greg1917 Posted May 15, 2003 Share Posted May 15, 2003 When i looked at a star in the sky, its colour flickered as did its intensity. why does this happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaKiri Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Distortions in the atmosphere make it seem like they flicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radical Edward Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 yeap, this is the main problem with surface telescopes (as well as absorption) and the reason people are developing laser guide stars and adaptive optics. have a google for them, they are quite interesting. THe asme adaptive optics technique can be used for advanced retinal imaging Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blike Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Yea, I've seen one of those telescopes on discovery that has a computer constantly bending and contorting the mirror to help correct for this. (i think the mirror is actually made up of many smaller mirrors). Nonetheless, its quite amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg1917 Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 Distortions in the atmosphere? Is that the only reason? I was hoping for something more interesting but if thats the only reason then fair enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superchump Posted May 17, 2003 Share Posted May 17, 2003 Originally posted by greg1917 Distortions in the atmosphere? Is that the only reason? I was hoping for something more interesting but if thats the only reason then fair enough. Nope, just a bunch of different density layers of air and good old refraction. And throw in suspended particulate matter (dust, vapors) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radical Edward Posted May 17, 2003 Share Posted May 17, 2003 Originally posted by blike Yea, I've seen one of those telescopes on discovery that has a computer constantly bending and contorting the mirror to help correct for this. (i think the mirror is actually made up of many smaller mirrors). Nonetheless, its quite amazing. It is one very thin flexible mirror with a bunch of actuators behind it - at least the ones I have seen. they may have multiple mirrors for bigger devices though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now