Introduction
Telescope have advanced a great deal in the four hundred years since their invention. There is now even a giant telescope in orbit around the Earth. The Hubble space Telescope has given astronomers incredible view of stars as distant as 13 billion light years away and changed the way we think about the Universe. Modern technology also allows us to "see" much more than just light.
The Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope was a dream come true for astronomers. Launched in 1990 after nearly half a century of planning, it gave a crystal clear view of Space. Orbiting at 610 KM above the Earth's Surface, its view is not blocked by the planet's turbulent atmosphere. Hubble has many different camera's, including infrared and faint-objects camera's that can detect things that cannot be seen by naked eye.
Astronomy in space
Most objects in space give off energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation. This radiation can be in many different forms and often travels millions of light years before it reaches Earth. However, most forms of radiation are absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere and so cannot be seen from the planet's surface. Because of this ,these types of radiation are best studied from space. There are many different satellites orbiting the Earth, allowing us to study radiation before it reaches Earth's atmosphere.
Unusual astronomy
Amateur astronomers are usually only able to study visible light in the Universe. However, technology today allows us to "see" much more than this. Light is just one part of the electromagnetic spectrum. By studying different types of radiation, we can learn a great deal more about the Universe.
Some More Facts
1) There are all sorts of different satellites orbiting Earth. Many keep a 24-hour eye on space, viewing it in different wavelengths. The Space Shuttle deploy Gamma Ray, which observe space in Gamma ray wavelength.
2) Soon after it was launched, astronomers found that Hubble's main mirror was slightly the wrong shape, and the pictures were out of focus. In 1993, a servicing mission was sent to Hubble, and the telescope was given a corrective contact lens to improve its vision!.
3) Radio Astronomy: Radio telescopes collect the faint radio signals given by objects in space. These telescopes are often large satellite dishes and are so accurate that they can track down molecules in the space between stars!.
4) Infrared Astronomy: Every thing in the universe that is cooler than normal stars emits infrared radiation. By looking at the universe through an infrared telescope, we can see things that are not visible with an optical telescope.
5) UV's and X-ray astronomy: These are radiation sources of a higher energy level than infrared and are best observer by telescope orbiting Earth's atmosphere. UV astronomy is used to track down the hottest stars. X-rays are emitted by even hotter objects, such as gas clouds around black holes.
6)Gamma ray astronomy: Radiation of the highest energy levels is called gamma ray. No star or gas cloud could ever reach temperatures high enough to generate gamma rays. Instead, they are produced by colliding radioactive particles in space.
Facts and Figures
1800: William Herschel discovers infrared radiation when he splits sunlight through a prism.
1814: Joseph von Fraunhofer is the first to study the Sun's spectrum using a spectrometer.
1932: Karl Jansky detects the first radio waves coming from space.
1970: The Uhuru satellite is launched to map the sky at X-ray wavelengths.
1983: IRAS is launched. It is the first infrared astronomy satellite.
1990: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched.
Telescope have advanced a great deal in the four hundred years since their invention. There is now even a giant telescope in orbit around the Earth. The Hubble space Telescope has given astronomers incredible view of stars as distant as 13 billion light years away and changed the way we think about the Universe. Modern technology also allows us to "see" much more than just light.
The Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope was a dream come true for astronomers. Launched in 1990 after nearly half a century of planning, it gave a crystal clear view of Space. Orbiting at 610 KM above the Earth's Surface, its view is not blocked by the planet's turbulent atmosphere. Hubble has many different camera's, including infrared and faint-objects camera's that can detect things that cannot be seen by naked eye.
Astronomy in space
Most objects in space give off energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation. This radiation can be in many different forms and often travels millions of light years before it reaches Earth. However, most forms of radiation are absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere and so cannot be seen from the planet's surface. Because of this ,these types of radiation are best studied from space. There are many different satellites orbiting the Earth, allowing us to study radiation before it reaches Earth's atmosphere.
Unusual astronomy
Amateur astronomers are usually only able to study visible light in the Universe. However, technology today allows us to "see" much more than this. Light is just one part of the electromagnetic spectrum. By studying different types of radiation, we can learn a great deal more about the Universe.
Some More Facts
1) There are all sorts of different satellites orbiting Earth. Many keep a 24-hour eye on space, viewing it in different wavelengths. The Space Shuttle deploy Gamma Ray, which observe space in Gamma ray wavelength.
2) Soon after it was launched, astronomers found that Hubble's main mirror was slightly the wrong shape, and the pictures were out of focus. In 1993, a servicing mission was sent to Hubble, and the telescope was given a corrective contact lens to improve its vision!.
3) Radio Astronomy: Radio telescopes collect the faint radio signals given by objects in space. These telescopes are often large satellite dishes and are so accurate that they can track down molecules in the space between stars!.
4) Infrared Astronomy: Every thing in the universe that is cooler than normal stars emits infrared radiation. By looking at the universe through an infrared telescope, we can see things that are not visible with an optical telescope.
5) UV's and X-ray astronomy: These are radiation sources of a higher energy level than infrared and are best observer by telescope orbiting Earth's atmosphere. UV astronomy is used to track down the hottest stars. X-rays are emitted by even hotter objects, such as gas clouds around black holes.
6)Gamma ray astronomy: Radiation of the highest energy levels is called gamma ray. No star or gas cloud could ever reach temperatures high enough to generate gamma rays. Instead, they are produced by colliding radioactive particles in space.
Facts and Figures
1800: William Herschel discovers infrared radiation when he splits sunlight through a prism.
1814: Joseph von Fraunhofer is the first to study the Sun's spectrum using a spectrometer.
1932: Karl Jansky detects the first radio waves coming from space.
1970: The Uhuru satellite is launched to map the sky at X-ray wavelengths.
1983: IRAS is launched. It is the first infrared astronomy satellite.
1990: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched.
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