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Telescope parts: Seeing the universe up close

Telescope parts can be simple or complex. You can build a telescope at home from scavenged materials or you can purchase a ready-made one for thousands of dollars. Either way, the telescope parts are the same.

In its simplest form a telescope is a tube of a specific length with a lens at one end and an eyepiece at the other. That's all the telescope parts there are in a simple refractor-type instrument. Point the reflector toward the night sky. Light from celestial objects enters the tube through the large lens at one end, called the objective and focuses at a point inside the tube. Then a smaller lens at the other end of the tube, called the eyepiece, brings the image to your eye. Essentially what a telescope does is magnify distant objects and make them appear closer.

We have seen that telescope parts can be very simple. Invented by Hans Lippershey in 1608, the telescope was first used by the military. Galileo turned the instrument skyward and the modern science of astronomy was born. Around 1611, Kepler improved on Lippershey's and Galileo's designs. His version of the telescope design survives to this day. All these telescopes were all lens-in-a-tube refractor models, the simplest and most limited types.

Telescope parts, like the lenses in a refractor, have a practical physical limit. It's too difficult and/or expensive to make large optical lenses for studying deep-space objects like galaxies and nebulas. Refractor telescopes are better suited for observing near-space objects like Earth's moon, the planets and orbital features like the international space station.

In order to study distant star clusters and variable stars, more advanced telescope parts were needed. Hence the development of the reflector-type telescope. This instrument uses a mirror, rather than a lens, to collect light. Mirrors are not subject to the same physical limitations as lenses. They can be larger and thus able to gather more light, important when observing objects in deep space.

In 1680, Isaac Newton developed this type of instrument, using different telescope parts. The primary mirror in the back collects the light and reflects it back toward the front of the tube where it is intercepted by a secondary mirror that reflects the image again to an eyepiece in the side of the tube. Again, his design or variations of it have survived to the modern day.

Telescope parts -- whether lenses or mirrors -- make it possible for any one of us to study celestial objects -- whether planet or nebular -- right in our own back yards. Telescopes have evolved into everyday instruments that anyone can use and enjoy.

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About The Author:

Rita Liotta is a successful author and publisher at www.1st-at-binoculars.com.  Recommending binoculars, telescopes, rifle scopes, night vision, spotting scopes, laser sights, range finders & night vision goggles.
04-06-04