Higher Technological Institute 10th of Ramadan City.

Report on:
Telescope and Glass Prism
Submitted by:
Name : Osama Hamed Hamed Al-bosiely

ID : { 20203023 }

Mechatronics Eng. Dept.

MTE E01

Gr : 61

Submitted to:
Eng \ Ahmed Elghrabawy
What is the telescope?
A telescope is a tool that astronomers use to see faraway objects. Most telescopes, and all large
telescopes, work by using curved mirrors to gather and focus light from the night sky.

The first telescopes focused light by using pieces of curved, clear glass, called lenses. So why do
we use mirrors today? Because mirrors are lighter, and they are easier than lenses to make
perfectly smooth.

The mirrors or lenses in a telescope are called the “optics.” Really powerful telescopes can see
very dim things and things that are really far away. To do that, the optics—be they mirrors or
lenses—have to be really big.

The bigger the mirrors or lenses, the more light the telescope can gather. Light is then
concentrated by the shape of the optics. That light is what we see when we look into the
telescope.

The optics of a telescope must be almost perfect. That means the mirrors and lenses have to be
just the right shape to concentrate the light. They can’t have any spots, scratches or other flaws.
If they do have such problems, the image gets warped or blurry and is difficult to see. It’s hard
to make a perfect mirror, but it’s even harder to make a perfect lens.

Lenses

A telescope made with lenses is called a refracting telescope.

A lens, just like in eyeglasses, bends light passing through it. In eyeglasses, this makes
things less blurry. In a telescope, it makes faraway things seem closer.
People with especially poor eyesight need thick lenses in their glasses. Big, thick lenses
are more powerful. The same is true for telescopes. If you want to see far away, you
need a big powerful lens. Unfortunately, a big lens is very heavy.
Heavy lenses are hard to make and difficult to hold in the right place. Also, as they get
thicker the glass stops more of the light passing through them.
Because the light is passing through the lens, the surface of the lens has to be extremely
smooth. Any flaws in the lens will change the image. It would be like looking through a
dirty window.

Why Mirrors Work Better?

A telescope that uses mirrors is called a reflecting telescope.
Unlike a lens, a mirror can be very thin. A bigger mirror does not also have to be thicker.
Light is concentrated by bouncing off of the mirror. So the mirror just has to have the
right curved shape.
It is much easier to make a large, near-perfect mirror than to make a large, near-perfect
lens. Also, since mirrors are one-sided, they are easier than lenses to clean and polish.
But mirrors have their own problems. Have you ever looked into a spoon and noticed
your reflection is upside down? The curved mirror in a telescope is like a spoon: It flips
the image. Luckily, the solution is simple. We just use other mirrors to flip it back.
Types of Telescopes
This is where telescope choice becomes very exciting (and confusing!). Telescopes do
come in a few different designs and each construction has its own strengths and
weaknesses. The types of telescopes you can find in the saxon range are:

• Refractor Telescopes
• Reflector Telescopes
• Dobsonian Telescopes
• Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescopes

Refractor Telescope
The refractor telescope is likely what comes to mind when one thinks of a telescope. Just as
its name suggests, a refractor telescope works by refracting, or bending, light in order to form
an image.

Many entry level refractor telescopes come on a simple to operate mount, known as an Alt-
Azimuth mount, and make for great first telescopes. They also require little to no
maintenance, making them ideal for those new to the field or who want something
convenient and easy to set up. Refractors provide excellent colour contrast and thus are
often used for looking at the moon and planets, especially refractors with a relatively high
focal ratio (f/8 to f/10). Refractors with a low focal ratio (f/5) provide superb low magnification,
wide field views of the night sky.

Refractor telescopes are, however, not without their drawbacks. They are relatively more
expensive per inch of aperture compared to other telescope constructions. This is due to
their utilisation of lens prisms which are more expensive to produce. The use of prisms in
these telescopes is also behind the optical distortions in these telescopes, known as
chromatic aberration or colour fringing which shows itself as a purplish ring of light around
bright objects. This happens because the different wavelengths in light do not all focus at the
same point due to the different rates of refraction (light bending) when light passes through
the prisms.

High end premium refractor telescopes overcome this by using special types of glass with
certain characteristics which enhance the telescope’s ability to focus the wavelengths at one
point. This makes them highly suitable for astrophotography due to their colour correction
and excellent contrast.

