Transcript Telescopes

Telescopes
Close your eyes.
Create a picture in your mind of a telescope.
Think about: What does a telescope look like?
Did you picture a structure like this?
From Gemini North, astronomers watch the
Universe with amazing power and precision.
Compare size of the structure to the
People. It is huge!
This telescope stands eight stories tall, weighs 300
tons and operates with nanometre precision.
A Canadian company builds the structures for this
and other telescopes around the world
Likely you pictured something like this...
Telescopes like this are used by many
amateur astronomers for enjoyment,
research and public education.
Telescopes come in all shapes and sizes,
from a little plastic tube you buy at a toy
store for $2, to the Hubble Space
Telescope, which weighs several tons.
Definition
• Telescope: a device to collect light (or other
radiation) and bring it to a focus, where it can
be studied with camera, spectrographs or
other instruments.
Invention of the Telescope
• The breakthrough for astronomy came
with the invention of the telescope. An
Italian named Galileo Galilei was the first
to construct an astronomical telescope in
1610 and use it to look at the night sky.
• His small handheld telescope did not
provide sharp images and had a
magnification of only 20 times (similar to
modern binoculars), but what Galileo saw
was unlike anything anyone had ever seen
before.
• Over the first few months of observations
Galileo had discovered more about the
solar system and the universe than anyone
had previously achieved.
What Could Galileo see?
• To the naked eye Venus
appeared as any other star
in the night sky but using
his telescope Galileo could
see that Venus appeared
to have phases, similar to
the Moon.
• These signified that the
Earth was not the center
of the solar system, the
sun was.
What Could Galileo see?
• Numerous craters and
mountains on the Moon
• Rings around Saturn
• Four of Jupiter’s moons.
• Spots on the Sun
Telescopes Today...
• With larger telescopes came a higher image
resolution and greater light gathering power,
giving astronomers clearer images and
allowing them to probe deeper into the
universe.
• There are telescopes that collect radio waves,
infrared and other forms of radiation.
Giant Telescopes
• Today, two of the world’s largest telescopes
are the Keck I and II telescopes in Hawaii. They
are constructed of 36 individual mirrors
measuring 1.8 metres across, giving the
telescope a mirror with an effective diameter
of 10 metres.
Hubble Space Telescope
• The atmosphere limits the capabilities of Earthbased telescopes
• HST went into orbit on the Space Shuttle in 1990
• The HST cost more than every major observatory
on the Earth combined
• The Hubble Space Telescope has produced some
of the most amazing images of our universe, and
has given astronomers valuable information
about everything from the solar system and the
birth and death of stars to the beginnings of the
universe.
The Hubble
Space Telescope
What has Hubble shown us?
Hubble's camera takes a deep
look at two merging galaxies.
Chaotic activity atop a
pillar of gas and dust, where
stars and planets are forming.
The smallest dots on this image are distant galaxies
whose light has taken billions of years to reach us
Six of Saturn’s moons shown in orbit.
Canadian Astronomy
• The Dominion Radio
Astrophysical
Observatory (DRAO) in
Penticton, B.C. boasts
an array of seven radio
telescopes and also has
a 26 metre radio
telescope.
Dunlap Observatory
• The David Dunlap
Observatory in Richmond
Hill, Ontario, houses the
largest telescope in Canada.
• The Royal Astronomical
Society of Canada, Toronto
Centre, operates the 74-inch
reflecting telescope and is
providing public education
and outreach programs at
the DDO.
• Interested in stargazing? Perhaps a visit to the Dunlap
Observatory could be your next family outing!
• Public events are held most Saturday nights from early
summer through the fall months.
• www.theddo.ca
Canadian Astronomy
Did you know that...
• At one time, Canada had two of the three largest telescopes
in the world!
• When the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory opened in
1918, its telescope (usually said to be a 72" (mirror diameter)
telescope but actually a 73" telescope) was briefly the largest
in the world, until the 100" telescope on Mount Wilson
opened a few months later. When the David Dunlap
Observatory (U of T) opened in 1935, its 74" telescope was #2,
and the DAO telescope was #3.
Canadian Astronomy
• Our country has also
contributed to many
international projects,
often in collaboration with
the United States. One
observatory heavily used
by professional Canadian
astronomers is the
Canada-France-Hawaii
Telescope in Hawaii.
• The CFHT is a 3.6 metre
state of the art telescope
used for valuable research
by astronomers.
Canadian Astronomy
• Canadians have contributed to
the construction of two new
telescopes one is located in
the Chilean Andes (Gemini
South), the other in Hawaii
(Gemini North)
• These telescopes are among
the most technically advanced
in the world, and their 8 metre
mirrors provide Canadian
astronomers with the best
available tools to conduct
their research.
Gemini Telescope
Thirty Meter Telescope
Thirty Meter Telescope
• a team of scientists and
engineers is busily designing
what eventually will become the
most powerful telescope on
Earth. When completed in 2018,
the Thirty Meter Telescope
(TMT) will enable astronomers to
study objects in our own solar
system, our Milky Way and its
neighbouring galaxies, and
forming galaxies at the very edge
of the observable Universe, near
the beginning of time.
• It will be about 15 times larger
than the current largest
telescope and have capabilities
that surpass the Hubble Space
Telescope.
Canadian Astronomy
• TMT is a partnership between Canada and
some California Universities
• This would mean that Canadian astronomers
would have guaranteed access to it. That's
the way it presently works with the twin
Gemini 8m telescopes and the Canada-FranceHawaii 4m telescope. Canada gets a
certain fraction of the time. The benefit, of
course, is that our astronomers get access to
the best facilities in the world.
• Check out the following video to learn more fascinating things
about the Thirty Meter Telescope:
http://www.tmt.org/gallery/video/tmt-overview