Question

Question #5: Explain how a reflecting telescope is different from a refracting telescope. List the two different types of reflecting telescopes given in your text.

Answer 1

The main component in a reflecting telescope is a mirror where the light will bounce off and is then focused into a smaller area. In contrast, a refracting telescope uses lenses that focus the light as it travels towards the other end.

Two different types of reflecting telescopes are:

1.Cassegrain reflector

2.Newtonian telescope

Explanation:

• The distinction between the two is in how they manipulate the incoming light in order to magnify the image. The main component in a reflecting telescope is a mirror where the light will bounce off and is then focused into a smaller area.
• Key advantage of reflecting telescopes is how big you can make them. With lenses, the maximum size is limited to about one meter, largely because of the problems stated above as well as the skyrocketing costs.
• The Newtonian telescope, also called the Newtonian reflector, is a type of reflecting telescope invented Sir Isaac Newton, using a concave primary mirror and a flat diagonal secondary mirror. The Newtonian telescope's simple design has made it very popular with amateur telescope makers.
• The Cassegrain reflector is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror, often used in optical telescopes and radio antennas, the main characteristic being that the optical path folds back onto itself, relative to the optical system's primary mirror entrance aperture.