ACHROMATIC REFRACTORS.
Length and name they are called by.Diameter of aperture.Illuminating power.Price.
Feet.In.Th.£s.
21.62544
2½2401212
3½2.77221 to
42
53.8144105 to
150
75250250
76360360
GREGORIAN &c. REFLECTORS.
Length and name they are known by.Diameter of Aperture.Illuminating power.Price.
Feet.In.Th.£s.
12.56277
1½3.901212
24.520220
35.530250
47490105
7 Newtonian7490126
5 Gregorian9810200
10 Newtonian101000315

The illuminating powers stated in the above table are only comparative. Fixing on the number 25 as the illuminating power of a 2 feet telescope, 16/10 inch aperture, that of a 2½ feet 2 inches inches aperture, will be 40, of a 5 feet 38/10 inch aperture, 144, &c. If the illuminating power of a Gregorian 1½ foot, and 3 inches aperture, be 90, a 5 feet, with 9 inches aperture, will be 810, &c.

6. On choosing Telescopes, and ascertaining their properties.

It is an object of considerable importance, to every astronomical observer, that he should be enabled to form a judgment of the qualities of his telescope, and of any instruments of this description which he may intend to purchase. The following directions may perhaps be useful to the reader in directing him in the choice of an achromatic refracting telescope.

Supposing that an achromatic telescope of 3½ feet focal length, and 3¼ inches aperture were offered for sale, and that it were required to ascertain whether the object-glass, on which its excellence chiefly depends—is a good one and duly adjusted;—some opinion may be formed by laying the tube of the telescope in a horizontal position, on a firm support, about the height of the eye,—and by placing a printed card or a watch glass vertically, but in an inverted position, against some wall or pillar, at 40 or 50 yards distant, so as to be exposed to a clear sky. When the telescope is directed to this object, and accurately adjusted to the eye—should the letters on the card, or the strokes and dots on the watch-glass appear clearly and sharply defined, without any mistiness or coloration, and if very small points appear well defined—great hopes may be entertained that the glass will turn out a good one. But a telescope may appear a good one, when viewing common terrestrial objects, to eyes unaccustomed to discriminate deviations from perfect vision, while it may turn out to be an indifferent one, when directed to certain celestial objects. Instead therefore of a printed card, fix a black board, or one half of a sheet of black paper, in a vertical position at the same distance, and a circular disk of white writing paper, about ¼ of an inch in diameter, on the centre of the black ground. Then having directed the telescope to this object, and adjusted for the place of distinct vision, mark with a black-lead pencil the sliding eye-tube, at the end of the main tube, so that this position can always be known; and if this sliding tube be gradually drawn out, or pushed in, while the eye beholds the disk, it will gradually enlarge and lose its colour, till its edges cease to be well-defined. Now, if the enlarged misty circle is observed to be concentric with the disk itself, the object-glass is properly centered, as it has reference to the tube; but if the misty circle goes to one side of the disk, the cell of the object-glass is not at right angles to the tube, and must have its screws removed and its holes elongated, by a rattailed file, small enough to enter the holes. When this has been done, the cell may be replaced, and the disk examined a second time, and a slight stroke on one edge of the cell, by a wooden mallet, will show by the alteration made in the position of the misty portion of the disk, how the adjustment is to be effected, which is known to be right when a motion in the sliding tube will make the diluted disk enlarge in a circle concentric with the disk itself. When the disk will enlarge so as to make a ring of diluted white light round its circumference, as the sliding tube holding the eye-piece is pushed in or drawn out, the cell may be finally fixed by the screws passing through its elongated holes.

