The first reflecting telescope was designed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1668. A reflecting telescope uses a curved mirror to focus the light. Light from distant objects such as stars and galaxies enters the telescope tube in parallel rays. These rays are reflected from the concave mirror to a diagonal plane mirror. The diagonal mirror reflects the light through a hole in the side of the telescope tube to a lens in the eyepiece. Reflecting telescopes can be made larger than refracting telescopes because the curved mirror can be supported along its entire surface, while a large lens can only be supported at its edges. A large surface can collect more light from distant stars than a small surface. Modern reflecting telescopes include the 508-cm (200-in) reflector at the Palomar Observatory in California and the 400-cm (158-in) reflector at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory near La Serena, Chile.
Hotmail
Messenger
My MSN
MSN Directory
