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Telescope
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Forotheruses,seeTelescope(disambiguation).
Atelescopeisaninstrumentthataidsintheobservationofremote
objectsbycollectingelectromagneticradiation(suchasvisiblelight).
ThefirstknownpracticaltelescopeswereinventedintheNetherlands
atthebeginningofthe17thcentury,usingglasslenses.Theyfound
useinterrestrialapplicationsandastronomy.
Withinafewdecades,thereflectingtelescopewasinvented,which
usedmirrors.Inthe20thcenturymanynewtypesoftelescopeswere
invented,includingradiotelescopesinthe1930sandinfrared
telescopesinthe1960s.Thewordtelescopenowreferstoawiderange
ofinstrumentsdetectingdifferentregionsoftheelectromagnetic
spectrum,andinsomecasesothertypesofdetectors.
Theword"telescope"(fromtheGreek,tele"far"and,
skopein"tolookorsee",teleskopos"farseeing")was
coinedin1611bytheGreekmathematicianGiovanniDemisianifor
oneofGalileoGalilei'sinstrumentspresentedatabanquetatthe
AccademiadeiLincei.[1][2][3]IntheStarryMessenger,Galileohad
usedtheterm"perspicillum".

Contents

The100inch(2.54m)Hooker
reflectingtelescopeatMountWilson
ObservatorynearLosAngeles,USA.

1History
2Types
2.1Opticaltelescopes
2.2Radiotelescopes
2.3Xraytelescopes
2.4Gammaraytelescopes
2.5Highenergyparticletelescopes
2.6Othertypesoftelescopes
3Typesofmount
4Atmosphericelectromagneticopacity
5Telescopicimagefromdifferenttelescopetypes
6Byspectrum
7Listsoftelescopes
8Seealso
9References
10Sources
11Externallinks

History
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Mainarticle:Historyofthetelescope
Theearliestrecordedworkingtelescopesweretherefractingtelescopes
thatappearedintheNetherlandsin1608.Theirdevelopmentis
creditedtothreeindividuals:HansLippersheyandZachariasJanssen,
whowerespectaclemakersinMiddelburg,andJacobMetiusof
Alkmaar.[4]GalileoheardabouttheDutchtelescopeinJune1609,built
hisownwithinamonth,[5]andimproveduponthedesigninthe
followingyear.Inthesameyear,Galileobecamethefirstpersonto
pointatelescopeskywardinordertomaketelescopicobservationsofa
celestialobject.[6]
Theideathattheobjective,orlightgatheringelement,couldbea
mirrorinsteadofalenswasbeinginvestigatedsoonaftertheinvention
oftherefractingtelescope.[7]Thepotentialadvantagesofusing
parabolicmirrorsreductionofsphericalaberrationandnochromatic
aberrationledtomanyproposeddesignsandseveralattemptsto
buildreflectingtelescopes.[8]In1668,IsaacNewtonbuiltthefirst
practicalreflectingtelescope,ofadesignwhichnowbearshisname,
theNewtonianreflector.
Theinventionoftheachromaticlensin1733partiallycorrectedcolor
aberrationspresentinthesimplelensandenabledtheconstructionof
shorter,morefunctionalrefractingtelescopes.Reflectingtelescopes,
thoughnotlimitedbythecolorproblemsseeninrefractors,were
hamperedbytheuseoffasttarnishingspeculummetalmirrors
employedduringthe18thandearly19thcenturyaproblem
alleviatedbytheintroductionofsilvercoatedglassmirrorsin1857,[9]
andaluminizedmirrorsin1932.[10]Themaximumphysicalsizelimit
forrefractingtelescopesisabout1meter(40inches),dictatingthatthe
vastmajorityoflargeopticalresearchingtelescopesbuiltsincetheturn
ofthe20thcenturyhavebeenreflectors.Thelargestreflecting
telescopescurrentlyhaveobjectiveslargerthan10m(33feet),and
workisunderwayonseveral3040mdesigns.

Moderntelescopestypicallyuse
CCDsinsteadoffilmforrecording
images.Thisisthesensorarrayinthe
Keplerspacecraft.

28inchtelescopeand40foot
telescopeinGreenwichin2015.

The20thcenturyalsosawthedevelopmentoftelescopesthatworkedinawiderangeofwavelengthsfrom
radiotogammarays.Thefirstpurposebuiltradiotelescopewentintooperationin1937.Sincethen,a
tremendousvarietyofcomplexastronomicalinstrumentshavebeendeveloped.

