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Astronomical pictures, like observational astronomy and photography from space exploration, show astronomical objects and phenomena in different colors and brightness, and often as composite images. This is done to highlight different features or reflect different conditions, and makes the note of these conditions necessary.
Astronomers use astrometric techniques for the tracking of near-Earth objects. Astrometry is responsible for the detection of many record-breaking Solar System objects. To find such objects astrometrically, astronomers use telescopes to survey the sky and large-area cameras to take pictures at various determined intervals.
A space telescope (also known as space observatory) is a telescope in outer space used to observe astronomical objects. Suggested by Lyman Spitzer in 1946, the first operational telescopes were the American Orbiting Astronomical Observatory , OAO-2 launched in 1968, and the Soviet Orion 1 ultraviolet telescope aboard space station Salyut 1 in 1971.
Stars of identical masses that formed at the same time and under similar conditions typically have nearly identical observed properties. Observing a mass of closely associated stars, such as in a globular cluster, allows data to be assembled about the distribution of stellar types. These tables can then be used to infer the age of the association.
At the moment, different space organizations still use their own time zones for their onboard chronometers and their two-way communications systems. The ESA said doing so "will not be sustainable ...
The discovery and tracking of space debris is a growing problem. Among the 20–30 thousand large objects in orbit that are tracked, an estimated 100 million objects some as small as paint flecks are harder to track than the larger objects, but large enough to shield against if they collide with a space asset. [11]
Coordinate systems in astronomy can specify an object's relative position in three-dimensional space or plot merely by its direction on a celestial sphere, if the object's distance is unknown or trivial. Spherical coordinates, projected on the celestial sphere, are analogous to the geographic coordinate system used on the surface of Earth.
The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth has been collecting and categorizing photos taken by astronauts. They see Earth from an altitude of about 250 miles as the station travels at a speed ...