How Do Telescope Work?

How do telescope work?
A telescope is a tool that astronomers use to see faraway objects. Most telescopes, and all
large telescopes, work by using curved mirrors to gather and focus light from the night sky.
The first telescopes focused light by using pieces of curved, clear glass, called lenses. So why do we
use mirrors today? Because mirrors are lighter, and they are easier than lenses to make perfectly
smooth.
The mirrors or lenses in a telescope are called the “optics.” Really powerful telescopes can see very
dim things and things that are really far away. To do that, the optics—be they mirrors or lenses—must
be really big.
The bigger the mirrors or lenses, the more light the telescope can gather. Light is then concentrated
by the shape of the optics. That light is what we see when we look into the telescope.
The optics of a telescope must be almost perfect. That means the mirrors and lenses must be just the
right shape to concentrate the light. They can’t have any spots, scratches or other flaws. If they do have
such problems, the image gets warped or blurry and is difficult to see. It’s hard to make a perfect mirror, but
it’s even harder to make a perfect lens.
A telescope that uses mirrors is called a reflecting telescope.
Unlike a lens, a mirror can be very thin. A bigger mirror does not also have to be thicker. Light is
concentrated by bouncing off of the mirror. So, the mirror just has to have the right curved shape.
It is much easier to make a large, near-perfect mirror than to make a large, near-perfect lens. Also, since
mirrors are one-sided, they are easier than lenses to clean and polish.
Radio telescope
A radio telescope is a form of radio receiver used in astronomy.
In contrast to an "ordinary" telescope, which receives visible light, a radio telescope "sees" radio waves
emitted by radio sources, typically by means of a large parabolic ("dish") antenna, or arrays of them.
Many celestial objects, such as pulsars or active galaxies (like quasars), produce radio-frequency radiation
and so are best "visible" or even only visible in the radio region of electromagnetic spectrum.
By examining the frequency, power and timing of radio emissions from these objects, astronomers can
improve our understanding of the Universe.
Radio telescopes are also the primary means to track space probes and are used in the SETI project.
Hubble telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a large telescope in space. It was launched into orbit by space
shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. Hubble orbits about 547 kilometers (340 miles) above
Earth. It is the length of a large school bus and weighs as much as two adult elephants.
Hubble travels about 5 miles per second: That is like traveling from the eastern coast of the
United States to the western coast in 10 minutes. Hubble is solar-powered.
Hubble takes sharp pictures of objects in the sky such as planets, stars and galaxies. Hubble
has made more than one million observations. These include detailed pictures of the birth
and death of stars, galaxies billions of light years away, and comet pieces crashing into
Jupiter's atmosphere.
What Makes Hubble Different from Telescopes on Earth?

Earth’s atmosphere alters and blocks the light that comes from space. Hubble orbits above
Earth’s atmosphere, which gives it a better view of the universe than telescopes have at
ground level.
Where Did the Name Hubble Come From?

Hubble is named after an American astronomer, Edwin P. Hubble. He made important
discoveries in the early 1900s. He showed that the galaxy containing the solar system -- the
Milky Way -- was only one of many galaxies. His work helped show that the universe is
expanding. This led to the big-bang theory, which says that the universe began with an
intense burst of energy and has been expanding ever since.
Spitzer Telescope
The spitzer telescope took its place in the cosmos in 2003. I will spend 2 ½ to 5 years
studying infrared light. Although telescopes on mountaintops can study certain infrared
wavelengths, most infrared radiation is absorbed by the earth’s atmosphere. Spitzer gets
much clearer view of the wavelengths of infrared light that can be studied from the earth
and makes it possible to examine the infrared wavelengths that are blocked by the earth’s
atmosphere. Spitzer is named after the astrophysics Lyman Spitzer Jr., who was the first to
propose putting a telescope in space. The highly unique telescope is the last of four
telescopes in NASA’s Great Observatories program. Since it studies infrared light, which we
perceive as heat, it must be kept extraordinarily cold to keep its own heat from interfering
with the detection of infrared radiation from space.

How Do Telescope Work?

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How Do Telescope Work?

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How do telescope work?

What Makes Hubble Different from Telescopes on Earth?

Where Did the Name Hubble Come From?

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