Types
Thename"telescope"coversawiderangeofinstruments.Mostdetectelectromagneticradiation,butthereare
majordifferencesinhowastronomersmustgoaboutcollectinglight(electromagneticradiation)indifferent
frequencybands.
Telescopesmaybeclassifiedbythewavelengthsoflighttheydetect:
Xraytelescopes,usingshorterwavelengthsthanultravioletlight
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Ultraviolettelescopes,usingshorterwavelengthsthanvisiblelight
Opticaltelescopes,usingvisiblelight
Infraredtelescopes,usinglongerwavelengthsthanvisiblelight
Submillimetretelescopes,usinglongerwavelengthsthaninfraredlight
FresnelImager,anopticallenstechnology
Xrayoptics,opticsforcertainXraywavelengths
LightComparison
Aswavelengthsbecomelonger,itbecomeseasierto
Name
Wavelength
Frequency(Hz)
PhotonEnergy(eV)
useantennatechnologytointeractwith
electromagneticradiation(althoughitispossibleto Gammaray lessthan0.01nm morethan10EHZ 100keV300+GeV X
XRay
0.01to10nm
30PHz30EHZ
120eVto120keV X
makeverytinyantenna).Thenearinfraredcanbe Ultraviolet 10nm400nm 30EHZ790THz
3eVto124eV
handledmuchlikevisiblelight,howeverinthefar Visible 390nm750nm 790THz405THz 1.7eV3.3eV X
infraredandsubmillimetrerange,telescopescan
Infrared
750nm1mm 405THz300GHz 1.24meV1.7eV X
operatemorelikearadiotelescope.Forexample,
Microwave 1mm1meter 300GHz300MHz 1.24meV1.24eV
Radio
1mmkm
300GHz3Hz
1.24meV12.4feV X
theJamesClerkMaxwellTelescopeobservesfrom
wavelengthsfrom3m(0.003mm)to2000m
(2mm),butusesaparabolicaluminumantenna.[11]Ontheotherhand,theSpitzerSpaceTelescope,observing
fromabout3m(0.003mm)to180m(0.18mm)usesamirror(reflectingoptics).Alsousingreflecting
optics,theHubbleSpaceTelescopewithWideFieldCamera3canobservefromabout0.2m(0.0002mm)to
1.7m(0.0017mm)(fromultraviolettoinfraredlight).[12]

Atthephotonenergyofshorterwavelengthsandhigherfrequency,fullyreflectingopticsratherthanglancing
incidentopticsareused.TelescopessuchasTRACEandSOHOusespecialmirrorstoreflectExtreme
ultraviolet,producinghigherresolutionandbrighterimagesthanotherwisepossible.Alargeraperturedoes
notjustmeanthatmorelightiscollected,italsoenablesafinerangularresolution.
Telescopesmayalsobeclassifiedbylocation:groundtelescope,spacetelescope,orflyingtelescope.They
mayalsobeclassifiedbywhethertheyareoperatedbyprofessionalastronomersoramateurastronomers.A
vehicleorpermanentcampuscontainingoneormoretelescopesorotherinstrumentsiscalledanobservatory.

Opticaltelescopes
Mainarticle:Opticaltelescope
Anopticaltelescopegathersandfocuseslightmainlyfromthevisiblepartofthe
electromagneticspectrum(althoughsomeworkintheinfraredand
ultraviolet).[13]Opticaltelescopesincreasetheapparentangularsizeofdistant
objectsaswellastheirapparentbrightness.Inorderfortheimagetobe
observed,photographed,studied,andsenttoacomputer,telescopesworkby
employingoneormorecurvedopticalelements,usuallymadefromglasslenses
and/ormirrors,togatherlightandotherelectromagneticradiationtobringthat
lightorradiationtoafocalpoint.Opticaltelescopesareusedforastronomyand
inmanynonastronomicalinstruments,including:theodolites(including
transits),spottingscopes,monoculars,binoculars,cameralenses,and
spyglasses.Therearethreemainopticaltypes:
Therefractingtelescopewhichuseslensestoformanimage.
Thereflectingtelescopewhichusesanarrangementofmirrorstoforman
image.
Thecatadioptrictelescopewhichusesmirrorscombinedwithlensesto
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50cmrefractingtelescope
atNiceObservatory.

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formanimage.
Beyondthesebasicopticaltypestherearemanysubtypesofvaryingopticaldesignclassifiedbythetaskthey
performsuchasastrographs,cometseekers,solartelescope,etc.

