...Telescopes in Astronomy Cary Lingle PHY 107 June 25, 2013 Professor Worek Telescopes in Astronomy Peering out beyond the confines of the Earth was a daydream for early scientists. Staring into the heavens from the Earth limited the scientific community’s ability to study the cosmic bodies above the Earth’s surface. As curiosity grew to explore the Sun, moon, stars and far-reaching corners of the universe, creativity was sparked leading to the development of tools like a telescope to assist scientists with examining outer space and its contents. The development of the telescope began in the hands of a Dutch lens maker, Hans Lippershey. Lippershey developed a device consisting of a tube and a lens allowing the user to view objects up close. Galileo Galilei expanded upon Lippershey’s design creating the modern day telescope using a concave lens. Galileo used his telescope view the items in the night sky including the Milky Way. Galileo revealed that the Earth was not at the center of the universe that was a contrasting view from previous scholars. The development of the telescope has lead to significant discoveries including the moon's effect on weather patterns on Earth and in space black holes, stars' lifecycles and galaxies beyond the Milky Way to name a few. The ability to study the Sun has given scholars the ability to determine the age of the Sun, planets and stars in the night sky. The first telescope's original design, consisting of a tube and lens, gave the viewer...
Words: 1299 - Pages: 6
...Telescopes in Astronomy SCI/151 January 26, 2015 Telescopes in Astronomy Telescopes are one of man's greatest inventions. The instrument makes distant objects appear closer and they have taken us on a fantastic voyage of learning about and understanding our universe. This paper will focus on the importance of telescopes, major designs, strengths and weaknesses of telescope locations, and where the best place to build them is. In addition, frequencies of light and the role they play in telescopes are discussed. Prior to the telescope the universe was studied, but without the telescope many discoveries would not have been possible. Birth of the Telescope There is some debate as to who designed the first telescope, however the first person to apply for a telescope patent was Hans Lippershey in 1608 (Cox, 2013). In 1609 when Galileo heard of the telescope he decided to design his own and was the first person to point it up toward space (Cox, 2013). Up until this point it was thought that the universe was geocentric and that the Sun evolved around the Earth. The invention of the telescope helped prove the Copernican system in which all planets evolve around the Sun. This discovery significantly changed our view of the universe and our place in it. Telescope Designs Designs of telescopes range from reflecting, refracting, and catadioptric telescopes. These three types of telescopes...
Words: 1369 - Pages: 6
...Telescopes in Astronomy Jennifer Boyer SCI/151 June 12, 2015 Robert Austin Telescopes in Astronomy What people currently know about the universe, along with all of its contents, is due in large part to the invention of telescopes. This paper discusses the science of sunlight and stars by explaining how the telescope has changed people’s view of the universe, as well as their place in it. This essay also discusses the major designs of telescopes, provides a list of each design’s strengths and weaknesses, describes the best places to build ground-based telescopes and why astronomers choose those places, and contrasts the strengths and weaknesses between building telescopes on Earth, in orbit, or even on the moon. Additionally, this paper explains how different frequencies of light tell more about the birth, life, and death in the nature and properties of the Sun, stars, and the universe. Lastly, this essay explains how telescopes operate in wavelengths of light that range from radio waves to gamma rays. How Telescopes Changed People’s View The invention of the telescope significantly impacts the way people in the past and present view the Earth, other planets and solar systems, as well as the universe as a whole (Bennett, J., Donahue, M., & Schneider, N., & Voit, M., 2015). Until the invention of Galileo Galilei's (1564-1642) simple telescope, many people thought that the earth was the center of our solar system (Bennett, J., Donahue, M., & Schneider...
Words: 2783 - Pages: 12
...Studying the Stars: How the Telescope Changed Astronomy As long as humans have been able to see, they have looked at the stars with either with worship or with wonder. The earliest cultures of humanity created their deities from the heavens, most of which were seating upon the glowing specks of light that show through the black night sky. Humans only have a few senses that let them interact with and receive information from the environment, sight being the most useful. Trying to figure out what something far away is, in a star’s case, far enough away to make a giant ball of burning helium look like a speck, is something that requires a tool. Telescopes were the first tool that really helped humans see into the heavens, letting them study the stars and the ‘wanderers’ which eventually were found out to be planets moving around the sun (although at the time they were discovered, it was thought that everything revolved around the earth); albeit all of these stars and planets were discovered before Galileo’s telescope. The tool still helped gain better calculations of the stars, which helped Galileo support Nicolaus Copernicus’ heliocentric (sun-centered) solar system as opposed to the geocentric (earth-centered) solar system that people in those times believed. With Isaac Newton, one of the most famous physicists, discovering most of laws of motion through his studies in astronomy, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, one of the greatest works in the Scientific Revolution...
Words: 2278 - Pages: 10
...the observable universe. (physics.org) Without the Hubble Space telescope none of these galaxies would have been discovered and many astronomical discoveries would go unnoticed and would halt many studies in the field, it would leave many cosmic mysteries unsolved. It took many years to launch the telescope into space and for the telescope to be able to take the kinds of photos that it takes today. This is why the Hubble telescope has such importance in the field of astronomy. The hubble space telescope was named after astronomer Edwin Hubble. Accroding to spacetelescope.com Edwin Hubble was born in Missouri in 1958. He moved to chicago nine years later where he attended high school. He graduated in 1906 received a scholarship from the university from chicago, because the scholarship was awarded to another student by...
