Telescope Optics : A Comprehensive Manual for Amateur Astronomers
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Description
Explains why there are so many different kinds of telescopes and what each type has to offer Read more
Publisher : Willmann-Bell
Publication date : January 1, 1988
Language : English
Print length : 398 pages
ISBN-10 : 0943396182
ISBN-13 : 87
Item Weight : 1.4 pounds
Dimensions : 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #823,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #120 in Optics for Physics #4,719 in Science & Mathematics #12,732 in Engineering (Books)
#120 in Optics for Physics:
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Top Amazon Reviews
This book is exactly what I've been looking for: basic through advanced with some historical context. It IS very dense and the type is too small but it provides a LOT of information. It's not an easy-read but well worth the effort.
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2018 by Paul R
Very nice book on basic optics. A colleague recommended it as a primer, stating telescope optics were easier to understand than camera, microscope, or other domains. So far, this has proven to be the case.
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2016 by Peter
I'm an optical engineer. I've been seeing references to this book for some time. It really is excellent. Well written and very accessible.
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2017 by Imagidelic
This book is the reference! It's Rule!
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2017 by EDUARDO A S COSTA
I totally disagree with Mladen K. Vranjican's review "- Page 127, line3. The book incorrectly relates R. J. Lurie's work with that of J. L. Houghton." I don't have a copy of Lurie's paper (Journal of the Optical Society of America, March 1975, p. 261), but I have an article named "Gleanings for ATM's--Making an Aplanatic 4-inch Telescope" on Sky & Telescope Nov. 1979 issue. It mentioned Lurie's great thought in his paper: "In Example IV [of U.S. Patent No.2350,112, May 30, 1944] J.L.Houghton presents a design for an aplanatic system that consists of a two-element afocal corrector at the optical focus of a spherical mirror. The corrector...is shown made of glasses that have different refractive indices. However, such a corrector can be designed using the same glass type for both elements. This aplanat has interesting properties. Like the Wright telescope...its tube length is equal to its focal length. However, its astigmatism is only half that of the Wright telescope, and its surfaces are all spherical. The image surface of best focus has the same curvature as the mirror." So, Mr. Lurie not only invented the aspheric (conic-section) mirror type as Mladen K. Vranjican said in the review, but also footnoted the telescope with all spherical and same glass, just what we called 'Lurie-Houghton' now a days. Mr. Lurie ofcouse should own the honor for the name together with Houghton. What Houghton invented is using different glass and it is the source of Lurie-Houghton telescope.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2005 by Ukyo Chen
There was a time once when amateur astronomers had exposure to only a few different kinds of telescopes--mostly simple achromatic refractors, which comprise just two lenses cemented together (plus an eyepiece), and Newtonian reflectors, which include a mirror plus the eyepiece. Many, possibly most, of these amateurs also made their own optics, and as a result, they knew most of what there was to know about these designs. Nowadays, it's quite different. Not only are there vastly more types of telescopes, but most amateurs now buy telescopes; telescope building is a diminishing part of amateur astronomy, and people make their own telescopes out of desire, not necessity. It's harder than ever now for amateurs to really know about optical designs in breadth and depth. Into this breach step Rutten and van Venrooij, two Dutch astronomers who wanted to know more about optics but found that resources were generally unavailable to amateurs. So, they wrote their own. Telescope Optics is a compendium of optical information, geared to the intermediate to advanced amateur. Like Gaul, it can be divided into three parts: Chapters 1 through 4 discuss optical principles; Chapters 5 through 16 apply those principles to various telescope and accessory designs; and Chapters 17 through 22 cover evaluation and design. The manner of the text is generally scholarly but informal. Although optical principles are explained from the fundamentals, the authors still assume a certain level of comfort with high school mathematics and analytical exposition. In particular, it helps if the reader can easily digest information in two-dimensional graphs. This can make the book somewhat imposing for those readers who really just want to know, at a high level, what makes their own telescope tick. For those readers capable of making their way through the analysis, however, the authors clearly and comprehensively explain the workings of several telescope and camera designs, and discuss in brief the quirks of at least half a dozen more. The compromises of each design are detailed to the level of so-called "third-order aberrations"; these include coma, astigmatism, field curvature, spherical aberration, and distortion. The authors also make available their own design software. Being 15 years down the line, the software is somewhat out of date, and it does not come free with the book; it must be purchased separately. The book does explain how to use the software, though. Overall, the book should find its way onto the shelf of anyone who wants to learn, seriously, about their optics. For those who simply want a taste of how optics work, or who need a gentle introduction to the field, it probably ought to wait until later.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2004 by Brian Tung
Beware! This may look like a book for amateurs but it is a tough read, a technical read--and I say this from the perspective a someone who has had two years of Calculus...of which I understood at least 20 percent. Maybe it should called a good book for amateur engineers or mathematicians. The drawings, diagrams and presentation are very crisp and legible, and seem to reduce complex information to simple graphics. But each diagram and graph contains a semester of college concepts that, while easy to view, require a great deal of reflection to fully grasp. I would love to understand it all, but sort of lose focus midway through each page and soon find myself falling into a deep sleep.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2014 by Stuart Schulz