Telescope

50 cm refracting telescope at Nice Observatory.

A telescope (from the Greek tele = 'far' and skopein = 'to look or see'; teleskopos = 'far-seeing') is an optical tool that gathers and focuses electromagnetic radiation. Telescopes increase the apparent angular size of distant objects, as well as their apparent brightness. Telescopes work by employing one or more curved optical elements - lenses or mirrors - to gather light or other electromagnetic radiation and bring that light or radiation to a focus, where the image can be observed, photographed or studied. Telescopes are used for astronomy and in many non-astronomical instruments including theodolites, transits, spotting scopes, monoculars, binoculars, camera lenses and spyglasses.

The word "telescope" usually refers to optical telescopes, but there are telescopes for most of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation.

Radio telescopes are focused radio antennas, usually shaped like large dishes. The dish is sometimes constructed of a conductive wire mesh whose openings are smaller than a wavelength. Radio telescopes are often operated in pairs, or larger groups to synthesize large "virtual" apertures that are similar in size to the separation between the telescopes: see aperture synthesis. As of 2005, the current record is many times the width of the Earth, utilizing space-based Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) telescopes such as the Japanese HALCA (Highly Advanced Laboratory for Communications and Astronomy) [VSOP (VLBI Space Observatory Program) satellite]. Aperture synthesis is now also being applied to optical telescopes using optical interferometers (arrays of optical telescopes) and Aperture Masking Interferometry at single telescopes.

X-ray and gamma-ray telescopes have a problem because these rays go through most metals and glasses. They use ring-shaped "glancing" mirrors, made of heavy metals, that reflect the rays just a few degrees. The mirrors are usually a section of a rotated parabola.

History

The first telescopes may have been Assyrian crystal lenses. Article

The Visby lenses tentatively suggest that the technology was known to the Arabs and Persians then to the Vikings in the 10th century. Leonard Digges is sometimes credited with the invention in England in the 1570s, but usually credit for assembling the first telescope is usually given to an unknown Dutch spectacle maker in about 1608. Some name that person as Hans Lippershey (c1570-c1619), but Jacob Metius and Zacharias Jansen also claimed to have invented a telescope during the same time period. Even if Lippershey did not make the first one, he publicized it. Galileo Galilei made his own telescope in 1609, calling it at first a perspicillum, and then using the terms telescopium in Latin and telescopio in Italian (from which the English word derives). Galileo is generally credited with being the first to use a telescope for astronomical purposes. Galileo's telescope consisted of a convex object lens and a concave eye lens, which is universally called a Galilean Telescope (used as a viewfinder in many simple cameras). Later, Johannes Kepler described the optics of lenses (see his books Astronomiae Pars Optica and Dioptrice), including a new kind of astronomical telescope with two convex lenses (a principle often called Kepler telescope). Optical interferometer arrays and arrays of radio telescopes were developed much more recently.

Types

Telescopes are broadly classified into two main types.

  1. Optical telescopes
  2. Radio telescopes

Optical telescopes are also divided into two types.

  1. Galilean refracting telescopes
  2. Newtonian reflecting telescopes

Galilean or refracting telescopes employ the refractive properties of light, and are constructed of lenses. These can be used for both terrestrial and astronomical viewing.

Newtonian or reflecting telescopes employ the reflective properties of light, and use mirrors and lenses. These are more useful for astronomical viewing.

Telescope mountings

In modern altazimuth telescopes the Cassegrain instruments usually sit on a rotating assembly which keeps the images stationary during long exposures

A simple telescope mount is an altitude-azimuth or altazimuth mount. It is similar to that of a surveying transit. A fork rotates in azimuth (in the horizontal plane), and bearings on the tips of the fork allow the telescope to vary in altitude (in a vertical plane). A Dobsonian mount is a type of altazimuth mount which has proven to be very popular as it is simple and inexpensive.