Radiotelescopes
Mainarticle:Radiotelescope
Radiotelescopesaredirectionalradioantennasusedforradioastronomy.
Thedishesaresometimesconstructedofaconductivewiremeshwhose
openingsaresmallerthanthewavelengthbeingobserved.Multielement
Radiotelescopesareconstructedfrompairsorlargergroupsofthese
dishestosynthesizelarge'virtual'aperturesthataresimilarinsizetothe
separationbetweenthetelescopesthisprocessisknownasaperture
synthesis.Asof2005,thecurrentrecordarraysizeismanytimesthe
TheVeryLargeArrayatSocorro,
widthoftheEarthutilizingspacebasedVeryLongBaseline
NewMexico,UnitedStates.
Interferometry(VLBI)telescopessuchastheJapaneseHALCA(Highly
AdvancedLaboratoryforCommunicationsandAstronomy)VSOP(VLBI
SpaceObservatoryProgram)satellite(http://www.vsop.isas.ac.jp/).
Aperturesynthesisisnowalsobeingappliedtoopticaltelescopesusingopticalinterferometers(arraysof
opticaltelescopes)andaperturemaskinginterferometryatsinglereflectingtelescopes.Radiotelescopesare
alsousedtocollectmicrowaveradiation,whichisusedtocollectradiationwhenanyvisiblelightisobstructed
orfaint,suchasfromquasars.SomeradiotelescopesareusedbyprogramssuchasSETIandtheArecibo
Observatorytosearchforextraterrestriallife.

Xraytelescopes
Mainarticle:Xraytelescope
XraytelescopescanuseXrayoptics,suchasaWoltertelescopes
composedofringshaped'glancing'mirrorsmadeofheavymetalsthatare
abletoreflecttheraysjustafewdegrees.Themirrorsareusuallya
sectionofarotatedparabolaandahyperbola,orellipse.In1952,Hans
Wolteroutlined3waysatelescopecouldbebuiltusingonlythiskindof
mirror.[15][16]Examplesofanobservatoryusingthistypeoftelescopeare
theEinsteinObservatory,ROSAT,andtheChandraXRayObservatory.
By2010,WolterfocusingXraytelescopesarepossibleupto79keV.[14]

Gammaraytelescopes

EinsteinObservatorywasaspace
basedfocusingopticalXray
telescopefrom1978. [14]

HigherenergyXrayandGammaraytelescopesrefrainfromfocusingcompletelyandusecodedaperture
masks:thepatternsoftheshadowthemaskcreatescanbereconstructedtoformanimage.
XrayandGammaraytelescopesareusuallyonEarthorbitingsatellitesorhighflyingballoonssincethe
Earth'satmosphereisopaquetothispartoftheelectromagneticspectrum.However,highenergyXraysand
gammaraysdonotformanimageinthesamewayastelescopesatvisiblewavelengths.Anexampleofthis
typeoftelescopeistheFermiGammaraySpaceTelescope.
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Thedetectionofveryhighenergygammarays,withshorterwavelengthandhigherfrequencythanregular
gammarays,requiresfurtherspecialization.AnexampleofthistypeofobservatoryisVERITAS.Veryhigh
energygammaraysarestillphotons,likevisiblelight,whereascosmicraysincludesparticleslikeelectrons,
protons,andheaviernuclei.
Adiscoveryin2012mayallowfocusinggammaraytelescopes.[17]Atphotonenergiesgreaterthan700keV,
theindexofrefractionstartstoincreaseagain.[17]

Highenergyparticletelescopes
Highenergyastronomyrequiresspecializedtelescopestomakeobservationssincemostoftheseparticlesgo
throughmostmetalsandglasses.
Inothertypesofhighenergyparticletelescopesthereisnoimageformingopticalsystem.Cosmicray
telescopesusuallyconsistofanarrayofdifferentdetectortypesspreadoutoveralargearea.ANeutrino
telescopeconsistsofalargemassofwaterorice,surroundedbyanarrayofsensitivelightdetectorsknownas
photomultipliertubes.EnergeticneutralatomobservatorieslikeInterstellarBoundaryExplorerdetectparticles
travelingatcertainenergies.

Othertypesoftelescopes
Astronomyisnotlimitedtousingelectromagneticradiation.
Additionalinformationcanbeobtainedusingothermedia.The
detectorsusedtoobservetheUniverseareanalogoustotelescopes,
theseare:
Gravitationalwavedetector,theequivalentofagravitational
wavetelescope,usedforgravitationalwaveastronomy.
Neutrinodetector,theequivalentofaneutrinotelescope,used
forneutrinoastronomy.

