Astronomical equipment #1 : Newtonian telescope

Welcome to my new series with technical curiosities in the field of astronomical equipment and optics. I will start with the telescope, the most popular among astro amateurs. This type of telescope allows lovers of the night sky to get an instrument with a large lens diameter at the best price. I invite you to read.

Although its first version built by Newton in 1668 was a small one with a mirror with a diameter of 25 mm, it is today that the mirror telescopes give us the largest available diameter at the best price. And the bigger it is, the brighter and sharper the picture will give us an instriment. See how simple it is. The Newton's telescope consists of an optical tube, completely open on one side, the main mirror, the secondary mirror and the focuser, equipped with focus adjustment. The secondary mirror is fixed on the so-called spider, or a few metal rods that obscure the main mirror. The light falls into the tubes and is focused by the main mirror. Then the image is reflected from the secondary mirror at a 90-degree angle to the spectacle lift, where it goes to a specific eyepiece. When we sharpen the image, we do not see the secondary mirror with the spider, which after all cover a large percentage of the surface of the main mirror.


The reflecting telescope is much cheaper than the telescope (like a telescope) of similar size, it lacks many optical flaws that have cheap telescopes. Newton's telescopes due to the high aperture(ratio of the optical instrument to focal length) are ideal for observing deep sky objects, such as nebulae or galaxies. Images from these instruments are clear and have high resolution. The Newtonian telescopee also can show the planets. Their views are bright, but thanks to the large diameter of the mirror they are characterized by very high resolution. With the use of filters that reduce the brightness, we can see the planets in detail. Each type of telescope can be mounted on various types of mounting. In the following parts I will tell you about them. I will try to give you a simple basis in the field of optics, to encourage you to invest in astronomical equipment and start your adventure with the night sky. Thank you for reading.

Greetings to lovers of Astronomy!

References:

Newtonian telescope
Newton's reflector
List of telescope types
and my knowledge...

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