When using an altazimuth for astronomy, both axes must be continuously adjusted to compensate for the Earth's rotation. Even if this is done by computer control, the image rotates at a rate that varies depending on the angle of the target from the celestial pole. The last effect makes an altazimuth mount especially impractical for long-exposure photography with small telescopes.

The preferred solution for small astronomical telescopes is to tip the altazimuth mount so that the azimuth axis is parallel with the axis of the Earth's rotation. This is known as an equatorial mount.

Modern large telescopes use computer-controlled altazimuth mounts, and for long exposures they rotate the instruments or have variable-rate image rotators in an image of the telescope pupil.

There are mountings even simpler than altazimuth, typically used for specialized instruments. For example:

  • meridian transit (altitude only)
  • fixed with movable plane mirror for solar observing
  • ball-and-socket (ancient and useless for astronomy).

Research telescopes

Harlan J. Smith Telescope at McDonald Observatory, TX

Most large research telescopes can operate as either a Cassegrain telescope (longer focal length, and a narrower field with higher magnification) or a Newtonian telescope (brighter field). They have a pierced primary mirror, a Newtonian focus, and a spider to mount a variety of replaceable secondary mirrors.

A new era of telescope making was inaugurated by the Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT), with a mirror composed of six segments synthesizing a mirror of 4.5 meters diameter. This has now been replaced by a single 6.5m mirror. Its example was followed by the Keck telescopes with 10 m segmented mirrors.

The largest current ground-based telescopes have primary mirrors of between 6 and 11 meters in diameter. In this generation of telescopes, the mirror is usually very thin, and is kept in an optimal shape by an array of actuators (see active optics). This technology has driven new designs for future telescopes with diameters of 30, 50 and even 100 meters.

Relatively cheap, mass-produced ~2 meter telescopes have recently been developed and have made a significant impact on astronomy research. These allow many astronomical targets to be monitored continuously, and for large areas of sky to be surveyed. Many are robotic telescopes, computer controlled over the internet (see e.g. the Liverpool Telescope and the Faulkes Telescope North and South), allowing automated follow-up of astronomical events.

Initially the detector used in telescopes was the human eye. Later, the sensitized photographic plate took its place, and the spectrograph was introduced, allowing the gathering of spectral information. After the photographic plate, successive generations of electronic detectors, such as the charge-coupled device (CCDs), have been perfected, each with more sensitivity and resolution, and often with a wider wavelength coverage.

Current research telescopes have several instruments to choose from such as:

  • imagers, of different spectral responses
  • spectrographs, useful in different regions of the spectrum
  • polarimeters, that detect light polarization.

In recent years, some technologies to overcome the distortions caused by atmosphere on ground-based telescopes were developed, with good results. See adaptive optics, speckle imaging and optical interferometry.

The phenomenon of optical diffraction sets a limit to the resolution and image quality that a telescope can achieve, which is the effective area of the Airy disc, which limits how close two such discs can be placed. This absolute limit is called the diffraction limit (or sometimes the Rayleigh criterion, Dawes limit or Sparrow's resolution limit). This limit depends on the wavelength of the studied light (so that the limit for red light comes much earlier than the limit for blue light) and on the diameter of the telescope mirror. This means that a telescope with a certain mirror diameter can resolve up to a certain limit at a certain wavelength. If greater resolution is needed at that wavelength, a wider mirror has to be built or aperture synthesis performed using an array of nearby telescopes.

Imperfect images

No telescope can form a perfect image. Even if a reflecting telescope could have a perfect mirror, or a refracting telescope could have a perfect lens, the effects of aperture diffraction could still not be escaped. In reality, perfect mirrors and perfect lenses do not exist, so image aberrations in addition to aperture diffraction must be taken into account. Image aberrations can be broken down into two main classes, monochromatic, and polychromatic. In 1857, Philipp Ludwig von Seidel (1821-1896) decomposed the first order monochromatic aberrations into five constituent aberrations. They are now commonly referred to as the five Seidel Aberrations.

