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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.