a) Discuss the differences between the two main types of optical telescopes: ref

Question

a) Discuss the differences between the two main types of optical telescopes: refracting and reflecting telescopes. Provide details and support your answer by sketching a ray diagram of how each focuses light from far away objects. Also, discuss the advantages over one type versus the other.

b) What currently is the largest found based reflecting telescope and the size of its objective lens? How does the size of this telescope (objective) compare to that of Hubble Space Telescope and what are the magnification and image resolving differences between these two telescopes?

Explanation / Answer

Refracting Telescope

A refracting or refractor telescope is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image (also known as a dioptric telescope). This type of telescope has at least one primary lens and one lens at the eyepiece where the viewer sees the image. The refracting telescope design was first used in spy glasses and astronomical telescopes but is now also used for long focus camera lenses. Although large refracting telescopes were very popular in the second half of the 19th century, researchers tend to prefer reflecting or catadioptric telescopes instead.

Advantages

There are several advantages to a refracting telescope:

Disadvantages

There are several disadvantages of this type of optical telescope:

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