The five Seidel aberrations

Spherical aberration 
Coma 
Astigmatism 
Curvature of Field 
Distortion 

They are always listed in the above order since this expresses their interdependence as first order aberrations via moves of the exit/entrance pupils. The first Seidel aberration, Spherical Aberration is independent of the position of the exit pupil (as it is the same for axial and extra-axial pencils). The second, coma is changes as a function of pupil distance and spherical aberration, hence the well known result that it is impossible to correct the coma in a lens free of spherical aberration by simply moving the pupil. Similar dependencies affect the remaining aberrations in the list.

The chromatic aberrations

Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration 
Transverse Chromatic Aberration (Chromatic Aberration of Magnification)

Famous optical telescopes

The Hubble Space Telescope orbits above Earth.
  • The Hubble Space Telescope is in orbit beyond Earth's atmosphere to allow for observations not distorted by astronomical seeing. In this way the images can be diffraction limited, and used for coverage in the ultraviolet (UV) and infrared.
  • The Keck telescopes are currently (2005) the largest, but will soon be superseded by the Gran Telescopio Canarias and Southern African Large Telescope.
  • The Very Large Telescope array (VLT) is currently (2002) the record holder for total collecting area in an array of telescopes, with four telescopes each 8 meters in diameter. The four telescopes, belonging to the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and located in the Atacama desert in Chile, are usually operated independently for faint astronomical observations, but up to three telescopes can be operated together for aperture synthesis observations of bright objects.
  • The Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer is the optical telescope (array) that can currently (2005) produce the highest resolution images at visible wavelengths.
  • The CHARA (Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy) array is the telescope array that can currently (2005) produce the highest resolution images at near-infrared wavelengths.
  • There are many plans for even larger telescopes. One of them is the Overwhelmingly Large Telescope (OWL), which is intended to have a single aperture of 100 meters in diameter.
  • The 200 inch (5.08 m) Hale telescope on Palomar Mountain was the largest conventional research telescope for many years. It has a single borosilicate (Pyrex™) mirror that was famously difficult to construct. The mounting is a special design of equatorial mount called a yoke mount, which permits the telescope to be pointed at and near the north celestial pole.
  • The 100 inch (2.54 m) Hooker Telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory was used by Edwin Hubble to discover galaxies, and the redshift. The mirror was made of green glass by Saint-Gobain. In 1919, the telescope was used for the first stellar diameter measurements using interferometry. The telescope now has an adaptive optics system, and is still useful for advanced research.
  • The 1.02 m Yerkes Telescope (in Wisconsin) is the largest aimable refracting telescope in use.
  • The 0.76 m Nice refractor (in France) that became operational in 1888 was at that time the world's largest telescope. This was the last time the most powerful operational telescope in the world was located in Europe. It was exceeded in size one year later by the 0.91 m refractor at the Lick Observatory.
  • The largest refractor ever constructed was French. It was on display at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Its lens was stationary, prefigured so as to sag into the correct shape. The telescope was aimed by the aid of a Foucault sidérostat, which is a movable plane mirror with a 2 m diameter, mounted in a large cast-iron frame. The horizontal tube was 60 m long and the objective had 1.25 m in diameter. It was a failure.
  • The 1-meter refracting Swedish Solar Telescope (SST) on La Palma, is currently the highest-resolution solar telescope in the world.

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Similar dependencies affect the remaining aberrations in the list. In this system, the material that constitutes the money itself had very little intrinsic value, but none the less such money achieves significant market value through being scarce as an artifact. The second, coma is changes as a function of pupil distance and spherical aberration, hence the well known result that it is impossible to correct the coma in a lens free of spherical aberration by simply moving the pupil. The system of commodity money in many instances evolved into a system of representative money. The first Seidel aberration, Spherical Aberration is independent of the position of the exit pupil (as it is the same for axial and extra-axial pencils). Ancient Sparta minted coins from iron to discourage its citizens from engaging in foreign trade. They are always listed in the above order since this expresses their interdependence as first order aberrations via moves of the exit/entrance pupils. Numismatists have examples of coins from the earliest large-scale societies, although these were initially unmarked lumps of precious metal[2].

