Hobby Eberly (10m diameter) observes 70% of sky with 91 hexagonal segments. Keck Observatory (10m diameter) sees farther than Hubble, used by 25% of US astronomers. SALT (11m diameter) discovered first white dwarf pulsar. ALMA (12m diameter) found most distant oxygen at 13.28 billion light-years
Telescopes are essential tools for observing celestial objects and electromagnetic radiation. Aperture, focal length, magnification, and focal ratio are key telescope parameters. Larger telescopes collect more light and see fainter objects
Astronomy is one of the oldest scientific disciplines, dating back to ancient times. Ancient civilizations used sky-watching for time tracking and organization. Hipparchus cataloged over 800 stars using naked eye. Telescope invention in 17th century enabled major scientific discoveries. Hubble's discovery of Andromeda nebula in 1920s revealed existence of multiple galaxies
Author Trevor Jones shares 10 best astrophotography telescopes for 2024. List includes telescopes tested by author with over 10 years experience. Prices range from entry-level to professional-grade models
James Gilbert Baker proposed Cassegrain design for Schmidt camera in 1940. First large telescope using design was James Gregory Telescope in 1962. Design combines spherical mirrors with Schmidt corrector plate
Optical telescopes gather visible light to create magnified images. Three main types: refracting, reflecting, and catadioptric telescopes. Objective diameter determines resolution, larger diameter collects more light