Which Telescope Is Best Refractor Vs Reflecting

Which Telescope Is Best Refractor Vs Reflecting

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Which Telescope Is Best Refractor Vs Reflecting

Which Telescope Is Best Refractor Vs Reflecting

First of all, don’t buy those cheap telescopes that advertises amazingly-high magnification, mounted on an unsteady spidery like tripods that causes the image of any object to shake and vibrate until you start to feel nauseated, don’t worry about the magnification.  As mentioned in “Most Powerful Telescopes for Home Use’ a telescope’s most important feature is its aperture i.e the diameter of its light-collecting lens. A telescope with a larger aperture collects more light, gives you a brighter and clearer image, and lets you see finer detail that have you going ‘Wow’.  Your first scope should have an aperture of at least 80-90 mm. Otherwise, the images of anything other than the Moon and Jupiter will be way too blurry and fuzzy. You can, for example, see dozens of galaxies beyond our own Milky Way through a scope with 80 mm aperture from a dark location… they will be faint, but you will see them.

Now that’s out of the way, let’s focus on some specifics of the two main types of telescopes available for backyard stargazers—reflector, reflector.

Reflector:

Quick break down: This type of telescope has a long, slender tube with a lens at the front that “refracts” the light from the sky. This is the oldest style of telescope and has many advantages. They are simple to use and understand, need less maintenance and typically give very sharp views. Unfortunately, they are difficult and expensive to manufacture for large diameter versions (i.e larger aperture), so they are expensive.

Reflector produce the highest contrast of any telescope, which makes them superb for visual observation of fine detail on the Moon and planets, especially reflector with achromatic lenses, the achromatic lens refactors show virtue zero false color, even at lower focal point f/6 or f/7, images are super sharp, and the contrast is virtually perfect. If you’re into astro-photography, an achromatic lens is a must with a focal point of f/10

PROCON
Excellent image contrast and sharpnessSmallest aperture per dollar – expensive
Mechanically robust; little alignment requiredSome false color but an achromatic lenses resolves this issue
Easy to use and Set Up

 

Reflecting

Also called Newtonians, reflecting scopes are the best bang for the buck. They have A fat tubes with a parabolic mirror at the bottom. Light enters the tube and gets reflected by the parabolic mirror back up to the top of the tube where there is a small diagonal mirror that bounces the light out the side of the tube thus Newtonians are easy to manufacture and low-cost compared to reflectors due to needing less glass material. The design is optimized for visually observing faint deep sky objects such as nebulae. If you live in densely populated area and are planning using backyard telescope, these may not be your best option, they The aperture is not as good as reflectors if your main purpose is to view plants clearly, reflectors will suit your needs better. Given the relativity low cost they do make good entry level telescopes before scaling up.

Newtonian reflectors are generally the least expensive telescope because, unlike the lenses of a reflector, only one surface of a mirror needs careful positioning and polishing, less expensive glass also is used.

Newtonians are a great value telescope and comparability cheaper then reflector, but as mentioned reflector are superior viewing tools collecting up to as much 9x more light, Newtonians also tend to be bulkier but less longer then reflectors, another plus for reflecting telescopes is that they have no chromatic aberration.

 

PROCON
Largest aperture per dollarLarge, bulky tubes – cumbersome
No chromatic aberrationRequire occasional minor alignment
Good entry due to affordability to gage interest in astronomyProvide less details then a Reflector

 

Check out the following Video, I think it covers some great points:

About Refracting Telescope

A refractor telescope, also known as a refracting telescope, is a type of telescope that uses a lens to focus light. It was one of the first types of telescopes invented and is still used by astronomers today. The lens at the front of the telescope is called the objective lens, and it is responsible for gathering light and bending it so that it converges to a point of focus at the back of the telescope, where an eyepiece is located to magnify the image formed by the objective lens.

The Optical Design

The optical design of a refractor telescope is relatively simple. The objective lens is a convex lens, meaning that it is thicker in the middle than at the edges. When light passes through the lens, it is refracted, or bent, by an amount that depends on the angle at which it hits the lens and the properties of the glass. The refracted light converges at a point called the focus, which is located a certain distance behind the lens. The distance between the lens and the focus is called the focal length, and it is an important characteristic of the objective lens.

The eyepiece is a small lens that is placed near the focus of the objective lens. Its job is to magnify the image formed by the objective lens so that it can be viewed by the observer. The magnification of the telescope is determined by the ratio of the focal lengths of the objective lens and the eyepiece. For example, if the focal length of the objective lens is 1000mm and the focal length of the eyepiece is 10mm, the magnification of the telescope would be 100x (1000/10 = 100).

In addition to the objective lens and eyepiece, refractor telescopes typically have a few other components to help with focusing and alignment. A diagonal mirror is often used to redirect the light from the objective lens to a more comfortable viewing angle. A focuser is used to move the eyepiece closer or farther away from the objective lens to achieve a sharp focus. Finally, a mount is used to support the telescope and allow it to be pointed at different objects in the sky.

The Advantages of Refracting Telescope

One advantage of refractor telescopes is that they produce high-quality images with good contrast and minimal chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration is a phenomenon where different colors of light are refracted differently by the lens, causing a rainbow-like effect around bright objects in the image. This can be a problem with some types of lenses, but it is less of an issue with refractor telescopes because they use a single lens to focus the light.

Another advantage of refractor telescopes is that they are relatively low-maintenance. Because the objective lens is sealed inside the telescope tube, it is protected from dust and other debris. This means that the lens does not need to be cleaned as often as the mirrors in a reflecting telescope. However, it is still important to keep the lens clean and free of fingerprints or other smudges, which can degrade the image quality.

Overall, a refractor telescope is a simple but powerful tool for observing the night sky. With a well-made objective lens and a high-quality eyepiece, it is possible to see many of the wonders of the universe, from the craters of the Moon to the rings of Saturn and beyond. Whether you are a seasoned astronomer or a curious beginner, a refractor telescope is a great way to explore the cosmos and deepen your appreciation for the beauty and complexity of our universe.