What do space telescopes do?

Telescopes are placed into orbit around the Earth or are sent farther out into space to get a clearer view of the Universe. Others are used to study the different types of light given off by objects in space. X-ray and gamma-ray telescopes study the hottest and most explosive objects in space.

How do space telescopes take pictures?

Hubble flies around, or orbits, high above Earth and its atmosphere. Hubble uses a digital camera. It takes pictures like a cell phone. Then Hubble uses radio waves to send the pictures through the air back to Earth.

How do space telescopes send images to Earth?

Instead of acting as a visual telescope like the type astronomers use on Earth, the HST performs more like a digital camera to capture images in the same method as a cell phone camera. Radio waves then transmit these digital images back to Earth.

What is a problem with space telescopes?

After 31 years in space, the Hubble Space Telescope unexpectedly shut down on June 13 after suffering a problem that initially appeared to be the fault of an aging memory module. But the more NASA personnel tried to fix the issue, the more slippery it became.

Why are telescopes in space better?

Space telescopes have the advantage of being above the blurring effects of the Earth’s atmosphere. In addition, there are many wavelengths from the electromagnetic spectrum that do not reach Earth because they are absorbed or reflected by the Earth’s atmosphere.

What does NASA’s Sofia stand for?

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, is a Boeing 747SP aircraft modified to carry a 2.7-meter (106-inch) reflecting telescope (with an effective diameter of 2.5 meters or 100 inches).

Does space actually have color?

Space emits a range of wavelengths of light, some we can see others we can’t. However it doesn’t record any color but it has got filters which enable it to capture only a certain required wavelength of light.

How did placing telescopes in space help astronomers?

The main reason we put telescopes into space is to get around the Earth’s atmosphere so that we can get a clearer view of the planets, stars, and galaxies that we are studying. Our atmosphere acts like a protective blanket letting only some light through while blocking others.

How many space telescopes are in space?

Visible light

Name	Space Agency	Location
Hipparcos	ESA	Earth orbit (223–35,632 km)
Hubble Space Telescope	NASA & ESA	Earth orbit (586.47–610.44 km)
MOST	CSA	Earth orbit (819–832 km)
Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer	NASA	Earth orbit (585–604 km)