One of the most interesting and fun hobbies to have is astronomy. If one of your favorite topics happens to be the telescope, make sure you read on this article to find out about exciting facts about it. As you may already know, telescopes are extremely interesting, and they are fantastic instruments, which enable us to study the stars that have their own secrets.
In this informative article, we’re going to let you know facts about telescopes which you may not have known. In the case that you want to purchase the best telescopes, make sure you read online reviews of various brands. Below we look at the amazing facts about these instruments.
Bonus fun fact, pirates love telescopes!
1. Early Uses of Telescopes
In the early days of telescopes, you should realize that its only purposes were not only for looking at birds or observing the stars. Early telescopes were sold and used for another purpose, which was to see trade ships as they approached ports. That was in order to beat competitors. It’s one interesting fact that you may not have known about this amazing device.
2. Who Invented The Telescope?
Hans Lippershey is said to have allegedly invented the telescope in 1608, which is one conventional answer you expect from many people. However, several legends say that it’s some children who discovered this instrument as they played with lenses in a spectacle-maker’s store. This begs the question, which fact is true?
3. The Hubble Space Telescope
In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched, which was more than 7 years late. Among the reasons, why this telescope was launched later is that its mirror for light collecting needed to be polished for a year, that’s to an accuracy of no more than 10 nanometers.
However, the people who polished the mirror did a poor job. That’s because they polished it by 2,200 nanometers. In 1993, the problem was fixed using corrective lenses, and the Hubble Telescope proceeded to become the source of around 25% of research papers on astronomy.
4. Technology Effects
Nowadays, many things involve a bit of technology. The result is that many professional astronomers use telescopes, which are internet based to view various things on the sky. They are operated remotely using computers.
5. The Largest Telescope
For more than 70 years, the largest telescope was the Leviathan of Parsonstown, made in Ireland. However, due to the wet weather, this telescope, weighing 40-ton, was kept shut down. The Earl of Rosse built this amazing device in 1845.
6. The Perfect Gift
Wernher Von Braun’s mother may be the reason he got his passion for astronomy. Instead of her giving him a traditional gift for his Lutheran confirmation, what she gave him was his first telescope.
7. Lots of Data
A new radio scope is being built in Australia and South Africa. It’s expected to generate lots of data and is going to exceed the global internet traffic, which is not one small thing.
This new radio telescope is supposed to come up with an Exabyte of raw data each day. On the other hand, experts have said that this data can be compressed to around 10 petabytes per day.
8. Competition
Since the Hubble Space Telescope was launched by NASA, scientists from other countries are trying to beat this competition. For instance, scientists from Europe are trying to design a telescope which can produce images that are 15 times sharper than what Hubble produces. This telescope is expected to be complete by the year 2024.
9. What Are NASA’ Plans?
On the other hand, NASA is not sleeping as competitors try to match or exceed the Hubble. That’s because they are planning to come up with a Radio Telescope on the Moon. They expect to complete the project by the year 2030.
10. To The Moon And Back
China was the first nation to have a robotic telescope on the Moon. Since the year 2013, this telescope has been working and experts have mentioned that it could function for up to 30 years.
11. Hollywood Stars and Stars
Another interesting fact is that Hollywood Stars and Stars have something in common. It happens that Jack Black’s parents were engineers, that’s in addition to having his mother work in designing the Hubble Space Telescope.
12. Too Close To the Sun
The first person to turn the telescope skyward was the great Galileo. He’s also the one who led to the discovery of the craters on the moon and Jupiter’s satellites. The unfortunate thing is that he looked directly at the sun using the telescope, which many experts believe led to his blindness.
Top 3 Factors to Consider When Buying Telescopes
1. Aperture
Astronomers start with the aperture when talking about telescopes. It refers to the size of the mirror or lens, which focuses light from distant objects. When buying a telescope, you should remember it’s the aperture size that will fundamentally limit the image quality. Larger aperture telescopes will provide you with fainter celestial objects and more detail.
2. Lenses or Mirrors
Telescopes will focus light using reflecting mirrors or refracting lenses. However, you should realize that for mirrors are more budget friendly for larger telescopes. In the case that you want to view celestial and terrestrial objects, telescopes with refracting lenses are the best option.
3. The Way to View
Make sure you have a way of keeping the telescope pointing towards the right direction if you want to view celestial objects. For the best outcome, consider buying your device from specialist telescope manufacturers rather than from general manufacturers.
Buy the Best Telescope to Get the Best Views
As the above informative article shows, telescopes have some few interesting facts that you should keep in mind. Astronomy and anything related to it is among the most interesting hobbies you can have. Many people believe that believe that telescopes are among the expensive devices on the market. However, what you should realize is that some models are budget friendly.
Even if you’re a beginner, you should try them. The reason is you can find models designed for beginners. If gazing at stars is not among your favorite hobbies, you can use your telescope for searching other animals and birds.
Thank you for the list of factors to consider when you’re buying a telescope. I am not very familiar with telescope terminology so this is a helpful starting point! My brother’s family likes to use their telescope to look at the stars, and they’ve even considered dedicating a star to their late grandfather!