When the object-glass is thus adjusted, it may then be ascertained whether the curves of the respective lenses composing the object-glass are well-formed and suitable for each other. If a small motion of the sliding tube of about 1/10th of an inch in a 3½ feet telescope, from the point of distinct vision, will dilute the light of the disk and render the appearance confused, the figure of the object-glass is good; particularly if the same effect will take place at equal distances from the point of distinct vision, when the tube is alternately drawn out and pushed in. A telescope that will admit of much motion in the sliding tube without sensibly affecting the distinctness of vision, will not define an object well at any point of adjustment, and must be considered as having an imperfect object-glass, inasmuch as the spherical aberration of the transmitted rays is not duly corrected. The due adjustment of the convex lens, or lenses, to the concave one, will be judged of by the absence of coloration round the enlarged disk, and is a property distinct from the spherical aberration; the achromatism depending on the relative focal distances of the convex and concave lenses, is regulated by the relative dispersive powers of the pieces of glass made use of; but the distinctness of vision depends on a good figure of the computed curves that limit the focal distances. When an object-glass is free from imperfection in both these respects, it may be called a good glass for terrestrial purposes.

It still, however, remains to be determined how far such an object-glass may be good for viewing a star or a planet, and can only be known by actual observations on the heavenly bodies. When a good telescope is directed to the moon or to Jupiter, the achromatism may be judged of, by alternately pushing in, and drawing out the eye-piece, from the place of distinct vision. In the former case, a ring of purple will be formed round the edge; and in the latter, a ring of light green, which is the central colour of the prismatic spectrum; for these appearances show, that the extreme colours red and violet are corrected. Again, if one part of a lens employed have a different refractive power from another part of it, that is, if the flint-glass particularly is not homogeneous, a star of the first and even of the second magnitude will point out the natural defect by the exhibition of an irradiation, or what is called a wing, at one side, which no perfection of figure or of adjustment will banish, and the greater the aperture the more liable is the evil to happen. Hence caps with different apertures are usually supplied with large telescopes, that the extreme parts of the glass may be cut off, in observations requiring a round and well-defined image of the body observed.

Another method of determining the figure and quality of an object-glass is by first covering its centre by a circular piece of paper, as much as one half of its diameter, and adjusting it for distinct vision of a given object, such as the disk above mentioned, when the central rays are intercepted—and then trying if the focal length remains unaltered when the paper is taken away, and an aperture of the same size applied, so that the extreme rays may in their turn be cut off. If the vision remains equally distinct in both cases, without any new adjustment for focal distance, the figure is good, and the spherical aberration cured, and it may be seen by viewing a star of the first magnitude successively in both cases, whether the irradiation is produced more by the extreme or by the central parts of the glass. Or, in case the one half be faulty and the other good, a semicircular aperture, by being turned gradually round in trial, will detect what semicircle contains the defective portion of the glass; and if such portion should be covered, the only inconvenience that would ensue, would be the loss of so much light as is thus excluded. When an object-glass produces radiations in a large star, it is unfit for the nicer observations of astronomy, such as viewing double stars of the first class. The smaller a large star appears in any telescope, the better is the figure of the object-glass, but if the image of the star be free from wings, the size of its disk is not an objection in practical observations.[30]

Some opticians are in the habit of inserting a diaphragm into the body of the large tube, to cut off the extreme rays coming from the object-glass when the figure is not good, instead of lessening the aperture by a cap. When this is the case, a deficiency of light will be the consequence beyond what the apparent aperture warrants. It is therefore proper to examine that the diaphragm be not placed too near the object-glass, so as to intercept any of the useful rays. Sometimes a portion of the object-glass is cut off by the stop in the eye-tube. To ascertain this, adjust the telescope to distinct vision, then take out the eye-glasses, and put your finger on some other object on the edge of the outside of the object-glass, and look down the tube; if you can see the tip of your finger, or any object in its place, just peeping over the edge of the object-glass, no part is cut off. I once had a 3½ feet telescope whose object-glass measured 3 inches diameter, which was neither so bright, nor did it perform in other respects nearly so well as another of the same length whose object-glass was only 2¾ inches diameter; but I found that a diaphragm was placed about a foot within the end of the large tube, which reduced the aperture of the object-glass to less than 2½ inches; and when it was removed the telescope was less distinct than before. The powers given along with this instrument were much lower than usual—none of them exceeding 100 times. This is a trick not uncommon with some opticians.