Different Types Of Telescopes

From the Greek tele which means far and skopein which means to see, a telescope helps us to see the remotest of objects. Whether they be 50 feet away or in another galaxy, telescopes have been around since the 1600's to aid us in viewing the fascinating space all around us. There are as many different telescopes as there are reasons to use them. The most common ones are mentioned here.

Parabola shaped radio antennae are called Radio Telescopes. They are built from large groups of dishes that are made of a conductive wire mesh. As of 2005, the array sizes is many times larger than the width of the Earth.

Optical telescopes focus light mainly from the visible end of the Electromagnetic Spectrum. They can increase the size of distant objects as well as their brightness. These scopes employ mirrors or certain types of lenses to gather light and focus it. A good example would be a pair of binoculars.

X-ray or Gamma-Ray telescopes have rays that go through many glasses and metals. The mirrors involved in these scopes are usually parabolic in shape. Gamma-ray scopes don't even try to focus, they use a specific code to tell them what the shadows they are looking are. These scopes are usually found orbiting the earth.

Refracting telescopes are the ones that are most common. They are usually made out of a long tube that has a piece of glass at one end and he eyepiece at the other. These were what the pirates used when looking out into the distance.

Reflecting telescopes were developed by Isaac Newton. Where refracting telescopes used a lens, reflecting telescopes used a mirror to capture light that was placed in the very back of the telescope. These scopes offer a bigger view and bright wide view of comets and star clusters.