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Chapter 6: Problem 13

No major observatory has a Newtonian reflector as its primary instrument, whereas Newtonian reflectors are extremely popular among amateur astronomers. Explain why this is so.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Newtonian reflectors are popular among amateur astronomers due to their cost-effectiveness, portability, and ease of creation. In contrast, major observatories prefer other designs, despite being more expensive and complex, because they offer higher resolution and are more suited to diverse observations.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the attributes of a Newtonian Reflector

A Newtonian reflector is a type of reflecting telescope invented by the British scientist Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727), using a concave primary mirror and a flat diagonal secondary mirror. They are simple to make, portable and cheaper compared to other telescope designs.
02

Identify the needs of amateur astronomers

Amateur astronomers often need portable and less expensive telescopes. Because Newtonian reflectors are relatively easy to make and cheaper, they suit the financial and portability needs of amateur astronomers. They also offer a wide aperture, allowing for excellent observation of astronomical entities.
03

Identify the needs of professional observatories

Professional observatories, on the other hand, require telescopes that can deliver high resolution and are able to observe a variety of things in the universe. This might include objects that are faint due to their immense distance from Earth or their lack of inherent brightness.
04

Reason out the preference

Newtonian reflectors, while cost-effective and easier to manage, may be limited in terms of the resolution they can deliver. Large professional observatories often opt for different telescope structures like refractor telescopes and other reflector designs, such as the Cassegrain and Ritchey-Chretien designs, despite being more expensive, complex, and larger. These types offer greater resolutions and are more suited to diverse observations.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Obtain a telescope during the daytime along with several eyepieces of various focal lengths. If you can determine the telescope's focal length, calculate the magnifying powers of the eyepieces. Focus the telescope on some familiar object, such as a distant lamppost or tree. DO NOT FOCUS ON THE SUN! Looking directly at the Sun can cause blindness. Describe the image you see through the telescope. Is it upside down? How does the image move as you slowly and gently shift the telescope left and right or up and down? Examine the eyepieces, noting their focal lengths. By changing the eyepieces, examine the distant object under different magnifications. How do the field of view and the quality of the image change as you go from low power to high power?

Why must astronomers use satellites and Earth-orbiting observatories to study the heavens at X-ray and gamma-ray wavelengths?

The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) at the McDonald Observatory in Texas has a spherical mirror, which is the least expensive shape to grind. Consequently, the telescope has spherical aberration. Explain why this doesn't affect the usefulness of HET for spectroscopy. (The telescope is not used for imaging.)

Why is it necessary to keep an infrared telescope at a very low temperature?

Compare an optical reflecting telescope and a radio telescope. What do they have in common? How are they different?
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