Typesofmount
Mainarticle:Telescopemount

EquatorialmountedKeplerian
telescope

Atelescopemountisamechanicalstructurewhichsupportsa
telescope.Telescopemountsaredesignedtosupportthemassofthe
telescopeandallowforaccuratepointingoftheinstrument.Manysortsofmountshavebeendevelopedover
theyears,withthemajorityofeffortbeingputintosystemsthatcantrackthemotionofthestarsastheEarth
rotates.Thetwomaintypesoftrackingmountare:
Altazimuthmount
Equatorialmount

Atmosphericelectromagneticopacity
Seealso:Airmass

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Sincetheatmosphereisopaqueformostoftheelectromagneticspectrum,onlyafewbandscanbeobserved
fromtheEarth'ssurface.Thesebandsarevisiblenearinfraredandaportionoftheradiowavepartofthe
spectrum.ForthisreasontherearenoXrayorfarinfraredgroundbasedtelescopesasthesehavetobe
observedfromorbit.Evenifawavelengthisobservablefromtheground,itmightstillbeadvantageousto
placeatelescopeonasatelliteduetoastronomicalseeing.

AdiagramoftheelectromagneticspectrumwiththeEarth'satmospherictransmittance(oropacity)andthetypesof
telescopesusedtoimagepartsofthespectrum.

Telescopicimagefromdifferenttelescopetypes
Differenttypesoftelescope,operatingindifferentwavelengthbands,providedifferentinformationaboutthe
sameobject.Togethertheyprovideamorecomprehensiveunderstanding.

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A6wideviewoftheCrabnebulasupernovaremnant,viewedatdifferentwavelengthsoflightby
varioustelescopes

Byspectrum
Telescopesthatoperateintheelectromagneticspectrum:
Name

Telescope

Astronomy

Wavelength

Radio

Radiotelescope

Radioastronomy
(Radarastronomy)

morethan1mm

Submillimetre Submillimetretelescopes* Submillimetreastronomy 0.1mm1mm

FarInfrared

Farinfraredastronomy

30m450m

Infrared

Infraredtelescope

Infraredastronomy

700nm1mm

Visible

Visiblespectrumtelescopes Visiblelightastronomy 400nm700nm

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolettelescopes*

Ultravioletastronomy

10nm400nm

Xray

Xraytelescope

Xrayastronomy

0.01nm10nm

Gammaray

Gammarayastronomy

lessthan0.01nm

*Linkstocategories.

Listsoftelescopes
Listofopticaltelescopes
Listoflargestopticalreflectingtelescopes
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Listoflargestopticalrefractingtelescopes
Listoflargestopticaltelescopeshistorically
Listofradiotelescopes
Listofsolartelescopes
Listofspaceobservatories
Listoftelescopepartsandconstruction
Listoftelescopetypes
Category:Telescopes
Category:Cosmicraytelescopes
Category:Gammaraytelescopes
Category:Gravitationalwavetelescopes
Category:Highenergyparticletelescopes
Category:Infraredtelescopes
Category:Submillimetretelescopes
Category:Ultraviolettelescopes
Category:Xraytelescopes

Seealso
Airmass
Amateurtelescopemaking
Angularresolution
ASCOMopenstandardsforcomputercontroloftelescopes
Bahtinovmask
Bioptictelescope
Careymask
Dynameter
fnumber
Firstlight
GoTotelescope
Hartmannmask
Keyholeproblem
Microscope
RemoteTelescopeMarkupLanguage
Robotictelescope
Timelineoftelescopetechnology
Timelineoftelescopes,observatories,andobservingtechnology

References
1. archive.org"GalileoHisLifeAndWork"BYJamesLaRosa"Galileousuallycalledthetelescopeocchicdeor
cannocchialeandnowhecallsthemicroscopeocchialino.ThenametelescopewasfirstsuggestedbyDemisianiin
1612"(http://www.archive.org/stream/galileohislifean011377mbp/galileohislifean011377mbp_djvu.txt)
2. Sobel(2000,p.43),Drake(1978,p.196)
3. Rosen,Edward,TheNamingoftheTelescope(1947)
4. galileo.rice.eduTheGalileoProject>Science>TheTelescopebyAlVanHelden:"TheHaguediscussedthepatent
applicationsfirstofHansLipperheyofMiddelburg,andthenofJacobMetiusofAlkmaar...anothercitizenof
Middelburg,SachariasJanssenhadatelescopeataboutthesametimebutwasattheFrankfurtFairwherehetriedto
sellit"(http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/instruments/telescope.html)

