Vocabulary
A particle of electromagnetic radiation
photon
What are the 2 types of optical telescopes?
Reflecting and Refracting
Who was the first astronomer to really use the telescope?
What is the lens on a telescope through which you look with your eye called?
The eyepiece
What is a non-optical telescope
One that does not use visible light
Why do astronomers avoid big cities?
Light pollution
Telescope that uses a mirror
Reflecting telescope
What is the name of the most successful space telescope in history - perhaos until recently?
The Hubble space telescope
A lightyear is a measure of...
Distance; how far light travels in 1 year. It is a measure of distance, not time.
What shape is a radio telescope disk?
Parabolic
The distance from a lens or mirror to the image it forms of a distant light source.
Focal length
Telescope that uses a lens
Refracting telescope
What is the single most important feature of a telescope?
What is its "light-gathering" ability?
What is the name and type of galaxy that we live in?
Milky Way; Spiral
What type waves does a radio telescope use?
Radio waves
The array of electromagnetic radiation displayed in order of wavelength
EM (electromagnetic) Spectrum
Name of the main lens in a refracting telescope
Primary lens
In what year was the first telescope invented?
and
In what year did galileo make his own telescope and use it to observe our solar system and the moon?
1608
and
1609
Describe the differences between refracting and reflecting telescopes. Be specific, with names of parts of each.
Refractors - Use a large objective lens to gather light and focus it at the focal point of the eye piece.
Reflector - Use a large primary mirror to gather light and focus it at the focal point of the eyepiece.
What are the advantages of radio telescopes?
Radio telescopes offer significant advantages by observing celestial objects through radio waves, allowing for
24/7, all-weather operation that is unaffected by sunlight, clouds, or atmospheric disruption - you can use it during daytime.
They penetrate interstellar dust to reveal hidden cosmic phenomena, map cold gas clouds, and detect objects invisible to optical telescopes, such as quasars and pulsars.
Tool used to analyze light in detail
Spectrograph - which sees various frequencies - enabling us to recognize various element emissions in stars.
What part of the telescope is used to adjust the magnification?
Eyepiece
Why do telescopes use big objective lens or primary mirrors?
light-gathering ability.
Which telescope can "see" the farthest? (I want not just the type, but also the specific name of this space [hint] telescope.)
What type EM radiation does it use to "see?"
The James Webb Infrared Space Telescope (JWST) is specifically designed to see farther than any other telescope ever has.
Infrared radiation
What are some advantages of infrared telescopes?
Infrared telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), excel at seeing through cosmic dust to observe young stars and hidden galactic cores, while detecting cool objects like exoplanets.
They also observe the oldest, most distant galaxies, whose light has stretched into infrared wavelengths.