ASTR 111 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Secondary Mirror, Primary Mirror, Adaptive Optics
15 Sep 2017
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Document Summary
Focus - point at which rays of light that were initially parallel (such as that from a distant star) converge. Image - picture of an object made by focusing light. Focal plane - place where an image created by a lens or mirror is in focus. Exposure time - amount of time during which light is collected to create a single image. Pixels - individual picture element in a digital image. Light-collecting area (of a telescope) - the area of the primary mirror or lens that collects light in a telescope. Angular resolution (of a telescope) - the smallest angular separation that two pointlike objects can have and still be seen as distinct points of light (rather than a single point) Human eye has an angular resolution of about one arcminute. Diffraction limit - angular resolution that a telescope could achieve if it were limited only by the interference of light waves; smaller for larger telescopes.
