)2

F-Stop
The brightness of an image is measured by the
focal ratio of the focal length to the aperture.
F-number or f-stop = f/d
Dimensionless quantity
Denoted by f/

Lower f-numbers are faster and need shorter exposure

times.

Fraunhofer Diffraction
A single narrow slit
creates diffraction.
No minimum for m = 0

a sin m
m 1,2,

Airy Disk
Fraunhofer patterns are
symmetric around the
opening.

A circular hole produces

rings around a central
maximum.
84% of energy in center

Angular Resolution
The limit of resolution is
set by the aperture.
The Rayleigh criterion is
calculated from the first
minimum of the Airy disk.
Aperture radius a
Wavenumber k
Bessel function J1

2 J1 (ka sin )
I ( ) I 0

ka sin

J1 ( x) 0
sin

x 0,3.83,7.02...

3.83 3.83

1.22
ka
2a
D

1.22
D

Tube Length
The intermediate image at the focal point is a real image.
Long tube accommodates long focal length
Parallel ray image related to the focal length

MO

siO
f
O
soO
so

objective

focal point

eyepiece

Magnification
The eyepiece magnifies the
intermediate image.
The total magnification is
the product from both
lenses.

objective

ME

siE
s
i
soE
fE

M MOM E

focal point

eyepiece

fO
fE

Yerkes Refractor
The worlds largest refractor is in Wisconsin.
40 inch aperture, f/19
63 foot tube
Yerkes 40 inch

Chromatic Aberration
The index of refraction
depends on the
wavelength.
Longer wavelengths - lower
indexes
Blue light bends more than
red
Air n(589 nm) =1.00029
Crown glass 1.52
Flint glass
1.66

Compound lenses can

compensate for chromatic
aberration.

Spherical Aberration
f

A spherical surface does

not focus all parallel lines
to the same point.
Aspheric lenses can be
used to correct the
aberration .

Curved Mirror
Light that begins at one
focus of an elliptical
mirror converges at the
other focus.

focus
focus

A parabola for a focus at

infinity

Parabolic Mirror
A perfect parabolic mirror has a focal length like a lens.
All wavelengths are focused to the same point.
No chromatic aberration

The size of the mirror dish is the aperture.

focal length

focal point

Newtonian Reflector
For viewing ray should be parallel on exit.
Combined primary mirror and eyepiece

The reflecting telescope is cheaper, because a mirror is

easier to make than a lens for a given size.
secondary diagonal mirror

primary mirror

eyepiece

Schmidt-Cassegrain Reflector
A Cassegrain focus uses a flat mirror to make the tube up
to three times longer.
Spherical aberration from extra mirror
Aspheric Schmidt lens corrects aberration

eyepiece

Schmidt corrector lens

Keck Reflector
Worlds largest reflector is in Hawaii.
400 inch aperture, f/1.75
Focal length 57.4 feet.
Telescope height 81 feet.

Keck Observatory

Coma
Parabolic mirrors focus
precisely for rays parallel
to the central axis.
The distortion for off axis
objects is called coma.
Greatest for low f-numbers

Lenses can correct for the

coma.

Starizona.com

Atmospheric Absorption
The atmosphere absorbs radiation, except at visible light,
infrared, and radio frequencies.

Adaptive Optics
The moving atmosphere disturbs images.
Wavefront distortions

Real time corrections are made by feedback to a

deformable mirror.
Sample wavefront from beam splitter
Measure distortion
Compute necessary compensation for mirrors

Telescope Advantages

REFRACTOR
Superb resolution
Good for detail
Rugged alignment
Transports well

REFLECTOR
Inexpensive optics
Large aperture
Good for dim objects
Uniform treatment of colors

SCHMIDT-CASSEGRAIN
Portable size
Combines best optical qualities
Good for photography

Altazimuth Mount
Telescope mounts should permit two directions of motion.
Altazimuth mounts directly control altitude and azimuth.

altitude control
azimuth control

Equatorial Mount
Altazimuth mounts do not track with the stars movement.
Equatorial mounts are oriented to the pole.
Allows control of declination and right ascension.

declination axis
polar axis

Charge-Coupled Device
The CCD is an array of
photosensitive
semiconductor capacitors.
Charge stored proportional
to light intensity
Transfers charge as a shift
register
Amplifier on last capacitor
converts charge to voltage

Hammamatsu.com

Telescope CCDs
CCDs are sensitive to
light from ultraviolet to
infrared.

Sensitivity to thermal
noise and cosmic rays can
blur an image.

CCDs are very efficient.

Multiple exposures are

averaged to get correct
image.

Can be sensitive to
individual photons

Dark frame closed shutter

Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble is an orbiting reflector telescope.

It has no atmosphere to peer through.
The onboard computer gives it enhanced optics.
There are four different
cameras for different views.

Infrared and Ultraviolet

Infrared is absorbed by
water vapor.
Observe at high altitude

Satellite telescopes avoid

the atmosphere.
IRAS (1983) - first
evidence of planets around
other stars
Spitzer Space Telescope
(2003-9).

Ultraviolet is largely
absorbed by the
atmosphere.
Requires satellites
HST, GALEX

M81 from GALEX