They are now commonly referred to as the five Seidel Aberrations. This first stage of currency, where metals were used to represent stored value, and symbols to represent commodities, formed the basis of trade in the Fertile Crescent for over 1500 years. In 1857, Philipp Ludwig von Seidel (1821-1896) decomposed the first order monochromatic aberrations into five constituent aberrations. Currency was introduced as a standardized money to facilitate a wider exchange of goods and services. Image aberrations can be broken down into two main classes, monochromatic, and polychromatic. [1]. In reality, perfect mirrors and perfect lenses do not exist, so image aberrations in addition to aperture diffraction must be taken into account. In Mexico under Montezuma cocoa beans were money.

Even if a reflecting telescope could have a perfect mirror, or a refracting telescope could have a perfect lens, the effects of aperture diffraction could still not be escaped. In medieval Iraq, bread was used as an early form of money. No telescope can form a perfect image. This is called commodity money and includes any commonly-available commodity that has intrinsic value; historical examples include pigs, rare seashells, whale's teeth, and (often) cattle. If greater resolution is needed at that wavelength, a wider mirror has to be built or aperture synthesis performed using an array of nearby telescopes. The first instances of money were objects with intrinsic value. This means that a telescope with a certain mirror diameter can resolve up to a certain limit at a certain wavelength. Main article: History of money.

This limit depends on the wavelength of the studied light (so that the limit for red light comes much earlier than the limit for blue light) and on the diameter of the telescope mirror. Free trade advanced further in the late 20th century and early 2000s:. This absolute limit is called the diffraction limit (or sometimes the Rayleigh criterion, Dawes limit or Sparrow's resolution limit). In 1947, 23 countries agreed to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to promote free trade. The phenomenon of optical diffraction sets a limit to the resolution and image quality that a telescope can achieve, which is the effective area of the Airy disc, which limits how close two such discs can be placed. These organizations became operational in 1946 after enough countries ratified the agreement. See adaptive optics, speckle imaging and optical interferometry. It set up rules and institutions to regulate the international political economy: the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (later divided into the World Bank and Bank for International Settlements).

In recent years, some technologies to overcome the distortions caused by atmosphere on ground-based telescopes were developed, with good results. During the war, in 1944, 44 countries signed the Bretton Woods Agreement, intended to prevent national trade barriers, to avoid depressions. Current research telescopes have several instruments to choose from such as:. The lack of free trade was considered by many as a principal cause of the depression, and World War II. After the photographic plate, successive generations of electronic detectors, such as the charge-coupled device (CCDs), have been perfected, each with more sensitivity and resolution, and often with a wider wavelength coverage. During this period, there was a great drop in trade and other economic indicators. Later, the sensitized photographic plate took its place, and the spectrograph was introduced, allowing the gathering of spectral information. The Great Depression was a major economic recession that ran from 1929 to 1941.

Initially the detector used in telescopes was the human eye. This became the policy in many countries attempting to industrialize and out-compete English exporters. the Liverpool Telescope and the Faulkes Telescope North and South), allowing automated follow-up of astronomical events. This was followed within a few years by the infant industry scenario developed by Mill anticipated New Trade Theory by promoting the theory that government had the "duty" to protect young industries, although only for a time necessary for them to develop full capacity. Many are robotic telescopes, computer controlled over the internet (see e.g. This was taken as evidence against the universal doctrine of free trade, as it was believed that more of the economic surplus of trade would accrue to a country following reciprocal, rather than completely free, trade policies. These allow many astronomical targets to be monitored continuously, and for large areas of sky to be surveyed. Ricardo and others had suggested this earlier.

