Before you choose a new telescope, consider the two major types that you can choose from reflectors telescopes and refractors telescopes. Each of the two could be fantastic for watching the night time sky. Each uses fundamentally diverse techniques to increase lighting from dark celestial bodies. Here is an explanation regarding the way they work, and how they are distinct from each other. This serves as a guide for choosing between the two types of telescopes that will work the best for you, so that you won’t have any regrets after your purchase.
- Refracting telescopes
Refracting telescope was the very first telescope to be developed and made use of by people. The initial versions of the refractor telescope were produced in the 17th century, invented by Hans Lippershey, a Dutch lens maker. It was originally intended to be used in military applications. It was patented in 1608. Galileo is the earliest person acknowledged with making use of the telescope to research the sky. Through the use of a refracting telescope, Galileo was able to look at the craters present on the moon, as well as Saturn rings.
The advantages of refracting telescopes:
Refracting telescopes do not get dirt due to the fact that the interior of the tube is closed at the two ends using lens. Additionally, due to the same reason, refracting telescopes do not have the issue of air moving about inside the tube, and so have sharper, steadier images. The best refractor telescope will offer you a good look at the night skies, due to its features allowing clearer images to be seen.
The disadvantages of refracting telescopes:
Refracting telescopes are lengthier and as such, more heavy as compared to reflecting telescopes, and can also have problems with color rainbows appearing on the things seen by the telescope. This problem is called chromatic aberration, which is reduced with coating of lens.
- Reflecting telescopes
Reflecting telescopes utilizes a mixture of circular mirrors that reflect lighting and generate an impression towards a viewing system. A bent major mirror is the fundamental optical component and produces an image with the main plane. A viewing system like a film or a electronic sensor could be positioned at the focal plane to document the image seen by the telescope. Additionally, an eyepiece could be also provided for real time viewing of the image.
Probably the most popular form of reflecting telescope is known as a Newtonian reflector. It was given its name after the man who created it, Isaac Newton. Newtonian telescopes feature an open tube at an end, while only one have lens.
Advantages of reflecting telescopes:
Since the mirror could be set upon a metallic plate, reflecting telescopes could be significantly larger than refracting telescopes. Additionally, reflecting telescopes are less expensive to produce, therefore it has lower prices compared to refracting telescopes. Another advantage of reflecting telescopes is that they are not affected by the chromatic aberration problem of refracting telescopes.
