Discover published sets by community

Design: A combination of a spherical mirror and a correcting lens (Schmidt plate). Functionality: Compact design that is popular with amateur astronomers and combines the benefits of refractors and reflectors. Examples of discoveries: Widely used in astrophotography and deep-sky observation.

Design: Telescopes with systems to reduce the effects of atmospheric distortion. Functionality: Measures the distortions in wavefront and compensates for them in real-time by adjusting mirrors. Examples of discoveries: Detailed observations of stars and galaxies at high angular resolution.

Design: Uses lenses to form an image, with the primary lens being the objective lens. Functionality: Light is bent (refracted) to bring it to a focal point to create an image. Examples of discoveries: Planets' moons, details on planetary surfaces.

Design: Consists of two or more telescopes that combine their signals. Functionality: Increases effective resolution using the principle of interference. Examples of discoveries: The diameter of stars, fine details of celestial objects.

Design: Detect high-energy gamma rays from cosmic sources. Functionality: Uses detectors like scintillation counters or spark chambers to convert gamma rays into light or an electrical signal. Examples of discoveries: Gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, high-energy particle acceleration in various phenomena.

Design: A telescope located outside Earth's atmosphere, in space. Functionality: Avoids atmospheric distortion and light pollution enabling clearer and more detailed images. Examples of discoveries: Age and size of the Universe (Hubble Space Telescope), exoplanet atmospheres.

Design: Employs a single or a combination of curved mirrors that reflect light to form an image. Functionality: Light is gathered and focused using reflective surfaces, usually a parabolic primary mirror. Examples of discoveries: Deep-sky objects like nebulae and galaxies.

Design: Essentially a large dish antenna, which detects radio waves from astronomical radio sources. Functionality: Radio waves are focused onto a receiver using a large, parabolic reflector. Examples of discoveries: Cosmic microwave background radiation, mapping of gas clouds in galaxies.

Design: Uses low-angle reflections from nested mirrors to focus X-ray photons from celestial objects. Functionality: Due to X-rays being absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, these telescopes are placed in space. Examples of discoveries: Black holes, neutron stars, coronae of stars.