Difference between Conventional Telescope & Liquid Mirror Telescope
Conventional Telescope
A traditional or conventional telescope is made up of highly polished glass mirrors, either single or a combination of curved ones.
Conventional Telescope
These conventional telescopes are directed in a controlled manner to focus on the targetted celestial object on specific nights. The light is then reflected to form images.
Liquid Mirror Telescope
The liquid mirror telescope is made up of mirrors with a reflective liquid.
Liquid Mirror Telescope
International Liquid-Mirror Telescope (ILMT) is made up of mirrors with a reflective liquid, mercury.
(Mercury is a liquid metal which has a high light-reflecting capacity).
Liquid Mirror Telescope
A container containing approximately 50 litres (700kgs) of mercury will be rotated at a fixed constant speed along the vertical axis of the ILMT.
Liquid Mirror Telescope
The mercury will spread as a thin layer in the container during this process, forming a paraboloid-shaped reflecting surface that will now serve as the mirror.
A surface like this is ideal for collecting and focusing light. The mirror has a 4-metre diameter.
Another difference between the two is their operational time.
Conventional Telescope
Conventional telescopes observe specific stellar sources for fixed hours as per the study requirement and time allotted by the respective telescope time allotment committee.
It is steered to point towards the celestial source of interest in the sky for observations.
Liquid Mirror Telescope
Liquid Mirror Telescopes capture the sky’s images on all nights between two successive twilights.
These are stationary telescopes that image a strip of the sky which is at the zenith at a given point time in the night.
Liquid Mirror Telescope
It will survey and capture any and all possible celestial objects, from stars, galaxies, supernovae explosions, and asteroids to space debris.
Liquid Mirror Telescope
The International Liquid-Mirror Telescope (ILMT) will capture the sky’s images on all nights — between two successive twilights — for the next five years starting October 2022.
Liquid mirrors may be a less expensive alternative to Conventional large Telescopes.
A rotating liquid-metal mirror is much less expensive to manufacture than a solid glass mirror, which must be cast, ground, and polished.