PA1

Course: Instruments for astronomy 1

Department/Abbreviation: SLO/PA1

Year: 2020

Guarantee: 'doc. RNDr. Ondřej Haderka, Ph.D.'

Annotation: The subject familiarizes students with principles of optical instruments from historical ones to most up-to-date terrestric devices employing adaptive optics.

Course review:
- History of astronomical observations, ancient discoveries and observational techniques, astronomy in the middle-ages, first telescopes and spectrometers. - Spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. The sky in different spectral regions. Radiometry and photometry. - Introduction to geometric and wave optics. Paraxial approximation, refracting and reflecting surfaces, Fermat's principle, Huyghens-Fresnel principle, dispersion, diffraction phenomena, imaging systems, magnification, field of view, resolving power, vignetting, f-ratio, aberrations. - Lens telescopes. Achromats, apochromats, ED-optics. Correction of color aberration. Correction of field curvature. Reducers and correctors. Focus lengthening. Aberrations. Advantages and disadvantages. - Mirror telescopes. Newton telescope. Three- and multiple-mirror systems. Aberrations. Advantages and disadvantages. - Catadioptric systems. Maksutov, Cassegrain, Smidt camera, Schmidt-Cassegrain, Schmidt-Newton, Ritchey-Chrétien, Dall-Kirkham. Aberrations. Advantages and disadvantages. - Mounts for astronomical telescopes. Dobson mount, fork mount, german paramactic mount, special systems. - Some big professional systems (e.g. Hale, Keck, VLT etc.) and their future. Active optics. Adaptive optics.