Unusual Telescopes

By: Peter L. Manly

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Paperback | 26 June 1995

At a Glance

Paperback
240 Pages

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22.86 x 15.24 x 1.4

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Excellence in observation is crucial to astronomy. Optical designers, engineers and astronomers have tried all kinds of novel ways to improve telescope design, in the quest for better and more accurate telescopes. In this book, Peter L. Manly surveys more than 150 unusual telescope designs. They are all built by amateur and professional astronomers to suit some special need. This survey includes an inflatable telescope, and one with a liquid mirror. Every so often, a neglected design comes back into fashion: the largest telescopes now under construction use the alt-azimuth design that was ignored for over a century, and liquid mirror telescopes can be used for zenithal astronomy. The author shows why a particular engineering approach makes each telescope unique, and explains the rationale behind the design. The effects on telescope performance are also discussed where possible. This is not just a collection of weird and wonderful devices that proved to be false starts: the author includes the first instrument to measure star diameters, and the first useful radio telescope. This book is a resource and stimulus for anyone who likes to build astronomical telescopes.

Industry Reviews

'Anyone interested in the limits of human endeavour will get much pleasure out of it.' New Scientist 'A mine of information on a huge range of unusual telescope optics, mounts and drives.' Astronomy and Space '... informative and lively ... a truly excellent book ... For telescope fans ... this book is a must.' Webb Society Reviews ' ... the down-to-earth practical usefulness of the book will ensure its desirability ... I would have no hesitation in recommending this book very widely to students and enthusiasts of economy-conscious or low-budget observational astronomy in general.' The Observatory

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Science Physics Optical Physics Nature & The Natural World Popular Astronomy & Space Astronomy, Space & Time Astronomical Observation & Observatories Science in General Scientific Equipment

List of Illustrations	p. viii
Preface	p. xiii
Acknowledgements	p. xvii
Optics	p. 1
Rock, clay and ceramic mirrors	p. 1
Plastic optics	p. 3
Metal and composite material mirrors	p. 3
Glass/metal mirrors	p. 6
Flexible mirrors	p. 10
Liquid mirrors	p. 10
Membrane mirrors	p. 15
Flexible glass mirrors	p. 16
Gaseous mirrors	p. 19
Planets, stars and galaxies used as optical elements	p. 19
Classification by number of optical elements	p. 21
Single-mirror systems	p. 21
The schiefspiegler	p. 34
Three-mirror systems	p. 37
Wide field optics	p. 44
Miscellaneous optics	p. 52
Moving the optics around	p. 57
Convertible telescopes	p. 58
Pinholes and optics that don't look like optics	p. 60
Double field telescopes	p. 61
Lens/mirror combinations	p. 65
Eliminating diffraction spikes	p. 69
Telescope mounts	p. 71
Zero-axis telescopes	p. 71
One-axis telescopes	p. 74
Two-axis telescopes	p. 79
Altitude-azimuth (alt-az) mounts	p. 79
Equatorial mounts	p. 82
Elevation-elevation (el-el) mounts	p. 84
Three-axis telescopes	p. 86
Four-axis telescopes	p. 89
Infinite-axis telescopes	p. 91
Floating telescopes	p. 93
Telescope and mount materials	p. 95
Tube materials	p. 97
Wood	p. 98
Mount materials	p. 100
Poncet mounts and other equatorial platforms	p. 101
Axle materials and bearings	p. 103
Mount vibrations	p. 105
Strange drivers	p. 110
Tangent-arm drives	p. 115
Manual drives	p. 119
Motive power	p. 122
Miscellaneous drives	p. 125
Moving the whole telescope	p. 129
Moving the telescope short distances	p. 129
Trailer-mounted telescopes	p. 130
Truck-mounted and vehicle-mounted telescopes	p. 138
The moving eyepiece	p. 141
Riding the telescope	p. 144
The stationary eyepiece	p. 147
Putting the observer in the center	p. 147
Turret telescopes	p. 149
Springfield mounts	p. 155
Coude mounts	p. 161
Siderostats, heliostats, coelostats and uranostats	p. 164
Telescopes built into houses	p. 173
Limits	p. 180
Large aperture refractors	p. 180
Long focal length refractors	p. 182
Large telescope platforms	p. 184
Multiple mirrors and lenses	p. 185
Multiple optical systems on a single mount	p. 186
Noncoherent multiple mirror light-buckets	p. 187
True multiple mirror telescopes	p. 195
Arrays of telescopes on separate mounts	p. 200
Small telescopes	p. 204
Whimsy	p. 208
Index	p. 215
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Unusual Telescopes

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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