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Ch 24.2 Tools for Studying Space

Ch 24.2 Tools for Studying Space

 

Optical Telescopes

Type of telescope Pros and cons
Refracting Uses lenses Needs expensive lensesGlass lenses limit size
Reflecting Uses mirrors Best optical quality- no size limit

 

Chromatic Aberration the property of a lens where different colors are not in focus at the same time

 

Detecting “Invisible” Light

Type of telescope Pros and cons
Radio telescope Uses antennae to capture incoming radiowaves Not affected by cloudsCan use 24 hours a dayCan detect cool clouds and gases
Space telescope Orbit above Earth’s atmosphere Produce clearer images than Earth telescopes
Special purpose Examples X-ray telescope to study black holesCompton Gamma-Ray to study exploding stars Can “see” objects outside of visible light spectrum

 

Review video:  NOVA Hunting the Edge of Space:  Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqwgpsXII0s