1) Observing the universe

1.1) Galileos telescopes

Galileo did not invent the telescope, but he was the first person to construct one
so that it could produce a sufficiently clear image to observe features on the
Moon, which today can be seen with everyday binoculars.
A crude form of telescope, known as perspicillums, made from roughly ground
glass lenses placed at either end of a hollow tube, were sold as childrens toys
and novelty items. Believed to have been invented by at least two different
Dutch spectacle makers, they could make distant objects such as church
steeples appear closer. Galileo improved the perspicillum. He used better quality
glass from the glassblowers around Venice in Italy, which he then ground himself
to produce better lenses. He called the improved the device a telescope.

Fig. 1: Two of Galileos telescopes on display at the museum of science in Florence, Italy

The result was much improved, so much so that the mountains and craters of the
Moon were clearly visible to Galileo. However, in Galileos time, all heavenly
bodies were considered perfect. This view had been held since Aristotle, and
was incorporated into the teaching of the Catholic Church (along with the belief
that the Earth was the centre of the Universe). Clearly, to Galileo, this was not
the case. Using the angle of the Sun, Galileo made estimates of the heights of
the lunar mountains and showed that the craters were deep with high sides
around them. Vast regions of plainsmares (meaning oceans) were mapped by
Galileo with the aid of his refined telescope.

Fig. 2: The Moon, first observed through a telescope by Galileo

1.2) Atmospheric absorption of the electromagnetic spectrum

Fig. 3: The electromagnetic spectrum. The wavebands are regions within the
spectrum that have common characteristics and uses.

As indicated in table above, not all of the electromagnetic spectrum can

penetrate the atmosphere of the Earth. Despite the fact that all components of
the electromagnetic spectrum strike the outer atmosphere from space, only
visible light, radio waves and some UV and IR make it through to the ground. This
means that ground-based telescopes can operate only in the visible spectrum or

in the radio bands. Observations of other frequencies must be carried out either
from a plane or high-altitude balloon in the upper atmosphere or from a
spacecraft above the atmosphere, such as the Hubble Space Telescope.
1.3) Telescope
There are many different designs for telescopes, yet all of the popular designs
are based upon just two basic arrangements refracting telescopes and
reflecting telescopes.
1.3.1) Refracting telescopes

Fig. 4: The arrangement of lenses inside an astronomical refracting telescope

Lenses of a refracting telescope are used to gather and focus the starlight by
refraction, or bending, of the rays. The light enters at one end and is focused by
two lenses to form an image in an observing eye located at the other end. This
arrangement of lenses causes an image to be seen upside-down and back-tofront; however, this is not a problem when observing stars.
Refracting telescopes are preferred for planetary and lunar observations but not
for observing stars because the lenses can introduce image errors, and because
large lenses are expensive to manufacture accurately. In addition, the
unobstructed light path of a refractor results in good image contrast, which is
important when observing planets.
1.3.2) Reflecting telescopes

Fig. 5: A common Newtonian reflecting telescope

Figure 5 shows the type of reflecting telescope found in NSW high schools. This
type of telescope uses a parabolic concave mirror to gather and focus the
starlight by reflection of the rays. The most basic design is the prime focus. This
is the design used by radio telescopes, with the signal coming from the detector
in electronic form. For optical work, however, it is necessary to direct the light
out of the telescope tube. School telescopes use the design known as a
Newtonian reflector since Isaac Newton first suggested it. Larger research
telescopes use the Cassegrain design which directs the light through a hole in
the primary mirror. This design can be produced on a large scale far less
expensively than similarly sized refracting telescopes.

Fig. 6: A number of reflecting telescope designs: (a) the prime focus, (b) the
Newtonian, and (c) the Cassegrain
1.3.3) Telescopes performance
Many newcomers to telescopes can become unduly concerned with
magnification. Of the three performance measures discussed here, magnification
is the least important. In fact, it is mentioned here only because its discussion
demonstrates the practical effect of changing the eyepiece lens of a telescope.

Fig. 7:
The focal length of a convex lens or concave mirror is the distance
between the lens/mirror and the focus when parallel light enters.
Any convex lens or concave mirror has a focal length, as shown in figure 7. A
telescope has two focal lengths of concern the focal length, f, of the telescope
itself (that of the objective lens in a simple refractor, or that of the primary mirror
in a simple reflector) and the focal length, fe, of the telescope eyepiece. The
magnification, m, of the telescope can be calculated using the expression:

Example 1: A telescope has a focal length of 125 cm and it is fitted with an

eyepiece with a focal length of 12.5 mm. Determine its magnification.
Answer:
M = f/fe = 1.25/0.0125 = 100 x magnification
Example 2: The telescope in sample example 1 is now fitted with a different
eyepiece, this time with a focal length of 20 mm. What is the new magnification?
Answer:
M = f/fe = 1.25/0.02 = 62.5 x magnification
This lower magnification may seem less desirable. However, it will give a wider
and brighter field of view, which can make the job of locating specific stars
easier.
The sensitivity of a telescope is its ability to pick up faint objects for observation,
or its light-gathering power. This depends upon the collecting area of the lens or
mirror, since a larger area means more light is being gathered and focused to
form an image. The collecting area of the telescope depends upon its radius, or
diameter. Therefore, a larger diameter telescope will usually mean a more
sensitive one.
The theoretical resolution of a telescope is its ability to distinguish two close
objects as separate images. It is measured as an angle and depends upon the
wavelength of light, or other electromagnetic radiation being collected, as well as

the diameter of the telescope. The following formula for resolution is sometimes
called the Dawes limit:

Note that a smaller angle indicates a higher resolution.

