The increasing rate of growth in astronomical knowledge during the past few
decades is a direct consequence of the increase in the number and size of
telescopes and the efficiency with which they are used. Most celestial sources are
intrinsically faint and observations with small refi-acting telescopes and insensi-
tive photographic plates that required hours of observing time are now done in
minutes with large reflecting telescopes and efficient solid-state detectors. The
increased efficiency with which photons are collected and recorded by modem
instruments has indeed revolutionized the field of observational astronomy ...
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