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Star Ware: The Amateur Astronomer's Guide to Choosing, Buying ...

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14 <strong>Star</strong> <strong>Ware</strong><br />

Figure 2.4 continued<br />

Alvan Clark and Sons, Inc., America’s premier telescope maker of the nineteenth<br />

century. Other examples of the Clarks’ exceptional skill include the 36-inch at Lick<br />

Observa<strong>to</strong>ry in California, the 26-inch at the U.S. Naval Observa<strong>to</strong>ry in Washing<strong>to</strong>n,<br />

D.C., and many smaller refrac<strong>to</strong>rs at universities and colleges worldwide.<br />

Even <strong>to</strong>day, Clark refrac<strong>to</strong>rs are considered <strong>to</strong> be among the finest available.<br />

<strong>The</strong> most advanced modern refrac<strong>to</strong>rs offer features that the Clarks could<br />

not have imagined. Apochromatic refrac<strong>to</strong>rs effectively eliminate just about all<br />

aberrations common <strong>to</strong> their Galilean, Keplerian, and achromatic cousins.<br />

More about these when we examine consumer considerations in chapter 3.<br />

Reflecting Telescopes<br />

But there is more than one way <strong>to</strong> skin a cat. <strong>The</strong> second general type of telescope<br />

utilizes a large mirror, rather than a lens, <strong>to</strong> focus light <strong>to</strong> a point—not

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