Well, sweetheart, big telescopes prefer the reflective life because mirrors don't give a damn about chromatic aberration like those needy lenses do. Plus, mirrors are easier to clean, and who needs that high-maintenance drama from refractors anyway? So, to put it simply: reflectors rule, refractors drool.
Professional telescopes often select reflectors over refractors as their primary optical design because reflectors are generally more cost-effective and can be made with larger apertures, allowing for better light-gathering capabilities and higher resolution images. Additionally, reflectors are less prone to chromatic aberration, which can distort images in refracting telescopes.
Most large telescopes are reflectors because they can be made with larger apertures and are less affected by chromatic aberration compared to refractors. Reflectors also allow for easier mounting of additional instruments and have better light-gathering capabilities.
A refractor has no obstacles in the image path which can cause diffraction. reflectors have "spiders" (newtonians) and/or multiple optical elements which result in diffraction and lower respective image quality. both types have their advantages and disadvantages. given any specific objective size, the refractor design is generally more expensive, and at a certain point (about 40"), refractors become infeasible due to the weight of the primary objective lens and the length of the tube. reflectors can, these days, be built to any dimension via multiple objective mirrors all controlled by computer to perfect alignment (well, within a reasonable degree of accuracy at least). refractors are generally considered to be the instrument of choice for planetary viewing due to the pureness of the image path. reflectors are the instrument of choice for deep space and wide field viewing, due to the affordability of superior light gathering power of large mirrors vs smaller objective lenses for a given cost. a large folded reflector is far more portable than a large refractor, as well as more affordable. so a determination of "which is better?" becomes dependent on what type of viewing you wish to do, how portable the system needs to be, and what your budget is.
Inside the dome are two additional reflectors that collect the radiation reflected off the main dish and bring it to a point focus. These two reflectors are called the secondary and tertiary reflectors. The way the three reflectors work together is according to "Gregorian optics", named after the Scottish seventeenth century mathematician, James Gregory. He designed a reflecting telescope whose optics serve as the prototype for many telescopes including the Arecibo 1.4 GHz Array in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Sources: http://www.naic.edu/ http://www.pbs.org/safarchive/3_ask/archive/qna/3291_cordes.html
Due to the dust in the earth's atmosphere, the vision of a telescope on earth will be poorer. But space telescopes can observe cosmos clearly due to the absence of dust or any other such particles.
Professional telescopes often select reflectors over refractors as their primary optical design because reflectors are generally more cost-effective and can be made with larger apertures, allowing for better light-gathering capabilities and higher resolution images. Additionally, reflectors are less prone to chromatic aberration, which can distort images in refracting telescopes.
Most large telescopes are reflectors because they can be made with larger apertures and are less affected by chromatic aberration compared to refractors. Reflectors also allow for easier mounting of additional instruments and have better light-gathering capabilities.
The largest visible light telescopes are now all ground-based, such as the Keck Observatory in Hawaii or the Very Large Telescope in Chile. These telescopes provide high-resolution images and data of celestial objects in visible light.
Optical TelescopesReflecting (mirrors) Refracting (lenses)Catadioptric (combination of lenses and mirrors)Radio TelescopesFixed antennae Phased arrayMovable dishX-ray TelescopesGamma ray Telescopes
Most professional research telescopes are reflectors because reflective surfaces provide higher light-gathering capabilities, allowing for the collection of more light and producing brighter images. Reflectors are also easier to construct in larger sizes compared to refracting telescopes, which helps in observing fainter astronomical objects. Additionally, mirrors used in reflectors are less affected by chromatic aberration, improving the overall image quality.
Refracting telescopes suffer from chromatic aberration, refracting telescopes have several surfaces to shape and polish, making large glass lenses without interior defects is very difficult, and large glass lenses are more difficult to support than large mirrors.
The two types are refractor and reflector. In a refracting telescope, the light comes in THROUGH a magnifying LENS where it is REFRACTED (bent) to focus the light into an objective lens. In a reflecting telescope, the light BOUNCES OFF a curved magnifying MIRROR , and then reflected again on a secondary mirror to direct the light into an objective lens. Among the advantages of a reflecting telescope are that in a refracting lens, the thickness of the lens can absorb some of the light, while a mirror reflects all of the light. Additionally, a reflecting telescope can "fold" the telescope into a much more compact instrument, which is essential with especially large devices. A large refracting telescope would be enormously heavy and cumbersome.
Actually, there are at least three types. Refractor: A series of lenses, the classic "spy glass" style, carried to the extreme. Then there is the Reflector: Invented by Isaac Newton, uses a large mirror ground to a parabolic curve, and focused at the eyepiece. Lastly there is the various designs of catadioptric telescope, the most common being called the "Schmidt-Cassegrain". They use a series of different mirrors and an eyepiece to try and strike the balance between refractors (small field, large image, but dull and fuzzy), and reflectors (large field, small image, but sharp and clear). They give excellent results, but are far and away the most expensive type for the amateur. The mounting of a telescope is almost as important as the type. Simplest, most common, and least expensive is the alt-azimuth mount, but it has a half-dozen built-in frustrations. The equatorial mount is fussier to set up, requires more "homework" to use, but is much more satisfying in the long run.
They are refracting telescopes(:Large refracting telescopes are no longer built because there were too many problems with them. There was color distortion, light pollution, and when the object hits the focal point it turns upside down. Then you don't see the object for what it really is, you see it upside down and weird-ed out. They are to complicated and scientists believed they should just stick with the simple, small, original refracting telescopes!!!!-Meghan Betts (8th grader)
Two large objective lenses.
Large telescopes have improved resolution over small telescopes and as such can gather clearer images of objects further away.
Telescopes are not dangerous in normal operation. A large telescope might hurt you if it fell on you.