Index of Refraction for Some Common Substances

Substance Index of Refraction

Vacuum 1

Air 1.0003

Water 1.3
Substance Index of Refraction

Ethyl alcohol 1.4

Ice 1.3

Glass 1.5

Diamond 2.4

Reflector Telescope
In contrast to the refractor telescope is the reflector telescope, invented by Sir Isaac Newton.
Reflector telescopes work by utilising mirrors to reflect light that the telescope gathers to
form an image at the eyepiece.

Reflector telescopes are the most cost-effective telescopes available, as mirrors are much
easier and more inexpensive to produce. As such, large aperture reflector telescopes can be
manufactured for relatively far less than a refractor telescope of equal aperture. For those
seeking to get the most out of their astronomy experience on a budget, a large aperture
reflector telescope is the way to go. Modestly large, low f-ratio (f/5) reflectors also make
excellent wide-field astrophotography telescopes.

While refractors do not share the problem of chromatic aberration with refractors, they can
exhibit their own optical distortions known as spherical aberration and coma. Reflectors also
require some degree of maintenance as dust and debris can settle on the mirrors inside the
telescope and the mirrors can fall out of alignment due to movement or impact. While regular
cleaning is not necessary, reflector telescopes should be checked and have their mirrors
aligned (through a process called collimation) before use to ensure that the telescope
performs well. There are a number of accessories that can allow a reflector telescope to be
used for terrestrial viewing, but due to the construction of a reflector telescope it does not
lend itself to be used for regular use in this manner.
Dobsonian Telescopes
Perhaps the category that looks least like a telescope, but the one that we would recommend
to anyone looking for their first telescope or seeking something with a large aperture, ease of
use, and at an affordable price.

The Dobsonian telescope is actually just a reflector telescope, usually fairly large, which sits
on top of a simple to operate, sturdy, inexpensive mount that was designed and popularised
by John Dobson. This brings with it certain advantages and disadvantages.

The first advantage is the simplicity of it. A Dobsonian telescope is very intuitive to use as the
mount only pans left and right (azimuth axis) and up and down (altitude axis), in comparison
to an Equatorial mount which is designed to compensate for the rotation of the Earth. The
second advantage is the ease of setup. Dobsonian telescopes can be set up in a matter of
minutes with little effort by simply lifting the telescope tube onto the mount and securing it in
place. A third advantage is the lower cost of a Dobsonian telescope, which can be attributed
to the fact that a heavy duty mount capable of bearing the telescope tube’s weight is not
required.

The Dobsonian telescope has the same shortcomings as a reflector telescope as they share
the same telescope tube design and optical elements. That they are not mounted
equatorially also means that they do not track objects as easily as other telescopes, making
them unsuitable for anything beyond the simplest forms of astrophotography.

If you are starting out in astronomy or want a telescope that is truly “bang for your buck”, the
Dobsonian telescope is what you should be looking at. It doesn’t look fancy and does not
provide much room for upgrades like other telescope designs but, for pure visual astronomy
observation, a Dobsonian telescope is more than worthy of consideration for both beginners
and experienced astronomers.

Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescopes
A Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope is a “catadioptric telescope”, this means that the
telescope utilises both lenses and mirrors to form an image. This comprises of the spherical
mirror at the back of the telescope that gathers light and a curved lens at the front of the
telescope tube.
A common first impression that many have when seeing a Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope is
how small and portable it is, and concluding that therefore it must be a low power instrument.
While it is indeed a small and portable instrument, it is anything but low power. Due to the
nature of their catadioptric design, the path of light is bent inside a Maksutov-Cassegrain
telescope, resulting in a long focal length but a short physical tube. This does more than
compress a powerful telescope into a small package, the high focal ratio of Maksutov-
Cassegrain telescopes (between f/12 to f/14) virtually eliminates any optical aberration seen
in either refractor telescopes or reflector telescopes. They are excellent for planetary and
lunar viewing due to their long focal lengths which allow higher magnifications to be achieved
compared to both reflectors and refractors. Unfortunately, Makstuov-Cassegrain telescopes
are not “do it all scopes”. The high focal ratios of these telescopes result in a much narrower
fields of view than other telescope designs. This limits them when looking at objects which
take up larger sections of the sky such as nebulae and galaxies as it may be difficult or
impossible to fit the entire object within the field of view. Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes
are also relatively smaller in aperture as large sizes would require large and heavy lenses.
The more modest apertures on these telescopes also limit their performance in regard to
faint and dim objects.

In summary, the Maksutov-Cassegrain is comparatively more specialised in what its design

allows. Its small size, low weight, and need for little maintenance, a Maksutov-Cassegrain
telescope may be the perfect telescope for those who favour convenience and are looking
for a grab and go telescope, especially for lunar and planetary viewing.

