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Historically, optical astronomy, which has been also called visible light astronomy, is the oldest form of astronomy. [58] Images of observations were originally drawn by hand. In the late 19th century and most of the 20th century, images were made using photographic equipment.
Originally, it was an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe distant objects – an optical telescope. Nowadays, the word "telescope" is defined as a wide range of instruments capable of detecting different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum , and in some cases other types of detectors.
Wavelength sensitivity of Hubble, Webb, Roman, and other major observatories The Hubble Space Telescope, one of the Great Observatories. A space telescope (also known as space observatory) is a telescope in outer space used to observe astronomical objects.
Visible-light astronomy has existed as long as people have been looking up at the night sky, although it has since improved in its observational capabilities since the invention of the telescope, which is commonly credited to Hans Lippershey, a German-Dutch spectacle-maker, [1] although Galileo played a large role in the development and ...
At the shorter wavelengths used in infrared astronomy and optical astronomy it is more difficult to combine the light from separate telescopes, because the light must be kept coherent within a fraction of a wavelength over long optical paths, requiring very precise optics. Practical infrared and optical astronomical interferometers have only ...
Space-based astronomy had begun on a very small scale following World War II, as scientists made use of developments that had taken place in rocket technology. The first ultraviolet spectrum of the Sun was obtained in 1946, [21] and NASA launched the Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO) to obtain UV, X-ray, and gamma-ray spectra in 1962. [22]
Here is a list of currently existing astronomical optical interferometers (i.e. operating from visible to mid-infrared wavelengths), and some parameters describing their performance. Current performance of ground-based interferometers
Optical science is relevant to and studied in many related disciplines including astronomy, various engineering fields, photography, and medicine (particularly ophthalmology and optometry, in which it is called physiological optics).