telescopes?

Question

im looking for a site that explains all the math behind telescopes and am having a hard time so if anyone can help it would be appreciated

Answer 1

go here if you want info about telescopes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescopes

If you want to know about math behind telescopes please go here http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/54190.html

Good luck!!!

Answer 2

This can get very involved if you want to know all the math behind optics in general.

As far as basic telescope math is concerned though...

Focal length: The distance between the objective and the focal point.

Magnification = (telescope focal length)/(eyepiece focal length)

Focal Ratio = (telescope focal length)/(telescope aperture)
(this is expressed as f/(focal ratio))

You can calculate how much more light one telescope collects compared to another by the ratio of the square of their apertures. For example, an 8" telescope as compared to a 4" telescope...

8^2/4^2 = 4

So an 8" telescope collects 4 times more light, not taking into account any central obstructions.

Answer 3

"Telescope Optics", by Rutten and van Venrooij (http://www.willbell.com/tm/tm6.htm ) is an excellent resource for understanding telescope design and function. I'm not aware of any online resources that are as thorough, though you can Google for specific issues. You can get some basic design calculations and a spreadsheet from here: http://www.oldham-optical.co.uk/Design.htm

If you're looking for basic optics tutorials, there's a simple one here: http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/lens/lens.htm and a more advanced one here: http://www.mellesgriot.com/products/optics/ch1-00.asp