ICEINSPACE
Moon Phase
CURRENT MOON
Waxing Gibbous 98.2%
|
|
01-12-2013, 07:59 AM
|
|
Nerd from Outer Space
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Next to my scope
Posts: 1,091
|
|
Aperture
Hello,
I saw an ad of the Skywatcher Heritage 130cm that said it collects 3 times more light than a 114cm telescope. This is a difference of about an inch. So I was curious to know if an additional inch always means 3 times more light or if it varies? Is there a rule?
Thanks!
|
01-12-2013, 08:23 AM
|
Registered User
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Lake Macquarie
Posts: 7,063
|
|
Simply calculate the area inside both circles (mirrors) using the formula A=3.14 x the radius squared, and then subtract the smaller one from the larger one. Take that difference and divide by the smaller number to get the percentage increase in the larger mirror - hope that make sense. A quick calculation shows the area difference is 30%, so the larger mirror would have 30% more light gathering area.
Last edited by glend; 01-12-2013 at 08:35 AM.
|
01-12-2013, 08:36 AM
|
|
Nerd from Outer Space
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Next to my scope
Posts: 1,091
|
|
Thanks! That's exactly what I needed to know.
|
01-12-2013, 12:32 PM
|
|
Registered User
|
|
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Blue Mountains, Australia
Posts: 1,333
|
|
Another way to do it (^2 means squared) is
(130/114)^2 = 1.30 or a 30% increase.
Regards, Rob
|
01-12-2013, 02:05 PM
|
|
Nerd from Outer Space
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Next to my scope
Posts: 1,091
|
|
Thank you, Rob!
|
01-12-2013, 04:23 PM
|
Registered User
|
|
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: margaret river, western australia
Posts: 6,070
|
|
If you work in inches, the difference in light gathering ability is immediately obvious. Just square the objective diam. For example
4" x4" =16 5"x5"=25 6"x6"=36 8"x8"=64 !0"x !0" =100.
Being smaller numbers than millimetres, it is easier to see the relationship between scope sizes. From these figures it can instantly be seen that a 10" [100] has 4x a5"[25], or an 8" [64] has 4x a 4"[16].
For less straightforward numbers it can be seen for example that an
8" has 64% of a 10", or a 6" has 36% of the 10"
just another way of looking at it.
raymo
|
02-12-2013, 11:30 AM
|
|
Nerd from Outer Space
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Next to my scope
Posts: 1,091
|
|
Thanks - yes, that is possible too.
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT +10. The time is now 04:11 PM.
|
|