Relatively cheap, mass-produced ~2 meter telescopes have recently been developed and have made a significant impact on astronomy research. John Stuart Mill proved that a country with monopoly pricing power on the international market could manipulate the terms of trade through maintaining tariffs, and that the response to this might be reciprocity in trade policy. This technology has driven new designs for future telescopes with diameters of 30, 50 and even 100 meters. That is, the calculation made was whether it was in any particular country's self-interest to open its borders to imports. In this generation of telescopes, the mirror is usually very thin, and is kept in an optimal shape by an array of actuators (see active optics). The ascendancy of free trade was primarily based on national advantage in the mid 19th century. The largest current ground-based telescopes have primary mirrors of between 6 and 11 meters in diameter. In Principles of Political Economy and Taxation Ricardo advanced the doctrine still considered the most counterintuitive in economics:.

Its example was followed by the Keck telescopes with 10 m segmented mirrors. In 1817, David Ricardo, James Mill and Robert Torrens showed that free trade might benefit the industrially weak as well as the strong, in the famous theory of comparative advantage. This has now been replaced by a single 6.5m mirror. In 1799, the Dutch East India Company, formerly the world's largest company, became bankrupt, partly due to the rise of competitive free trade. A new era of telescope making was inaugurated by the Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT), with a mirror composed of six segments synthesizing a mirror of 4.5 meters diameter. Smith said that he considered all rationalizations of import and export controls "dupery", which hurt the trading nation at the expense of specific industries. They have a pierced primary mirror, a Newtonian focus, and a spider to mount a variety of replaceable secondary mirrors. Since the division of labour was restricted by the size of the market, he said that countries having access to larger markets would be able to divide labour more efficiently and thereby become more productive.

Most large research telescopes can operate as either a Cassegrain telescope (longer focal length, and a narrower field with higher magnification) or a Newtonian telescope (brighter field). It criticised Mercantilism, and argued that economic specialization could benefit nations just as much as firms. For example:. In 1776, Adam Smith published the paper An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. There are mountings even simpler than altazimuth, typically used for specialized instruments. Trade in the East Indies was dominated by Portugal in the 16th century, the Netherlands in the 17th century, and the British in the 18th century. Modern large telescopes use computer-controlled altazimuth mounts, and for long exposures they rotate the instruments or have variable-rate image rotators in an image of the telescope pupil. In the 16th century, Holland was the centre of free trade, imposing no exchange controls, and advocating the free movement of goods.

This is known as an equatorial mount. Spices brought to Europe from distant lands were some of the most valuable commodities for their weight, sometimes rivaling gold. The preferred solution for small astronomical telescopes is to tip the altazimuth mount so that the azimuth axis is parallel with the axis of the Earth's rotation. The spice trade was of major economic importance and helped spur the Age of Exploration. The last effect makes an altazimuth mount especially impractical for long-exposure photography with small telescopes. Vasco da Gama started the Spice trade in 1498. Even if this is done by computer control, the image rotates at a rate that varies depending on the angle of the target from the celestial pole. The Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities that maintained a trade monopoly over most of Northern Europe and the Baltic, between the 13th and 17th centuries.

When using an altazimuth for astronomy, both axes must be continuously adjusted to compensate for the Earth's rotation. Vikings sailed to Western Europe, while Varangians to Russia. A Dobsonian mount is a type of altazimuth mount which has proven to be very popular as it is simple and inexpensive. From the 8th to the 11th century, the Vikings and Varangians traded as they sailed from and to Scandinavia. A fork rotates in azimuth (in the horizontal plane), and bearings on the tips of the fork allow the telescope to vary in altitude (in a vertical plane). For instance, Radhanites were a medieval guild or group (the precise meaning of the word is lost to history) of Jewish merchants who traded between the Christians in Europe and the Muslims of the Near East. It is similar to that of a surveying transit. Nevertheless some trade did occur.

A simple telescope mount is an altitude-azimuth or altazimuth mount. The fall of the Roman empire, and the succeeding Dark Ages brought instability to Western Europe and a near collapse of the trade network. These are more useful for astronomical viewing. Their widespread empire produced a stable and secure transportation network that enabled the shipment of trade goods without fear of significant piracy. Newtonian or reflecting telescopes employ the reflective properties of light, and use mirrors and lenses. Roman commerce allowed their empire to flourish and endure. These can be used for both terrestrial and astronomical viewing. From the beginning of Greek civilization until the fall of the Roman empire in the 5th century, a financially lucrative trade brought valuable spice to Europe from the far east, including China.

