Upload
jason-wade
View
218
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 1
ASTR 103--Week 3ASTR 103--Week 3
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 2
Light and TelescopesLight and Telescopes
• The Nature of Light
• Optics and Telescopes
• Radio Astronomy--and Beyond
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 3
The Nature of LightThe Nature of Light
• Early discoveries– White light comprised of a spectrum of colors
• Isaac Newton demonstrated colors inherent in the light, not added by the prism
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 4
The Nature of LightThe Nature of Light
– Light travels at a finite speed, c, not instantaneously
• Romer measures delay in Jupiter’s lunar eclipses
• 7 minutes from Sunlight to reach Earth
• 0.13 seconds for light to go around the world
mi/sec 10x86.1
km/sec 10x0.35
5
c
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 5
Light--Waves or Particles?Light--Waves or Particles?
• Newton believed light a particle phenomenon• Thomas Young shows light behaves like waves
(1801)
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 6
Electromagnetic WavesElectromagnetic Waves
• Waves are described by– wavelength, (lambda)– frequency, (nu)– speed, v =– and they transport energy
• Electromagnetic waves result from the motion of electrons
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 7
Light--Waves or Particles?Light--Waves or Particles?
• Albert Einstein shows that light contains energy in discrete packets– Photons--particles of light
and energy
• Photon energy increases with frequency, decreases with wavelength
hchE
e-
h
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 8
Electromagnetic SpectrumElectromagnetic Spectrum
High energy photons
Low energy photons
nm--nanometer--equal to 10-9 meters
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 9
Electromagnetic SpectrumElectromagnetic Spectrum
• Different spectral types correspond to different physical phenomenon– Gamma rays and X rays
generated by extreme energy
– visible light by atomic and molecular processes
– infrared light generated by heat and molecular processes
– radio waves generated by motion of free electrons and ions
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 10
Atmospheric WindowsAtmospheric Windows
• Most electromagnetic energy absorbed by the atmosphere, but radio waves and visible light pass through
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 11
Light and TelescopesLight and Telescopes
• The Nature of Light
• Optics and Telescopes
• Radio Astronomy--and Beyond
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 12
Astronomical TelescopesAstronomical Telescopes
• Two basic types:– Refracting--
through a glass lens
– Reflecting--from a mirror
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 13
RefractionRefraction
• Refraction--light bends, or changes direction, when crossing an interface between different media, for example, air and glass
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 14
LensesLenses
• Thus a lens collects light from a distant object and concentrates it at a focused image– every lens has a
characteristic focal length
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 15
Refracting TelescopeRefracting Telescope
• Essential elements of a refracting telescope
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 16
Telescope PerformanceTelescope Performance
• Brighten (Aperture)– Larger objective lenses and longer exposure
times gather more light
• Resolve (Resolving Power)– Larger objective lenses and properly curved
surfaces improve resolution
• Magnify (Magnification)– M=focal length of objective divided by focal
length of eyepiece– Least important measure of performance
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 17
Resolution Reveals DetailsResolution Reveals Details
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 18
Complications with RefractorsComplications with Refractors
• Chromatic Aberration--different colors of light refract at different angles and thus have different focal points
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 19
Complications with RefractorsComplications with Refractors
• Spherical Aberration--best shape for lens surface is parabolic; this is difficult to make
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 20
Reflecting TelescopesReflecting Telescopes
• Reflecting mirrors do not suffer chromatic aberration since all colors reflect at the same angles
• Spherical aberrations must still be corrected
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 21
Reflecting TelescopesReflecting Telescopes
• Some standard configurations
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 22
Reflecting TelescopesReflecting Telescopes
• Typical home telescope
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 23
Atmospheric distortionAtmospheric distortion
• Visible light propagates through the atmosphere, but is distorted– Twinkle, twinkle little star…– Telescopes in space don’t
suffer this problem– Hubble Space Telescope
• Ground-based telescopes can now be corrected with flexible optics and computer corrections to remove distortion
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 24
Atmospheric distortionAtmospheric distortion
Ground Ground/Adaptive HST
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 25
Image RecordingImage Recording
• Sketches• Film• Electronic Data
CCD
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 26
Light and TelescopesLight and Telescopes
• The Nature of Light
• Optics and Telescopes
• Radio Astronomy--and Beyond
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 27
Radio TelescopesRadio Telescopes
• Radio Waves have long wavelenths (cm and m)– objectives need to be
big, but not polished– “image” data recorded
with antenna instead of CCDs
• First radio telescopes in 1930s by Karl Jansky at Bell Labs
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 28
Radio TelescopesRadio Telescopes
• By interfering, or combining wave patterns, of signals from multiple radio telescopes much higher resolution images can be made– makes a “synthetic”
objective much larger than each part
– VLA in New Mexico (at right)
– VLBA from around the globe
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 29
Radio TelescopesRadio Telescopes
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 30
Other wavelengthsOther wavelengths
• Infrared from high mountain tops, rockets, or satellites
• UV, X-ray and gamma rays from satellites
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 31
Different perspectivesDifferent perspectives
• Comparing information from different spectra gives a better understanding of what’s going on
14 Sep 2000 ASTR103, GMU, Dr. Correll 32
Questions for studyQuestions for study
• How are radio telescopes similar and different from visible light telescopes?