h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm sure that you two can sort it out between you.

Hi,

I didn't have the time I anticipated at the weekend to give the piece a thorough going over, but here's one paragraph I'd like to amend. Immediately after the 'Power Isn't Everything' heading, I'd like to change it to read:

"It may surprise you, but a telescope's aperture has no bearing on its magnification (or power). It's the instrument's focal length -- the distance from the lens or mirror to a point at which it forms an image of a distant object -- that governs magnifying power. When seeing an astronomical telescope for the first time, a novice will invariably ask: "How much does it magnify?" The fact is that a telescope can provide an almost infinitely variable range of magnifications depending on the eyepiece used with it. Two main factors limit the power we can use on any given instrument: aperture (again) and atmospheric conditions."

Regards,
Ade

I've started going through this. This thing is like 9 pages long! After reading all this, I've decided to just go to NASA's web site if I ever want to look at stars close up.