ASTR 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Diffraction-Limited System, Active Optics, Diffraction

• School: University of Victoria
• Department: Astronomy
• Course: ASTR 101
• Professor: Travis Martin

Document Summary

One big issue with telescopes is the angular resolution - the ability to tell the difference between two points in space. This is improved with the number of pixels in the camera. For a constant amount of light, more pixels = less light per pixel. Segmented telescope: the mirror doesn"t have to be one single piece. It can be assembled from many smaller mirrors. The total mirror area is all that matters, not the size of individual mirrors. Atmosphere acts as a lens (it is curved) - light entering from space - refraction and dispersion occurs (this is why the sky appears blue). When you zoom in you see discoloration: these colours are not present. Four different images of the sun - combining shows more insight in active regions than individual pictures do alone. Dispersion is a big issue (until now atmospheric blurring was big issue - atmosphere is not uniform)