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Infrared astronomy is a sub-discipline of astronomy which specializes in the observation and analysis of astronomical objects using infrared (IR) radiation. The wavelength of infrared light ranges from 0.75 to 300 micrometers, and falls in between visible radiation, which ranges from 380 to 750 nanometers , and submillimeter waves.
An infrared telescope is a telescope that uses infrared light to detect celestial bodies. Infrared light is one of several types of radiation present in the electromagnetic spectrum . All celestial objects with a temperature above absolute zero emit some form of electromagnetic radiation . [ 1 ]
1976 – The 6-m BTA-6 (Bolshoi Teleskop Azimutalnyi or “Large Altazimuth Telescope”) goes into operation on Mt. Pashtukhov in the Russian Caucasus; 1978 – Multiple Mirror 176-inch (4.5 m) equivalent optical/infrared reflecting telescope begins operation, located in Amado, Arizona
1672 — Laurent Cassegrain, produces a design for a reflecting telescope using a paraboloid primary mirror and a hyperboloid secondary mirror. The design, named 'Cassegrain', is still used in astronomical telescopes used in observatories in 2006. 1674 — Robert Hooke produces a reflecting telescope based on the Gregorian design.
The sensitivity of Earth-based infrared telescopes is significantly limited by water vapor in the atmosphere, which absorbs a portion of the infrared radiation arriving from space outside of selected atmospheric windows. This limitation can be partially alleviated by placing the telescope observatory at a high altitude, or by carrying the ...
Infrared astronomy is founded on the detection and analysis of infrared radiation, wavelengths longer than red light and outside the range of our vision. The infrared spectrum is useful for studying objects that are too cold to radiate visible light, such as planets, circumstellar disks or nebulae whose light is blocked by dust.
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.
The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (Dutch: Infrarood Astronomische Satelliet) (IRAS) was the first space telescope to perform a survey of the entire night sky at infrared wavelengths. [6] Launched on 25 January 1983, [ 3 ] its mission lasted ten months. [ 7 ]