The objective lens is the lens in front of the telescope that allows light to pass through. There are usually two lenses in a refractor.Refracting telescope- Refractors refract incoming light through a tube to a focal point using lenses.We also see eyepiece lenses on reflectors. The secondary mirror is the smaller front mirror that reflects light back to your eye. The primary mirror is the large curved mirror in the rear, which focuses the light. Reflecting telescope- Mirrors are used to reflect light to a focal point in reflecting telescopes.There are two types of optical telescopes: a reflecting telescope and a refracting telescope This allows us to magnify an image so we can see easily see it, provide something that we can take a photograph of, or collect data about the faraway object we are viewing.

Our vision can only detect a certain range of light, but there are frequencies of radiation that produce wavelengths both shorter and longer than the ones our eyes can detect, and it’s the longer wavelengths that a radio telescope sees and records.Ī few examples of things only visible with a radio telescope are:Īn optical telescope captures and concentrates light from the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum using an arrangement of mirrors or lenses. Radio telescopes are used to view the parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that we can’t see with the naked eye. By recording the information for later use, scientists can parse through it at their leisure. It’s impossible for someone to be monitoring the telescope constantly, and they are often automated to work on their own for large swathes of time. The recorder saves any information picked up by the radio telescope.Recorder- Records the signal, usually directly to a computer hard drive or some sort of memory disk.Without the amplifier/receiver, we wouldn’t be able to make sense of the radio signals. The amplifier/receiver collects the often incredibly weak radio waves and amplifies them into something usable by the scientists receiving the information.Amplifier/Receiver- Boosts the weak radio signals into something that can be properly recorded.The large curved disk is used to focus the radio waves to a certain point, the same way you would use a curved mirror to focus light. The antennae is the visible portion of the telescope.Antennae- This dish portion of the radio telescope.Radio telescopes are composed of a reflector dish, antenna, amplifier/receiver, and recorder. Instead, it uses radio waves to see much longer wavelengths of light, called radio waves. When a radio telescope is used, it isn’t viewing visible wavelengths of light as we do with our own eyes. These machines are unique in the way they view the universe, but understanding exactly how they work may be a little complicated. Unlike the optical telescope, you’ve almost certainly never used the scientific marvel that is a radio telescope. If you want to view black holes, remnants of the Big Bang, or remnants of supernovas, you’re going to need a radio telescope. Radio telescopes are a type of telescope that records information using radio waves to see things in space that aren’t able to be viewed as physical objects. Which is Better, Radio Telescopes or Optical Telescopes?.The Differences Between Radio and Optical Telescopes.Instead of using the aforementioned arrangement of mirrors or lenses, a radio telescope uses a dish to focus the radio waves for a precise, clear picture of things that the human eye can’t usually see. Simply put, radio telescopes see radio frequencies, and optical telescopes see light. So, what’s the difference between a radio telescope and an optical telescope? If you ever owned a telescope as a kid, it was almost certainly a type of optical telescope, but did you know there is another type of telescope out there? The radio telescope! When you think of a telescope, you’re probably thinking of the most common definition of an optical telescope.Īn optical telescope is an instrument purpose-built to view faraway objects, especially those in space, using an arrangement of mirrors or lenses to make the objects appear much closer than they really are. This means we may make a commission if you purchase an item using one of our links*

Optical telescope and x ray