Amateur Telescopes

An amateur optical telescopes magnify distant objects using lenses or mirrors
to focus light rays, which makes an enlarged image of the objects.

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Amateur Telescopes

• there days there are three main types of telescopes.
• most early discoveries in astronomy were made with refracting telescopes.
• refracting telescopes – optical telescopes that use lenses to refract (bend) the light rays.
• reflecting telescopes – optical telescopes that focus light rays by reflecting them off curved mirrors.
• reflecting telescopes bend the light rays back on themselves so they are shorter than refracting rays.
• most astronomers do not gaze at those stars directly – pick up what the telescopes shows with light sensors called Charge-Coupled-Devices (CCDs).

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More information about amateur Telescopes

• Which Telescopes?
• Choosing which telescope to buy?

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Naked-eye v Binoculars v Telescopes
The chart is shown the differences in viewing between methods of Naked-eye, Binoculars and telescopes.

• Chart

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Other information tips

• Your First Night Sky
• Derekscope’s Observing the Deep Sky
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  • Introduction
  • Types of Deep Sky Objects
  • Tools for the Deep Sky
  • Deep Sky Catalogues
  • Observing Techniques

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