Question

What mirror does the Newtonian reflecting type telescope use?

Answer 1

Newtonian telescope:

1. Newtonian Telescope was developed by Isaac Newton is the reflecting telescope variant and used to capture light emitted by the celestial bodies in space.
2. It primarily consists of a concave mirror and a secondary flat diagonal mirror.
3. This particular design with two different mirrors ensures chromatic aberration-free image formation, unlike other refracting telescopes.
4. The primary mirror's captured light is redirected toward the flat secondary mirror.
5. This secondary mirror then further reflects the image towards the eyepiece or in other words converges the light on the eyepiece.
6. In a reflecting type telescope, the mirror needs to be polished to obtain a sharp image unlike refracting in which the complete lens had to be protected from impurities.
7. A reflective telescope works in a wide spectrum of light as the different wavelengths of light get absorbed in glass elements when light passes through them.

Hence, it uses a concave mirror.