Astronomy › Section F · Astronomical instruments › Topic F.2
Telescopes today
Today's giant telescopes have mirrors 8 to 10 metres across, sit on remote mountaintops and bend their own optics hundreds of times a second to cancel the blurring of the air. This topic explains how they are built, where they are placed and what limits how sharp their images can be.
In this topic
- From Palomar to the giants
- Thin mirrors and active optics
- Segmented mirrors
- Choosing a site
- Seeing: why stars twinkle
- Measuring resolution
- Worked example: Keck's sharpest view
- Adaptive optics
- Worked example: steady air or not?
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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