High School Layman's summary of water telescope experiments

Click For Summary
Klinkerfues' water telescope experiment demonstrated the effects of refraction on light as it passed through water, aiming to test the telescope's ability to improve astronomical observations. His conclusion indicated that using water as a medium could enhance the clarity of celestial images. Airy's follow-up experiments in 1871 and 1872 further investigated the optical properties of the water telescope, confirming Klinkerfues' findings and exploring the limitations of this method. Airy concluded that while the water telescope showed promise, practical challenges limited its effectiveness for serious astronomical work. Overall, these experiments contributed valuable insights into the behavior of light and the potential for alternative observational techniques in astronomy.
Devildog
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
TL;DR
Need summary of Klinkerfues water telescope experiment, and Airy's follow up experiments in 1871 and 1872.
In Layman's terms, what did Klinkerfues experiment show, what was he trying to test and what was conclusion. Same questions for Airy's follow up experiments in 1871 and 1872.
Thanks !
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org

Thread 'Lunar Orbit Issues & Lunar Clocks'

I recently purchased a lunar clock intended as a Christmas present for a young family friend who has become interested in astronomy. The clock face shows twelve images of the Moon in all its main phases, with the Full Moon depicted at the "twelve o'clock" position. Now I purchased this clock especially early to allow time to check on its accuracy. After waiting for a full lunar orbit to occur, I have since discovered that the clock time when measured relative to its lunar images (that's to...
View full post »

Similar threads

Weight of Objects in Space: Explained in Layman's Terms
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Undergrad Phase Contrast Telescope - Part II
  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
3K
Stargazing Stellar abberation (water in telescope)
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Stargazing Fixing declination runaway on a Meade LX200 telescope
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
4K
Undergrad Yet another spacetime-bending layman question
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
A water-bottle demonstration of atmospheric pressure
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
Graduate Loop Corrections: A Layman's Explanation
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
4K
High School Michelson Morley experiment and the Doppler effect
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
2K
Undergrad The initial density of an object and its compression into a black hole
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
5K
Stargazing Are there astronomy competitions?
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
6K