Chapter 6: Problem 7
Quite often advertisements appear for telescopes that extol their magnifying power. Is this a good criterion for evaluating telescopes? Explain your answer.
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Chapter 6: Problem 7
Quite often advertisements appear for telescopes that extol their magnifying power. Is this a good criterion for evaluating telescopes? Explain your answer.
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How are the images made by an X-ray telescope different from those made by a medical X-ray machine?
What is diffraction? Why does it limit the angular resolution of a telescope? What other physical phenomenon is often a more important restriction on angular resolution?
Three of the telescopes shown in Figure 6-16-the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT), the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO), and the Submillimeter Array (SMA)are designed to detect radiation with wavelengths close to \(1 \mathrm{~mm}\). Search for current information about JCMT, CSO, and SMA on the World Wide Web. What kinds of celestial objects emit radiation at these wavelengths? What can astronomers see using JCMT, CSO, and SMA that cannot be observed at other wavelengths? Why is it important that they be at high altitude? How large are the primary mirrors used in JCMT, CSO, and SMA? What are the differences among the three telescopes? Which can be used in the daytime? What recent discoveries have been made using JCMT, CSO, or SMA?
The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) at the McDonald Observatory in Texas has a spherical mirror, which is the least expensive shape to grind. Consequently, the telescope has spherical aberration. Explain why this doesn't affect the usefulness of HET for spectroscopy. (The telescope is not used for imaging.)
Obtain a telescope during the daytime along with several eyepieces of various focal lengths. If you can determine the telescope's focal length, calculate the magnifying powers of the eyepieces. Focus the telescope on some familiar object, such as a distant lamppost or tree. DO NOT FOCUS ON THE SUN! Looking directly at the Sun can cause blindness. Describe the image you see through the telescope. Is it upside down? How does the image move as you slowly and gently shift the telescope left and right or up and down? Examine the eyepieces, noting their focal lengths. By changing the eyepieces, examine the distant object under different magnifications. How do the field of view and the quality of the image change as you go from low power to high power?
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