Astronomical Instrumentation 2

Dr. Anis Nazihah binti Mat Daud

(K03312)
Introduction
 Astronomers are interested in electromagnetic radiation from space because it
carries clues to the nature of stars, planets, and other celestial objects.
 Earth’s atmosphere is opaque to most electromagnetic radiation.
 Gamma rays, X-rays, and some radio waves are absorbed high in Earth’s
atmosphere.
 A layer of ozone (O3) at altitudes of about 15–30 km absorbs ultraviolet
radiation.
 Water vapour in the lower atmosphere absorbs the longer- wavelength
infrared radiation.
Introduction
 Only visible light, some shorter-wavelength infrared, and some radio
waves reach Earth’s surface through two wavelength regions.
 Visual/optic window is roughly between [375 000 to 1 000 000]
GHz
 radio window is between [0.015 to 1300] GHz.
 Astronomical instrumentations to investigate EM radiation from
space
 Optical telescope (Refracting telescope & reflecting telescope)
 Radio telescope
Telescope
Magnification Resolving power
 The ability of a telescope to  The ability of a telescope to
enlarge an image, depends on separate objects with the small
the combination of lenses used. angles between them.

ft . 
M  
fe D
M : magnification  : angular resolving power (in rad)
f t : focal length of telescope  : wavelength of light
f e : focal length of eyepiece D : diameter of lens aperture
Telescope
Focal ratio (f-ratio) Plate scale
 The ratio between the focal  The number of degrees, or
length and the diameter of an arcminutes or arcseconds,
aperture. corresponding to a number of
inches, or centimeter or
millimeter at the focal plane of
a telescope.
F 
f  P
D fD
f : focal ratio P : plate scale (arcseconds per mm)
F : focal length of aperture f : focal ratio
D : diameter of aperture D : diameter of aperture
Refracting telescope
 A refracting telescope uses a large diameter objective lens with a
long focal length to form an image and a small eyepiece lens with a
short focal length to magnify the image.
 In modern astronomy, a CCD (charge-coupled device) camera replaces
the eyepiece and is placed at the focal plane to record image in digital
format.
Refracting telescope
(History & Design)
Galilean telescope (1609)
 consists of a convex objective
lens and a concave eyepiece
lens.
 no intermediary focus, results in
an upright image. 
 could view the phases of Venus,
and was able to see craters on
the Moon and four moons
orbiting Jupiter.
 Disadvantages:
 magnified objects about 30
times
 images were blurry and
distorted
Refracting telescope
(History & Design)
Keplerian telescope (1611)
 invented by Johannes Kepler in
1611
 consists of a convex objective
and eyepiece lenses.
 much wider field of view
 Result in real, diminished and
inverted image.

