Understanding Diffraction Spikes and their Impacts in Astrophotography
Diffraction, the phenomenon of waves spreading out as they pass through an aperture or around obstacles, plays a crucial role in shaping the star images we observe through telescopes. Ideally, our view would be unobstructed, but sometimes the obstacle is within the telescope itself! This is the case with Newtonian telescopes, where the secondary mirror and its supporting vanes, known as spider vanes, are situated in the optical path.