Galilean or refracting telescopes employ the refractive properties of light, and are constructed of lenses. For this purpose they established trade colonies the Greeks called emporia. Optical telescopes are also divided into two types. The Phoenicians were noted sea traders, travelling across the Mediterranean Sea, and as far north as Britain for sources of tin to manufacture bronze. Telescopes are broadly classified into two main types. Long-range trade routes first appeared in the 3rd millennium BCE, when Sumerians in Mesopotamia traded with the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley. Optical interferometer arrays and arrays of radio telescopes were developed much more recently. Materials used for creating jewelry were traded with Egypt since 3000 BCE.

Later, Johannes Kepler described the optics of lenses (see his books Astronomiae Pars Optica and Dioptrice), including a new kind of astronomical telescope with two convex lenses (a principle often called Kepler telescope). There is evidence of the exchange of obsidian and flint during the stone age. Galileo's telescope consisted of a convex object lens and a concave eye lens, which is universally called a Galilean Telescope (used as a viewfinder in many simple cameras). Trade is believed to have taken place throughout much of recorded human history. Galileo is generally credited with being the first to use a telescope for astronomical purposes. Peter Watson dates the history of long-distance commerce from circa 150,000 years ago.[1]. Galileo Galilei made his own telescope in 1609, calling it at first a perspicillum, and then using the terms telescopium in Latin and telescopio in Italian (from which the English word derives). Trading was the main facility of prehistoric people, who bartered goods and services from each other.

Even if Lippershey did not make the first one, he publicized it. Trade originated with the start of communication in prehistoric time. Some name that person as Hans Lippershey (c1570-c1619), but Jacob Metius and Zacharias Jansen also claimed to have invented a telescope during the same time period. . Leonard Digges is sometimes credited with the invention in England in the 1570s, but usually credit for assembling the first telescope is usually given to an unknown Dutch spectacle maker in about 1608. As such, trade at market prices between locations benefits both locations. The Visby lenses tentatively suggest that the technology was known to the Arabs and Persians then to the Vikings in the 10th century. Trade exists between regions because different regions have a comparative advantage in the production of some tradable commodity, or because different regions' size allows for the benefits of mass production.

Article. Due to specialization and division of labor, most people concentrate on a small aspect of production, trading for other products. The first telescopes may have been Assyrian crystal lenses. Trade exists for many reasons. . Trade between two traders is called bilateral trade, while trade between more than two traders is called multilateral trade. The mirrors are usually a section of a rotated parabola. The invention of money (and later credit, paper money and non-physical money) greatly simplified and promoted trade.

They use ring-shaped "glancing" mirrors, made of heavy metals, that reflect the rays just a few degrees. As a result, buying can be separated from selling, or earning. X-ray and gamma-ray telescopes have a problem because these rays go through most metals and glasses. Modern traders instead generally negotiate through a medium of exchange, such as money. Aperture synthesis is now also being applied to optical telescopes using optical interferometers (arrays of optical telescopes) and Aperture Masking Interferometry at single telescopes. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and services. As of 2005, the current record is many times the width of the Earth, utilizing space-based Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) telescopes such as the Japanese HALCA (Highly Advanced Laboratory for Communications and Astronomy) [VSOP (VLBI Space Observatory Program) satellite]. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market.

Radio telescopes are often operated in pairs, or larger groups to synthesize large "virtual" apertures that are similar in size to the separation between the telescopes: see aperture synthesis. Trade is also called commerce. The dish is sometimes constructed of a conductive wire mesh whose openings are smaller than a wavelength. Trade is the voluntary exchange of goods, services, or both. Radio telescopes are focused radio antennas, usually shaped like large dishes. As of mid-2005, there is a proposal for a Central American Free Trade Agreement, which would also include the United States and the Dominican Republic. The word "telescope" usually refers to optical telescopes, but there are telescopes for most of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. January 1, 1995 World Trade Organization was created to facilitate free trade, by mandating mutual most favoured nation trading status between all signatories.

