Magnifying Power: Does the Tree Look 10x Nearer?

[Amith2006]

An observer looks at a tree of height of 15 meters with a telescope of magnifying power 10. It is said that to the man the tree appears to be 10 times nearer. Is it true? I thought that a telescope produces an image larger than the object. So I felt the answer was that the man the tree appears to be 10 times taller. But in this question it is interpretted differently.

 

[Andrew Mason]

An observer looks at a tree of height of 15 meters with a telescope of magnifying power 10. It is said that to the man the tree appears to be 10 times nearer. Is it true? I thought that a telescope produces an image larger than the object. So I felt the answer was that the man the tree appears to be 10 times taller. But in this question it is interpretted differently.

The image in the eye is 10 times taller through the telescope than through the naked eye. That makes it seem 10 times closer.

AM

 

[kyle8921]

I would like to clarify that the magnifying power of a telescope refers to the ability to make an object appear larger or closer than it actually is. In this case, the use of a telescope with a magnifying power of 10 would make the tree appear 10 times closer, not taller. This is due to the fact that the magnifying power of a telescope is calculated by dividing the focal length of the objective lens by the focal length of the eyepiece. This means that the telescope is able to gather more light and create a larger image of the object, making it appear closer to the observer.

So, in this scenario, it is true that the tree would appear 10 times nearer to the observer when viewed through the telescope. This is a common misconception that a telescope simply magnifies the size of an object, when in reality it is creating a larger image of the object. I hope this explanation helps to clarify the concept of magnifying power and how it affects the appearance of objects through a telescope.