The Yerkes refracting telescope has a 1 m
diameter objective lens of focal length 20 m.Assume it is used with an eyepiece of focal length 4.31 cm.
Find the angular magnification of the
planet Mars as seen through this telescope
To find the angular magnification of the Yerkes refracting telescope when observing the planet Mars, we can use the formula:
Angular Magnification (M) = - fo / fe
where fo is the focal length of the objective lens and fe is the focal length of the eyepiece.
Given:
Focal length of objective lens (fo) = 20 m
Focal length of eyepiece (fe) = 4.31 cm = 0.0431 m
Plugging in the values into the formula:
M = - (20 m) / (0.0431 m)
M ≈ -463.14
Therefore, the angular magnification of the planet Mars as seen through this telescope is approximately -463.14.
Explanation:
To compute the angular magnification, we need to know the focal lengths of the objective lens and the eyepiece. These values are given in the problem as 20 m and 4.31 centimeters (or converted to meters as 0.0431 m), respectively.
The formula for angular magnification states that it is the negative ratio of the focal length of the objective lens to the focal length of the eyepiece. By substituting the given values into the formula, we can calculate the angular magnification.