I started using telescopes when I was 5 years old. My parents took the family camping
and borrowed one from a friend. I fell in love with them since. Telescopes help us see
objects that are very, very far away as if they were closer and let us experience the
universe in a new way.

But what are telescopes used for?

The main uses for a telescope are the following:

• Observing outer space

• Observing far away objects on earth

• Photography/Astrophotography

• Viewing light invisible to the human eye

Each of these encompasses a large number of different activities, so let’s take a look at each of
them individually.

Observing outer space

The main thing hobbyists, astronomers, and scientists use telescopes for is observing outer
space. A telescope allows you to view faraway planets, stars, constellations, galaxies, nebulae,
comets, asteroids, moons, and an endless amount of objects that our eyes can’t see.

Telescopes capture the light emitted or reflected by these objects using the big lens in the front.
Then they pass the light through other smaller lenses that magnify the image so you are able to
see the planet or any other object you are pointing at.

Observing outer space objects lets us study them, learn new things about the universe, or simply
appreciate their beauty.

By using telescopes we have discovered the universe is much bigger than we thought, we
have learned the age of the universe (14 billion years), discovered objects we couldn’t
have imagined like black holes, quasars, and supernovas. We have also learned a lot
about our planet, and our Solar system by looking at others. We can also tell what these
objects are made of so maybe one day we can visit them.

Telescopes are also like time machines because they let us see things that happened in
distant stars a long time ago. This is because light takes some time to get to our planet.
The distances in space are so large that by the time light arrives, many years have passed,
so what we are looking at in a telescope are images that might have happened a long time
ago.

Observing far away objects on Earth

Telescopes are not only useful at night to watch the sky. They can also be used on Earth.

Telescopes are used to see far-away things in detail. Some use cases that are still relevant
today are:

• Navigation. Specially at sea. Ships, boats and submarines still use telescopes to find land or
look at a distance.

• Tourism. Telescopes are often used at observation decks to let you see cities in detail from
a high point like a skyscraper or a mountain.

• Bird watching, hunting and other outdoor activities

Telescopes that are used for terrestrial viewing are smaller than space telescopes.
Sometimes binoculars are also used for these purposes, but you could say that
binoculars, in principle, are just really small telescopes as they work pretty much the
same.
Photography/Astrophotography
Because telescopes allow us to see a magnified view of all these objects both in space and
on Earth, the obvious next step is to be able to save those images to study them or simply
to appreciate the beauty of the universe.

Telescopes can be used for photography by attaching regular cameras to the exit
eyepieces with very simple accessories. You can even use your smartphone’s camera and
attach it to the telescope to take pictures.

The activity of taking photos of space objects with the help of a telescope is called
astrophotography. It is done by both professional and amateur photographers.

If you’d like to get started with astrophotography, we have an article on how to take photos
with a telescope.
Viewing light invisible to the human eye
This can be a bit hard to wrap your head around, but our human eyes can only see a
small fraction of all the colors and wavelengths of light around us.

This infrared and ultraviolet light that we can’t perceive could provide us with tons of
additional information about the composition, and materials of planets, stars, and all
other space bodies.

So, to gather this information, scientists created special telescopes that are able to see
those frequencies of the light spectrum.

These fancy telescopes have allowed us to figure out the temperature of the stars, the
types of minerals that can be found on asteroids, or the gases and elements in the
atmosphere of some planets.

X-ray, infrared and other advanced telescopes like these are usually only available to
professional astronomers because their cost is extremely high and their usability is
limited for a home user.

Who Uses a Telescope?

The person that uses a telescope to watch space is called an astronomer.
There are professional astronomers whose job is to study planets, stars, black holes, and
all other kinds of objects to discover new things, and there are also amateur astronomers
that watch the sky just for fun.

Photographers also use telescopes to take pictures of distant objects or objects in the sky.
Other professions that make use of telescopes are bird watchers, hunters, sailors, and even
pirates.
Prism is a three-dimensional solid object in which the two ends are identical. It is the
combination of the flat faces, identical bases and equal cross-sections. The faces of the
prism are parallelograms or rectangles without the bases. And the bases of the prism
could be triangle, square, rectangle or any n-sided polygon. For example, a pentagonal
prism has two pentagonal bases and 5 rectangular faces.