Telescopes are used for astronomy and in many non-astronomical instruments including theodolites, transits, spotting scopes, monoculars, binoculars, camera lenses and spyglasses. 1994 The GATT Marrakech Agreement specified formation of the WTO. Telescopes work by employing one or more curved optical elements - lenses or mirrors - to gather light or other electromagnetic radiation and bring that light or radiation to a focus, where the image can be observed, photographed or studied. January 1, 1994 NAFTA took effect. Telescopes increase the apparent angular size of distant objects, as well as their apparent brightness. 1992 European Union lifted barriers to internal trade in goods and labour. A telescope (from the Greek tele = 'far' and skopein = 'to look or see'; teleskopos = 'far-seeing') is an optical tool that gathers and focuses electromagnetic radiation.

The 1-meter refracting Swedish Solar Telescope (SST) on La Palma, is currently the highest-resolution solar telescope in the world. It was a failure. The horizontal tube was 60 m long and the objective had 1.25 m in diameter. The telescope was aimed by the aid of a Foucault sidérostat, which is a movable plane mirror with a 2 m diameter, mounted in a large cast-iron frame.

Its lens was stationary, prefigured so as to sag into the correct shape. It was on display at the 1900 Paris Exposition. The largest refractor ever constructed was French. It was exceeded in size one year later by the 0.91 m refractor at the Lick Observatory.

This was the last time the most powerful operational telescope in the world was located in Europe. The 0.76 m Nice refractor (in France) that became operational in 1888 was at that time the world's largest telescope. The 1.02 m Yerkes Telescope (in Wisconsin) is the largest aimable refracting telescope in use. The telescope now has an adaptive optics system, and is still useful for advanced research.

In 1919, the telescope was used for the first stellar diameter measurements using interferometry. The mirror was made of green glass by Saint-Gobain. The 100 inch (2.54 m) Hooker Telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory was used by Edwin Hubble to discover galaxies, and the redshift. The mounting is a special design of equatorial mount called a yoke mount, which permits the telescope to be pointed at and near the north celestial pole.

It has a single borosilicate (Pyrex™) mirror that was famously difficult to construct. The 200 inch (5.08 m) Hale telescope on Palomar Mountain was the largest conventional research telescope for many years. One of them is the Overwhelmingly Large Telescope (OWL), which is intended to have a single aperture of 100 meters in diameter. There are many plans for even larger telescopes.

The CHARA (Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy) array is the telescope array that can currently (2005) produce the highest resolution images at near-infrared wavelengths. The Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer is the optical telescope (array) that can currently (2005) produce the highest resolution images at visible wavelengths. The four telescopes, belonging to the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and located in the Atacama desert in Chile, are usually operated independently for faint astronomical observations, but up to three telescopes can be operated together for aperture synthesis observations of bright objects. The Very Large Telescope array (VLT) is currently (2002) the record holder for total collecting area in an array of telescopes, with four telescopes each 8 meters in diameter.

The Keck telescopes are currently (2005) the largest, but will soon be superseded by the Gran Telescopio Canarias and Southern African Large Telescope. In this way the images can be diffraction limited, and used for coverage in the ultraviolet (UV) and infrared. The Hubble Space Telescope is in orbit beyond Earth's atmosphere to allow for observations not distorted by astronomical seeing. polarimeters, that detect light polarization.

spectrographs, useful in different regions of the spectrum. imagers, of different spectral responses. ball-and-socket (ancient and useless for astronomy). fixed with movable plane mirror for solar observing.

meridian transit (altitude only). Newtonian reflecting telescopes. Galilean refracting telescopes. Radio telescopes.

Optical telescopes.