Engraved illustration of a 46 m (150 ft) focal

length Keplerian astronomical refracting
telescope built by Johannes Hevelius
Refracting telescope
(History & Design)
Achromatic refractors
 was invented by  Chester Moore
Hall, (1733), patented by John
Dollond (1758)
 uses an achromatic lens to correct for
chromatic and spherical aberration.
 a concave lens made out of Flint
glass, has relatively high
dispersion,
 a convex element made of Crown
glass, has a lower dispersion
 shorter focal lengths
 required less maintenance than metal
mirrors
 Discover  the planet Neptune and
the Moons of Mars.
Refracting telescope
(History & Design)
Apochromatic refractors
 have objectives built with special,
extra-low dispersion materials.
 are designed to bring three
wavelengths (typically red, green,
and blue) into focus in the same
plane.
 contain elements of fluorite or
special, extra-low dispersion (ED)
glass in the objective
 produce a very crisp image that is
virtually free of chromatic aberration
 Disadvantages:
 more expensive than telescopes of
other types with a comparable
aperture.
Refracting telescope
(Working Principle)
Refracting telescope
 Two converging lenses located
at opposite ends of a long tube.
 The lens closest to the object
is called the objective lens
(focal length fo) and forms a
real image, I1 of the distant
object.
 The second lens, called the
eyepiece (focal length fe),
acts as a magnifier.
fo
M 
fe
M : magnifying power
f o : focal length of objective lens
f e : focal length of eyepiece
Refracting telescope
(Advantages)
 There are not reflections or interruption of the light path
 There is near permanent optical alignment, minimum maintenance,
and long focal ratios can mean the use of longer focus, simpler
and eyepieces.
  Refractor telescopes are rugged. After the initial alignment, their
optical system is more resistant to misalignment than the reflector
telescopes.
 The glass surface inside the tube is sealed from the atmosphere so it
rarely needs cleaning.
 Since the tube is closed off from the outside, air currents and effects
due to changing temperatures are eliminated. This means that the
images are steadier and sharper than those from a reflector telescope
of the same size.
Refracting telescope
(Disadvantages)
 high initial cost relative to the reflector telescope
 large high-quality lenses are more costly to produce
 All refractors telescopes suffer from an effect called the chromatic
aberration that produces a rainbow of colors around the image.
• use the multiple compensating lenses
• uses a very long objective focal length
 Refractor telescopes can suffer from a defect called the spherical
aberration so that not all of the light is focused on the same point.
Reflecting telescope
 A reflecting telescope is a telescope that uses a single or a
combination of curved mirrors that reflect to gather and
focus light.
 Most of modern telescopes are reflectors.
Reflecting telescope
(History & Design)
Newtonian telescope Magnification
 invented by Sir Isaac
f
Newton (1642–1727), M 
fe
using a concave primary M : magnifying power
mirror and a flat
f : focal length of primary mirror
diagonal secondary
f e : focal length of eyepiece
mirror.
 Simplest type of telescope
Reflecting telescope
(History & Design)
Gregorian telescope
 designed by James Gregory (17th century), and first built
by Robert Hooke (1673).
 consists of two concave mirrors; primary mirror (a
concave paraboloid) and secondary mirror (a concave
ellipsoid) .
 Results in an upright image, making it useful for
terrestrial observations
Reflecting telescope
(History & Design)
Classic Cassegrain telescope
 was first published in a 1672 design attributed to Laurent Cassegrain.
 combination of a primary concave mirror (parabolic) and a
secondary convex mirror (hyperbolic).
 Advantages:
 having a large ratio of focal length to primary mirror diameter. This
allows much greater magnification
 The folding and diverging effect of the secondary mirror creates a
telescope with a long focal length while having a short tube length.
Reflecting telescope
(History & Design)
Ritchey-Chrétien telescope
 a specialized Cassegrain reflector which has two hyperbolic mirrors
 was invented by George Willis Ritchey and Henri Chrétien in the early
1910s
 Advantages:
 free of coma and spherical aberration at a flat focal plane, making
it well suited for wide field and photographic observations
Reflecting telescope
(History & Design)
Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope
 is a catadioptric telescope that combines a Cassegrain reflector's
optical path with a Schmidt corrector plate to make a compact
astronomical instrument that uses simple spherical surfaces.
 Advantages :
 reduces spherical aberration by using a 'corrector plate'. This is a
specially designed lens, having properties of both convex and
concave lenses.
Reflecting telescope
(History & Design)
Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope
 Is a catadioptric telescope design that combines a spherical mirror
with a weakly negative meniscus lens
 was patented in 1941 by Russian optician Dmitri Dmitrievich
Maksutov
 Advantage:
 corrects the problems of off-axis aberrations such as coma found in
reflecting telescopes and chromatic aberration.
Reflecting telescope
(History & Design)
Argunov–Cassegrain telescope
 Is a catadioptric telescope design first introduced in 1972
by P. P. Argunov.
 the classical Cassegrain secondary mirror is replaced by a
sub-aperture secondary corrector group consisting of
three air-spaced elements; two lenses and a Mangin
mirror (the element farthest from the primary mirror).
Reflecting telescope
(History & Design)
Klevtsov–Cassegrain telescope
 Is a catadioptric Cassegrain telescope that uses a
spherical primary mirror and a sub-aperture secondary
corrector group composed of a small lens and a Mangin
mirror.
Reflecting telescope
(Working Principle)
Reflecting telescope
(Advantages)
 Reflecting telescopes are not subject to the chromatic aberration
 the reflected light does not disperse according to the wavelength, and all the
wavelengths will reflect off the mirror in the same way.
 Telescope tube of a reflector is shorter than that of a refractor of the same diameter
 reduces the cost of the tube,
 easier and cheaper to build large.
 easier to mount because the back of the mirror can be used to attach to the
mount.
 They are also generally more affordable
 the mirrors are cheaper to produce than the lenses
 the mirrors can produce less optical aberrations than the lenses.
 The reflector telescopes are cheaper to make than refractors of the same size
because
 the light is reflecting off the objective rather than passing through it. So, only
one side of the reflector telescope’s objective needs to be perfect.
Reflecting telescope
(Disadvantages)
 The reflector telescope’s tube is open to the outside and the optics
need frequent cleaning.
 The secondary mirror and its supports can produce diffraction effects.
The bright objects have spikes.
 Different reflectors use different shapes of mirrors
 The parabolic mirrors will focus all incoming light rays to a single
point. The images from a parabolic mirror will have a defect called
the coma, where images far from the center of the field of view
are elongated.
 The spherical mirror surface is relatively easy to make but
different parts of a spherical mirror have slightly different focal
lengths. The images will be fuzzy.
Reflecting telescope
(Disadvantages)
 Mirrors may need regular re-alignment as they can easily slip out of
alignment due to knocks and bumps or even the
temperature changes.
 can be susceptible to the spherical aberrations which can interfere
with the image quality unless the mirrors and other optics are kept at
the same temperature as the outside air.
 There will be the air currents inside the telescope that will cause
images to be fuzzy.