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Old 21-12-2016, 10:46 PM
Cimitar (Evan)
Evan Morris

Cimitar is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Gunnedah, NSW
Posts: 250
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wavytone View Post
Its a square law.

F/4 is (6/4)^2 = 2.25 times as fast as F/6.

The notion of fast/slow originates from photography and is referring to the shutter speed required for a correctly exposed image.

But... here's the catch:

The exposure depends on the amount of light reaching the sensor, which is proportional to the AREA of the telescope objective. Area is proportional to diameter squared.

But F/ratio is a ratio of two lengths = focal length/diameter.

So for two telescopes having focal ratios F1 and F2, the relative speed of one vs the other is (F1/F2) squared.
Thanks mate , I understand now. Really appreciate your input and from others on this topic

Cheers, Evan
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