telescope diameter

  • The Hubble Space Telescope

    The Hubble Space Telescope

    The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most famous telescopes in the world. Oops, excuse me — one of the most famous telescopes built. Hubble, after all, is certainly not in this world. Unless you call the universe the “world,”…

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  • Interferometry

    Interferometry

    Imagine you have an image like one of these. This object is faint and faraway, so you can’t make out much more detail. You know that other stars like it — closer, brighter stars — have looked like this and…

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  • Improved Telescope Mirrors

    Improved Telescope Mirrors

    When it comes to telescopes, bigger is always better. Bigger means more light-gathering power and better resolution. And a longer telescope — meaning, a longer focal length — can actually do wonders for your magnification power. Light-gathering power, by the way,…

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  • Improved Reflecting Telescopes

    Improved Reflecting Telescopes

    Can you tell the difference between these two telescopes? I’ll give you a hint. They are both reflectors. I know I wrote before that you’ll normally find the eyepiece (the little bit tacked onto the telescope tube) on the side with…

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  • Telescope Powers

    Telescope Powers

    Have you seen one of these guys before? You probably have, even if you don’t recognize this brand-new innovation. This is the European Extremely Large Telescope, or the E-ELT. I know, imaginative name, huh? Anyway, it’s not all that different…

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