Example 3: What is the theoretical resolution of the 64 m Parkes radio telescope
when observing radio waves of wavelength 3 cm?
Answer:

Example 4: What is the theoretical resolution of a 100 mm Newtonian reflecting

telescope when observing starlight with a wavelength of approximately 500 nm?
Answer:

Example 5: Determine the theoretical resolution of the 3.9 m Anglo-Australian

Telescope when observing starlight of wavelength 500 nm.
Answer:

We can see from the examples above that a radio telescope, by the nature of the
wavelengths it observes, is restricted to very poor resolutions. However, they
usually have very large collecting areas and therefore can be very sensitive
devices. Another factor contributing to their sensitivity is that radio signals can
be amplified with very little increase in noise using electronic amplifiers. This
cannot be done with light signals.

By comparison, when looking at the stars with just a 100 mm optical telescope
you will be enjoying a far superior resolution of about 1 arcsec. However, this
telescope is much less sensitive than a radio telescope. To look at the stars with
increased sensitivity, we will need to move to a larger optical telescope such as
the Anglo-Australian Telescope which, by virtue of its 3.9 m mirror, enjoys a
much brighter field of view. Theoretically, it should also enjoy a much greater
resolution than the small telescope. Ironically, however, it does not because of
atmospheric blurring, or seeing.
1.4) Seeing
If you look across a car park or along a road on a very hot day you will see
ripples rise from the surface. You notice it because the moving hot air distorts the
light passing through it. The same thing occurs to starlight entering the Earths
atmosphere. Turbulent air distorts the path of the starlight through it, making the
stars appear to twinkle, and blurs their image. This effect is known as seeing,
and will normally blur the image of a star to about 1 arcsec. Thus, seeing refers
to the twinkling and blurring of a stars light due to atmospheric distortion.
There is some effect when observing wavelengths of a few millimetres water
vapour and oxygen in the atmosphere tend to absorb radio signals of this
wavelength. In addition, rain can be a factor since raindrops are a few
millimetres in size. However, wavelengths longer than this are not affected by
atmospheric blurring.
There is one other obstacle to viewing that should be mentioned the Sun.
Obviously the Sun interferes with optical viewing, restricting optical astronomers
to night viewing. Less obviously, the Sun is also a source of interference for radio
astronomers since it is a strong radio source. This usually prevents radio
telescope observations within 90 of the Sun, unless a particularly strong radio
source is being viewed, such as certain quasars.
1.5) Modern methods to improve telescope performance
1.5.1) Interferometry
Interferometry is a technique used to combine the data from several elements of
an antenna array in order to achieve a higher resolution.
The resolution problem of radio telescopes can be overcome by using many radio
dishes laid out in a large pattern, and then combining their signals together to
make them behave as a single radio telescope with a much larger diameter.
Interferometry techniques have also been used to unblur the images from large
optical telescopes. Speckle interferometry uses many images from a telescope,
keeping each exposure short enough to freeze the atmospheric blur. A computer
is then used to process the many exposures and extract more exact information
about the star or other object.
1.5.2) Active optics

Active optics uses a slow feedback system to correct sagging or other

deformities in the primary mirror of large modern reflector telescopes.
In the past, large telescopes such as the AAT used primary mirrors with a
thickness about one sixth of their diameter in order to ensure that they did not
deform as the telescope was moved around the sky. However, there is a new
generation of 8 to 10 m reflecting telescopes that use thin mirrors just 20 cm
thick approximately. These mirrors will certainly change shape as the telescope
changes direction or heats up or cools down. However, the back of the mirror is
fitted with many actuators that can push or pull the mirror back into the correct
shape. When the light leaves the primary mirror, but before it reaches the final
lens (where the eyepiece is in a small telescope), it is slowly sampled by a
wavefront sensor. This is a type of interferometer, which can detect how the
incoming light has been altered. By sampling slowly, the effect of atmospheric
turbulence is eliminated and any remaining effect is then due to deformities in
the primary mirror. A computer calculates the required shape adjustments and
then moves the actuators as required every few minutes.
1.5.3) Adaptive optics
Adaptive optics use a fast feedback system to attempt to correct for effects of
atmospheric turbulence.

Fig. 8: A typical adaptive optical system layout

Adaptive optics uses a more aggressive approach in an attempt to correct effects
of atmospheric turbulence. A wavefront sensor is still employed between the
primary mirror and the lens, as shown in figure 8. This time, however, rapid
computer-calculated corrections are fed to one or two secondary mirrors that
straighten out the light. These corrections are made at up to 1000 times per
second, and this speed is the major difference between adaptive and active
systems. One of the possible secondary mirrors is called a tip-tilt mirror, which
is able to adjust for slight changes in the position of the light. The other is a
deliberately deformable mirror to adjust for deformities in the light. Making this
type of image correction presents a considerable technological challenge and
some development is still required before many large telescopes can successfully
adopt adaptive optics.