Reflecting telescopes are an important tool in the field of
astronomy and reflecting telescopes allow for scientists to
study planets and stars while still keeping their feet firmly
on the ground. Obviously the larger the telescope the more powerful
it is and the more it can tell us about space and many of the
things in the universe that are still being discovered. So where
is the largest reflecting telescope? The largest reflecting
telescope is at this moment in Hawaii.
Importance Of The Largest Telescope
The largest reflecting telescope at this moment in time is
in the Mauna Kea observatory. It measures an impressive 387
inches or 982 cm. The largest reflecting telescope is called
the Keck telescope. There are a number of large reflecting telescopes
around the world but at present this is the largest reflecting
telescope.
The largest reflecting telescope is important because of its
design. There are certain aspects of its design that are seen
as innovative. Chief among its innovations is the fact that
its primary mirror is actually made up of 36 separate hexagons.
All of which can be positioned and kept aligned by electronic
technology. The individual segments mean that the mirror can
be thinner and lighter than if it were made of one large piece
of mirror. This has the advantage of making the largest reflecting
telescope lighter than the first reflecting telescope. Transporting
and cleaning the telescope is also much easier with this design
innovation.
The Best Telescope?
While the largest reflecting telescope certainly provides powerful
images of space it is not the best telescope. The Hubble Space
telescope has the advantage of being positioned above the Earth’s
atmosphere. Even with a distorted primary mirror the Hubble
telescope was able to give superior images of space.
After being repaired the Hubble Space telescope has continued
to provide superior images to any other telescope in use at
present. It will soon be outdone by new technology that uses
computers to change the primary mirror to provide better images.
The ability of the computer to alter its primary mirror means
that it can get around the turbulence of the Earth’s atmosphere.
The largest reflecting telescope will also face competition
with the completion of the Very Large Telescope that is under
construction in Chile. This telescope uses the computer technology
mentioned earlier and once it is completed it will be the world’s
largest optical telescope. Both its size and the technology
it employs will make it one of the best telescopes in use.
