The Evolution of the Reflector Telescope, Part 2

With the success of George Ellery Hale and George Willis Ritchey in building large reflecting telescopes at Mt. Wilson in the early 20th Century, this type of instrument became the dominant type of telescope of professional astronomy. New innovations were developed in mirror making, mounting machinery, and detector technology. Reflecting telescopes subsequently became ever larger as astronomers probed deeper into the Universe eager to seek out the new discoveries their superior light grasp could enable. With time, more exotic innovations were applied such as the Schmidt camera, the application of digital computers, CCD detectors, altazimuth mounts, adaptive optics, spin casting giant light weight mirrors, multiple mirror telescopes, and space based telescopes, to name a few.

Due to their ease of construction, amateurs also began making their own reflecting telescopes in the 1920's enabling the spread of amateur astronomy as a recreational activity. Here we see mostly the construction of simple Newtonian telescopes, the trickle down of advanced technologies from the professional realm such as computerized mounts, inexpensive CCD cameras, and the growth of a commercial recreational optics industry. Today the modern amateur has an enormous choice of high quality optical instrumentation at very modest prices. All this has enabled amateurs to engage in everything from casual visual observing to advanced electronic imaging, to the collaboration of professional and amateur astronomers to produce publishable science.

Speaker: Dr. Kenneth Lum