Telescopes

Shack-Hartmann sensors sit at the heart of measuring and correcting optical wavefronts, popping up everywhere from astronomy to vision science. […]

Laser guide star systems shoot artificial points of light high up in the atmosphere, giving telescopes a solid reference for

Getting a telescope to work right really comes down to how precisely each optical element is aligned and measured. You

Stray light can quietly undermine the performance of even the most advanced optical systems. It scatters or bounces off unintended

Telescope mirrors really depend on advanced coating technologies to capture and reflect as much light as possible. These coatings determine

Segmented mirror phasing makes sure every mirror segment in a large telescope works together as a single, precise optical surface.

Large telescope mirrors need to keep a precise shape to produce sharp, accurate images. Even tiny changes from gravity, temperature

Thin mirror technology brings together precision optics and materials engineering to create mirrors that are both lightweight and highly accurate.

Large aperture telescopes really push the boundaries of precision engineering. These massive, lightweight structures collect faint light from distant objects,

Telescope mount kinematics shape how a mount moves and holds its position while it tracks objects across the sky. Every

Designing a telescope that delivers sharp, stable images takes more than just precise optics. The structure holding those optics needs

In low-light astronomy, every photon really does matter. That faint glow from galaxies, nebulae, or exoplanets can get so weak

If you want to capture faint and distant objects with a telescope, you have to understand how well the sensor

Infrared astronomy lets us peek into parts of the universe that visible light just can’t reach, but the signals we

Polarization in telescope optics isn’t just a minor quirk of light—it can really shape the accuracy and clarity of what

High-resolution echelle spectroscopy has become a real cornerstone of modern astrophysics. It offers unmatched detail for studying stars and planets

A thoughtfully designed astronomical spectrograph can reveal details about distant stars, galaxies, and nebulae that images alone just can’t show.

Light doesn’t always travel in perfectly straight lines when it passes through a lens or an aperture. Instead, it bends

Coherence theory lays out how light waves keep a steady relationship in phase and frequency. That’s what lets us see

A telescope’s point spread function (PSF) shows how a single point of light—like a distant star—looks after it passes through

Fourier optics gives us a sharp lens to understand how telescopes form images—not just as simple pictures, but as patterns

Interferometry has changed how astronomers look at the universe. It lets us see details far beyond what a single telescope

If you want to understand how a telescope forms images, you need to look beyond just its magnification or aperture

When you design the optical path of an astronomical telescope, you have to juggle precision, efficiency, and practicality. Light needs

Large telescopes need really precise optics to capture sharp, detailed images of distant objects. Even tiny imperfections in how light

Light travels through Earth’s atmosphere in a way that’s never perfectly smooth. Tiny, unpredictable changes in air temperature and density

When you slip away to the wilds of Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota, you step into one of America’s

Alaska’s largest national park gives you some of the best stargazing in North America. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park stretches across

When the sun dips behind Zion’s towering red cliffs, the park changes completely. Most visitors snap their sunset photos and

Yellowstone National Park turns into one of America’s top stargazing destinations once darkness settles over its wild landscape. Most people

Yosemite National Park has some of the darkest skies in California, making it a top spot for watching stars. The

Wind Cave National Park gives you some of the darkest skies in the United States, which makes it a top

Congaree National Park in South Carolina boasts some of the darkest skies on the East Coast, so it’s a magnet

When darkness settles over Death Valley National Park, the desert turns into one of America’s top stargazing destinations. Since it’s

Cuyahoga Valley National Park gives you some of the best stargazing in Ohio. It’s got relatively dark skies and easy

Picture yourself lying back and gazing up at a night sky so clear, the Milky Way stretches from one horizon

Denali National Park gives you some of the most spectacular stargazing opportunities in North America. Its six million acres of

The Everglades has some of Florida’s darkest skies, so it’s a top spot for stargazing enthusiasts who want to escape

Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska gives you some of the world’s most incredible stargazing opportunities. This wild

Glacier Bay National Park in southeast Alaska gives you some of the clearest stargazing conditions in North America. This remote

If you ever look up at the night sky in Glacier National Park, you’ll find one of the most breathtaking

Tucked away in eastern Nevada, Great Basin National Park serves up some of the most incredible stargazing opportunities you’ll find

Looking up at the night sky from Grand Canyon National Park, you get one of the most breathtaking stargazing experiences

Channel Islands National Park has some of the darkest skies anywhere in the national park system. Out off California’s coast,

Crater Lake National Park gives you some of the most spectacular stargazing opportunities in the United States. Tucked away in

Gateway Arch National Park brings a surprisingly stellar experience right to the heart of St. Louis, Missouri. Sure, the famous

Most folks assume you’ve got to escape way out into the countryside to see a spectacular night sky, but Indiana

Joshua Tree National Park is easily one of America’s top stargazing destinations, where the desert sky really shows off in

Alaska’s wild backcountry offers some of North America’s most jaw-dropping night skies, and Katmai National Park really shines for anyone

Alaska’s wild, far-off landscapes offer some of North America’s most incredible night skies. If you’re into astronomy, Kenai Fjords National