I created this page for those of you that may be just at the beginning of your astronomy adventure. This is just the base information concerning the three main telescope designs.
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Reflector - The light enters the top of the tube assembly and is redirected by the primary mirror that is located at the bottom end of the tube. The light is then redirected a second time at the secondary mirror. There the light is redirected at a 90 degree angle out of the tube and into the eyepiece assembly. |
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Refractor - The light enters the top of the tube assembly and is redirected into the eyepiece assembly. The primary lens can consist of a single lens or a combination of lenses. |
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Compound - Light enters the top of the tube assembly and is redirected by the primary mirror back up throught the tube to the secondary mirror. The light is then redirected back through a hole in the primary mirror and into the eyepiece assembly. This design gives long focal length in a shorter more managable tube. The compound Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) shown here is a Schmidt-Cassegrain. |
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