The reflecting telescope is widely used today in astronomy
and most major astronomical telescopes are reflecting telescopes.
The first reflecting telescopes were created in the 17th century
but it failed to catch on and become an important part of astronomy
due to design flaws that prevented it from being widely used.
Over time the first reflecting telescope design was revisited
and refined. Today reflecting telescopes have come a long way,
such as the Meade reflecting telescope, even computer technology
has been integrated into the design to further improve the technology
and the images that can be provided by telescopes.
Flawed Beginnings
The first ever reflecting telescope was designed by a Jesuit
priest, Nicolaus Zucchius in Italy. This first reflecting telescope
was introduced in 1616, and allowed him to view two bands on
Jupiter in 1630 and to see spots on Mars in 1640.
However this design had a major flaw in that Zucchius was unable
to shape the mirror to a proper concave shape. Another problem
encountered with the first reflecting telescope was the fact
that you could not view the image without first blocking the
mirror. Due to these flaws this particular design was never
widely used.
A more practical design of the reflecting telescope was conceived
in 1663 by James Gregory. This design involved the use of two
concave mirrors. A model of this design was not built until
ten years later by Robert Hooke. The next first practical reflecting
telescope was built by Sir Isaac Newton.
Chief among the design innovations that were invented by Sir
Isaac Newton was a diagonal mirror near the telescope’s
primary mirror. This allowed the primary mirror’s focus
to be reflected at a 90 degree angle, which meant that a viewer
could view the image without blocking out all the light coming
through the telescope.
This design innovation also cut down on chromatic aberration,
a problem that plagued most refracting telescopes of the day.
Today the reflecting telescope has come a long way. There are
now telescopes that are positioned above the Earth’s atmosphere.
The images and sights that can now be viewed through reflecting
telescopes far exceed what the first reflecting telescope could
ever show you. Despite all the advances in technology the design
that is most popular among those keen to build their own telescopes
is the one first designed by Sir Isaac Newton. Proving that
some designs are classics and will never completely fade away.