Prism Shape
A prism has a solid shape consisting of two identical ends (such as triangle,
square, rectangle, etc.), flat faces or surfaces and uniform cross-section across
its length. The cross-section looks like a triangle hence called triangular prism.
The shape of the prism does not have any curve. Therefore, a prism can have
square, rectangular, pentagonal and other polygon shapes but not the circular
shape.

Prism Shape
A prism has a solid shape consisting of two identical ends (such as triangle,
square, rectangle, etc.), flat faces or surfaces and uniform cross-section across
its length. The cross-section looks like a triangle hence called triangular prism.
The shape of the prism does not have any curve. Therefore, a prism can have
square, rectangular, pentagonal and other polygon shapes but not the circular
shape.

Application of Prism.
Prisms are three-dimensional objects with two identically sized and shaped
faces and parallelogram sides. Notebooks, ice cubes, and dice are a few
everyday examples of prisms. So, how are prisms used in the world? Prisms
are used for many purposes. Light-reflecting and light-refracting prisms are
solely used in optical studies.
However, prisms are used in various fields, such as architecture. They are
commonly seen in telescopes, periscopes, and microscopes, but scientists
also use them in research to explore how the human eye reacts to light.

In Optical Instruments

Because of their capacity to distort and manipulate light, prisms play an

important role in designing a variety of optical equipment. Porro prisms are
a single unit of two prisms. They were invented in 1850 and are named after
their inventor Ignazio Porro. This instrument pushes light back the way it
came from while reversing it vertically and horizontally.
Telescopes, microscopes, cameras, and submarine periscopes are examples
of optical instruments that utilise prisms. Telescopes manipulate light
travelling enormous distances to reach the eye by combining several prisms
into a single unit.
Unpolarised and randomly polarised light get separated into linearly
polarised light by the Wollaston prism. At the intersection of the two
triangular prisms, light is split into ordinary and extraordinary beams,
bending away from each other. Rotational mounts, CD players, and
polarisation microscopy all require prisms of this type.
Astronauts also use prisms to calculate the distance between the moon and
earth on a roundtrip basis. The LRRR or Lunar Laser 10 Ranging
RetroReflector array used in the experiment for the Lunar Laser Ranging
during the Apollo 11, 15, and 14 missions is one example of retroreflector
use. Astronauts erected this array on the moon, composed of a hundred
corner cubes. Connor cubes are prisms which reflect light the way from
where it came.

In Ophthalmology

Since the 19th century, ophthalmologists have used prisms to diagnose and
treat esotropia, nystagmus, amblyopia, and exotropia. They use prism-
refracted light to examine the various components of the eye. It helps them
identify issues while detecting eye disorders or deficits. Prisms used to treat
disease assist the patient’s eyesight by redirecting light into the eye. It is also
used to make corrective lenses for people with certain eye illnesses or vision
problems.
In Architecture
Prisms that manipulate light are common in architectural designs. They are
commonly employed in planning and construction. Prisms are a shape
frequently used in architecture. For example, triangular prisms are a frequent
construction form in Sweden. The angles of the building’s roofs encourage
snow to shed instead of accumulating. The very first skyscrapers were 11

also massive rectangular prisms. However, modern architecture projects

use rectangular, triangular, and even hexagonal prisms, like the Petronas
Towers in Malaysia.

3-Applications of lenses and mirrors in technology

Applications of lenses: .
1-Cameras, telescopes, microscopes, and film projectors all uselenses.
2-There are also two lenses in our eyes that allow us to see theworld around
us.
3-Many different types of lenses are used in optical devicessuch as cameras,
spectacles, microscopes, telescopes, andprojectors.
4-Convex lenses are used in eyeglasses to correctfarsightedness, which
occurs when the distance between theeye's lens and retina is too short,
causing the focal point to bebehind the retina.
5-Concave lenses are used to magnify objects in telescopes andbinoculars.
 Conclusion

Prisms are optical tools specially designed to distort and manipulate a light
beam. However, these tools are capable of more than just dispersing light
rays. They can inverse, rotate, reverse, or orient images. Some of the
everyday examples of prisms include the Rubik’s cube, dice, and tissue
boxes. Prisms find use in several fields like ophthalmology, optical
instruments, and architecture. They are commonly seen in telescopes,
binoculars, submarine periscopes, and microscopes.
elescopes have been around for about 400 years and continue to improve
in modern society as we understand more about how they work best. The
refracter and reflectors telescopes have a wide range of possibilities still yet
to explore as their locations (Earth, Orbit, the Moon), and range of
electromagnetic radiation (from radio waves to gamma rays) is studied in
more detail. Different frequencies of light help us to comprehend the
mysteries of the stars