Hubble, telescope question?

Question

We all know Hubble is a very powerful telescope, i'm wondering how much powerful ? If we point Hubble toward the moon, could it be able to see a man on the surface ?

Another question, a good earth telescope, i don't a few hundreds bucks, what kind of details can you see on the moon ?

Answer 1

The smallest object Hubble can resolve at that distance is about 100m on a side. That's the size of a football field. What people think of as it's "power" comes from its light gathering ability, due to the size of the mirror, it's location above the atmosphere, and advanced optics. It's also worth remembering that imaging equipment is only as good as the computers that process the images.

For telescopes, it sounds like you need the advice of people who know. You'll find them at a local amateur astronomy club, and all of them were, some time, at the stage where you are now. You can explain to them what your interests are, and they can show you what different types of scopes do.

And I agree with a good reflector telescope on a Dobsonian mount. In steady air, you can see mountain ranges, rilles, craters of different ages (e.g. when one is partly obliterated by another, or faint because it's been filled in). I'm just getting into the moon myself, because it can be looked at most nights, unlike faint objects which rely on the moon not being around, and me not being in the city. Your interest will grow as you see more.

Do not rush into this before doing research.

Answer 2

The Moon is suffiently far away that even the Hubble can only resolve objects a hundred feet across.

Just about any telescope will show satisfying detail on the Moon, but if you want to also look at the planets and deep sky objects, I'd recommend a Dobsonian reflector, such as these:
http://www.telescope.com/control/category/~category_id=dobsonians/~pcategory=telescopes/~VIEW_INDEX=0/~VIEW_SIZE=1000000
http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/product.php?class1=1&class2=106

Buy it from a telescope store, either local (Yellow Pages) or online, NOT from eBay or a discount store. All they sell is junk.

Answer 3

The Hubble has been pointed at the moon. Below is a link to NASA's website that has pictures. From the looks of the pictures it does not look like you could see a person.

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/hubble_moon.html

It also seems like the Tasco Spacestation 114mm Reflector ST w/Variable Led Red Dot Finderscope Telescope is a pretty good telescope. My neighbor has one, and you can see the surface of the Moon pretty clearly. I don't know the resolution, but I would guess 10-25 miles. Plus it is going for $160 on Amazon.

Hope this helps

Answer 4

Hi. Resolution (the ability to discern the details of a face) depends solely on the diameter of the objective lens and its quality. Hubble has a small mirror so it cannot see things that close together.

Look at Dobsonian telescopes.

Answer 5

Like most modern professonal telescopes, it is a Ritchey-Chretien design, a variant of the Cassegrain reflector.