All New Trends by Catagiri

"TELESCOPE" - SOME INTERESTING FACTS

HOW DOES A TELESCOPE "SEE" IN THE DARK?

     A telescope is a light bucket. It collects light from the objects in space using either a lens or , more usually, a mirror. A main mirror reflects the light to a smaller one, which brings the light to a focus where an image of the object is formed.


TYPES OF TELESCOPES:


1. REFRACTING TELESCOPE: Uses a large lens to refract, or bend, the light to form an image of a distant object. 






2. REFLECTING TELESCOPE: Uses a large curved mirror to pick up the faint light from distant stars.















3. RADIO TELESCOPE: Captures invisible radio waves given out by stars and other objects in space.
















4. SPACE TELESCOPE: Controlled by engineers on the ground, orbits Earth and works 24 hours a day.


















TOP FIVE TELESCOPES:


1. GRAN TELESCOPIO CANARIAS, La Palma Island, Spain = main mirror diameter - 10.4 m ( 34.1 ft)



 
        











2.KECK I AND KECK II, Mauna Kea, Hawaii = main mirror diameter - 10 m (32.8 ft)















3. SOUTHERN AFRICAN LARGE TELESCOPE, South Africa = main mirror diameter - 10 m (32.8 ft)
















4. HOBBY - EBERLY, Mount Fowlkes, Texas, USA = main mirror diameter - 9.2 m (30.2 ft)











5. LARGE BINOCULAR TELESCOPE, Mount Graham, Arizona, USA = main mirror diameter - 8.4 m ( 27.6 ft)













BEYOND VISION:-


   Stars don't just emit light but give off energy in a range of wavelengths. Different types of telescope detect different types of energy, which reveal a whole range of activity in the Universe. 

1. GAMMA RAY IMAGE: Gamma Ray burst - 


2. X-RAY IMAGE: Bullet galaxy cluster -



3. ULTRAVIOLET IMAGE: The Sun - 




4. VISIBLE LIGHT: Flame Nebula -



5. INFRARED IMAGE: Pinwheel galaxy - 



6. RADIO WAVE IMAGE: Whirlpool galaxy - 




LIGHT YEARS:- (LOOKING BACK)

  • Light from the SUN takes 8.3 minutes to reach us.
  • Light travels at 300,000 km (186,000 miles ) per second, so light from very distant objects takes a long time to reach us.
  • Light from the nearest star after the SUN takes 4.28 years,  so we say this star, PROXIMA CENTAURI,  is 4.28 years away.

  • The  ANDROMEDA GALAXY  is 2.5 million light years away from Earth. This means we see the galaxy as it was 2.5 million years ago. We are looking back in time




HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE:

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

  • The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into space on 24 April 1990. costing US$ 1.5 billion.
  • The 13.2 m long telescope orbits Earth every 97 minutes at an altitude of 569 km (353 miles), travelling at 8 km/sec (5 miles / sec).
  • Its main mirror collects light, which is directed to cameras and instruments. The data they record is sent to Earth about twice a day.
  •  Hubble's replacement, The James Webb Space Telescope,  will be launched this year. It will be located 1.5 million km (930,00 miles) from the Earth. 




RADIO TELESCOPES:


       A batch of radio telescopes known as the ALLEN TELESCOPE ARRAY listen out for signs of alien life. Together they will survey a million stars for radio signals generated by extra terrestrial intelligence. Some telescopes work together to produce a more detailed image. THE VERY LARGE ARRAY in New Mexico, USA, consists of 27 radio dishes, each 25 m (82 ft) across.