What is a telescope?
Q: What is a telescope?
A: A telescope is an instrument used to make distant objects appear closer and brighter to the naked eye. It does this by gathering light and directing it to a single point, usually using curved mirrors or lenses, or both.
Q: Who invented the first telescope?
A: The first telescope was invented in the Netherlands in 1608.
Q: How do telescopes work with just your eye?
A: When telescopes are used with just your eye, an eyepiece has to be used which uses two or more smaller lenses to magnify an image so that it can be focused.
Q: What type of telescope is needed for tracking deep sky objects?
A: A Go-to telescope is needed for tracking Deep Sky objects and must be placed on an Alt-Azimuth Mount for the axis to point towards Polaris, this is called polar alignment.
Q: What are amateur telescopes?
A: Amateur telescopes are smaller than professional ones and don't cost too much money for a normal person to buy. Some popular types of amateur telescopes include Dobsonians, which are a type of Newtonian telescope.
Q: Are there types of telescopes that detect wavelengths we cannot see?
A: Yes, there are types of telescopes that detect infrared light, radio waves, X-rays and Gamma rays which all have different ways of being reflected since they go through most metals and glasses. These kinds of telescopes usually need to be kept cold or put into space so that Earth's atmosphere does not interfere with them.
Q: What are Telescopes mainly used for?
A: Telescopes are mainly used for looking at celestial objects such as stars, planets etc., but can also be used by normal people too