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5. AleckLoker,ProfilesinColonialHistory,page15(http://books.google.com/books?
id=Lq1rd1ecFCYC&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15&dq=Galileo++Dutch+telescope+in+June+1609&source=bl&ots=BXPF
Wi9EYE&sig=QKgRU4Fuj5lSSrY3OHNtlOk983M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=F7hbUMDmHqmP0QGLooDoAg&ved=0C
DcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Galileo%20%20Dutch%20telescope%20in%20June%201609&f=false)
6. Telescopehistory(http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/912/features/telescope_feature_912.html)
7. StargazerByFredWatson,Inc.NetLibrary,Page109(http://books.google.com/books?
id=2LZZginzib4C&pg=PA40&dq=intitle:Stargazer+digges+coins&lr=&as_brr=0&ei=BIwrSc6pB4OClQT4zfyxBg#
PPA108,M1)
8. AttemptsbyNiccolZucchiandJamesGregoryandtheoreticaldesignsbyBonaventuraCavalieri,MarinMersenne,
andGregoryamongothers
9. madehow.comInventorBiographiesJeanBernardLonFoucaultBiography(18191868)
(http://www.madehow.com/inventorbios/39/JeanBernardLonFoucault.html)
10. Bakichsamplepageschapter2,page3:"JohnDonavanStrong,ayoungphysicistattheCaliforniaInstituteof
Technology,wasoneofthefirsttocoatamirrorwithaluminum.Hediditbythermalvacuumevaporation.Thefirst
mirrorhealuminized,in1932,istheearliestknownexampleofatelescopemirrorcoatedbythistechnique."
(http://www.cambridge.org/uk/astronomy/features/amateur/files/p284.pdf)
11. TheJamesClerkMaxwellObservatory:Thelargestsubmillimetreradiotelescopeintheworld(http://astro
canada.ca/_en/a2111.html)
12. ESA/HubbleHubble'sInstruments:WFC3WideFieldCamera3
(http://www.spacetelescope.org/about/general/instruments/wfc3/)
13. BarrieWilliamJones,Thesearchforlifecontinued:planetsaroundotherstars,page111
(http://books.google.com/books?
id=5wX9aHqfBS0C&pg=PA111&dq=%22optical+telescope+is%22&lr=&cd=55#v=onepage&q=%22optical%20tele
scope%20is%22&f=false)
14. NuStar:Instrumentation:Optics(http://www.nustar.caltech.edu/aboutnustar/instrumentation/optics)
15. Wolter,H.(1952),"GlancingIncidenceMirrorSystemsasImagingOpticsforXrays",Ann.Physik10:94,
Bibcode:1952AnP...445...94W,doi:10.1002/andp.19524450108.
16. Wolter,H.(1952),"AGeneralizedSchwarschildMirrorSystemsForUseatGlancingIncidenceforXrayImaging",
Ann.Physik10(45):286,Bibcode:1952AnP...445..286W,doi:10.1002/andp.19524450410.
17. TimWoganSilicon'prism'bendsgammarays(May2012)PhysicsWorld.com
(http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2012/may/09/siliconprismbendsgammarays)

Sources
ContemporaryAstronomySecondEdition,JayM.Pasachoff,SaundersCollegesPublishing1981,
ISBN0030578612
Elliott,RobertS.(1966),Electromagnetics,McGrawHill
Rashed,RoshdiMorelon,Rgis(1996),EncyclopediaoftheHistoryofArabicScience,1&3,
Routledge,ISBN0415124107
Wade,NicholasJ.Finger,Stanley(2001),"Theeyeasanopticalinstrument:fromcameraobscurato
Helmholtz'sperspective",Perception30(10):11571177,doi:10.1068/p3210,PMID11721819
Sabra,A.I.Hogendijk,J.P.(2003).TheEnterpriseofScienceinIslam:NewPerspectives.MITPress.
pp.85118.ISBN0262194821.

Externallinks
GalileotoGammaCepheiTheHistoryoftheTelescope
(http://telescopes.stardate.org/)
TheGalileoProjectTheTelescopebyAlVanHelden
(http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/instruments/telescope.html)
"TheFirstTelescopes".PartofanexhibitfromCosmicJourney:
AHistoryofScientificCosmology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescope

Wikiquotehasquotations
relatedto:Telescope
WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoTelescope.
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(http://www.aip.org/history/cosmology/tools/toolsfirsttelescopes.htm)bytheAmericanInstituteof
Physics
OutsidetheOptical:OtherKindsofTelescopes
(http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys230/lectures/nonoptical/nonoptical.html)
Gray,MeghanMerrifield,Michael(2009)."TelescopeDiameter".SixtySymbols.BradyHaranforthe
UniversityofNottingham.
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Telescope&oldid=685802195"
Categories: Telescopes Astronomicalimaging Astronomicalinstruments Dutchinventions
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