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37211_Ward's World+MGH Telescope

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Telescope Article by: Jay M. Pasachoff, Hopkins Observatory, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts. Robert D. Chapman, Laboratory for Solar Physics and Astrophysics, Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Beltsville, Maryland. Access to this content is available to Ward's World readers for free from McGraw Hill's AccessScience, an award-winning, digital STEM resource that provides immediate, authoritative answers to students' thirst for scientific knowledge on topics such as climate change, virology, pollution, and more. Ward's World and McGraw Hill have partnered to offer educators a no-obligation, free trial subscription to this product. Request your free trial today and discover how valuable AccessScience can be for you and your students. An instrument used to collect, measure, or analyze electro- magnetic or other radiation from distant objects. A telescope overcomes the limitations of the human vision by increasing the ability to see faint objects and discern fine details. In addition, when used in conjunction with modern detectors, a telescope can "see" light that is otherwise invisible to the human eye (Fig. 1). The wavelength of the light of interest can have a profound effect on the design of a telescope. By analogy, detectors of particles from space are also known as telescopes. History The first substantiated record of the invention of the telescope dates back to 1608 CE, when the Dutch eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey sought a patent for an optical magnifying device. The Italian physicist and astronomer Galileo heard reports of this invention and crafted his own telescope in 1609. With this instrument, Galileo made the first astronomical observations of bodies including the Moon, Sun, planets of the solar system, and distant stars (Fig. 2). + ward ' s science Content • History • Optical telescopes • Refracting telescopes • Reflecting telescopes • Catadioptric telescopes • Solar telescopes • Radio telescopes • Infrared telescopes • Ultraviolet telescopes • X-ray telescopes • Gamma-ray telescopes • Cosmic-ray telescopes • Neutrino telescopes Key Concepts • A telescope is an instrument used to collect, measure, or analyze electromagnetic or other radiation from distant objects. • There are about as many different kinds of telescopes as there are types of radiation; these include optical (visible light), solar, radio, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray, gamma-ray, cosmic-ray, and neutrino telescopes. • The three basic kinds of optical telescope are refracting telescopes, which focus light with lenses, involving lenses; reflecting systems, which use mirrors; and catadioptric systems, which use a combination of lenses and mirrors. • Astronomers use spectrographs, charge-coupled devices (CCDs), adaptive optics, interferometry, and other technologies to augment telescope performance and overcome the limits of poor seeing.

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