Words: 998 - Pages: 4
...STARS AND TELESCOPES PAPER Stars and Telescopes Paper University of Phoenix SCI 151 Telescopes in Astronomy Some basic knowledge of telescopes in astronomy will be examined in this paper. For many years telescopes have been used for observing celestial objects. Telescopes have changed our understanding and knowledge by observing objects in the universe. New developments have been discovered based on measuring the wavelength omitted from the celestial objects with improved technology creating many kinds of telescopes. Studying different stages of stars in detail can be done by using different telescopes that are used for specific purposes. This paper will touch base on the history of telescopes, the development of telescopes, and the function, and purposed of telescopes in our universe. Since the seventeenth century the telescope has become one of the important instruments to reveal unsuspected phenomena in the heavens and universe. The controversy between traditional geocentric astronomy and those favored the heliocentric system of Copernicus has had major influence from the discoveries from the telescope. The telescope gave men the opportunity to observe things that mankind had never seen before, increasing men’s senses and knowledge of objects in outer space. Originally the invention of the telescope was a prototype of modern scientific instruments, not an invention of scientists. Craftsmen created the instrument we refer to as the telescope. Using...
Words: 1094 - Pages: 5
...Fields, Telescopes and Black Holes Astronomy is defined as the scientific study of the universe and the objects in it, including stars, planets, nebulae, and galaxies. Astronomy deals with the position, size, motion, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial objects. Astronomers analyze not only visible light but also radio waves, x-rays, and other ranges of radiation that come from sources outside the Earth's atmosphere (American Heritage Dictionary, 2002). This particular assignment required we visit an institution that specializes in the education of astronomy so that we, as students, could delve deeper into the world of astronomy through hands on experience. I elected to visit the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on the 4th of July 2012. I also viewed the film Black Holes the Edge of Infinity in addition to the hands on exercise. I feel a new appreciation for astronomy through the interactive learning experience because it put how very far we’ve come to understanding our universe into perspective. The first exhibit I visited had to do with the four nonvisible wave lengths of light and telescopes. I integrated the two exhibits so that I can elaborate on them in a way that culminates the experience. For every nonvisible wave measured there is a corresponding telescope. These are radio waves, infrared, ultraviolet, and gamma ray. Because radio waves are larger than optical waves, radio telescopes work differently than optical telescopes. Radio telescopes are dishes...
Words: 833 - Pages: 4
...History of Radio Telescopes Describe the development of single dish radio telescopes and advantages of radio interferometers. Discuss major discoveries that were possible after detection of radio waves from space and how they changed our understanding of Universe. The development of single dish radio telescopes has facilitated a wider range of astronomical discovery through improvements to the instruments by which radio astronomers study celestial objects at radio frequencies. Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation, and differ from ordinary visible light due to a longer wavelength and lower frequency. Engineer Karl Guthe Janksy is associated with the first radio antenna built in 1931 to identify astronomical radio sources. This involved an arrangement of reflectors and diploes, or pairs of equal and oppositely magnetized poles separated by a distance, intended to receive short wave radio signals. Labelled “Janksy’s Merry Go Round” due to its position on a turntable, Janksy monitored his instrument over several months and was able to measure the length of an astronomical sidereal day, which is the time it took for a fixed object located on the celestial sphere to return to the same location in the sky. Most notably, was his serendipitous discovery of the Milky Way in 1933 through comparison of his observations with optical astronomical maps, and eventual conclusion that the radiation source peaked when his antenna was aimed at the densest part of the Milky Way in...
Words: 1059 - Pages: 5
...Earth using the following terms: solstice, equinox, aphelion, perihelion, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn. 10. Explain why we have phases of the moon, what the different phases of the moon look like to an Earth observer, and how much time is takes to go between each phases. 11. Which of the following have the greatest frequency of occurrence: lunar eclipse or solar eclipse? 12. True or False: An observer on Earth can see the entire surface of the moon over 365 day period. Support your answer with reasoning from the textbook and Mastering Astronomy. 13. Explain an eclipse of the moon and sun occur. 14. Why were the following individuals important to astronomy? Ptolemy, Brahe, Kepler, Newton, Copernicus, Eratosthenes. 15. Why do the ancient Greeks get a lot of attention for their contributions to science? 16. What were the major observations made by Galileo that were used to advance astronomy of the time? 17. Can you apply an understanding of Kepler’s Laws to astronomical principles stated in your textbook...
Words: 735 - Pages: 3
...Asif Bajwa Astronomy 101 Professor Houser 12/11/2014 James Webb Space Telescope Since the first astronomers pointed telescopes at the sky, they have sought to see more. See farther and deeper. Space astronomy changed on April 24th 1990 with the launch of the space shuttle Discovery carrying aboard it the Hubble Space Telescope. A lot of people think we launched Hubble into space to get it closer to the stars but the real reason is the Earth's atmosphere both distorts and blocks light coming in from space. In space, beyond the atmosphere, the stars don't twinkle, instead they shine firm. That allows for the sensational images we've become accustomed to seeing from Hubble. But that wasn't Hubble's only benefit, it was also one of NASA's great observatories. There are many of these observatories in space but most are outfitted to answer one or two specific questions. Hubble was designed to be as inclusive as possible, it was supposed to answer as many questions as you could ask. At least as far as its design allowed. And Hubble succeeded very well at that. The Hubble Deep Field, perhaps the most important image ever taken by Hubble, shows us galaxies stretched all the way across the universe, up to ten billion light years away. Light that has taken billions of years to reach us in our corner of the universe, so we see these galaxies not that as they are today but as they were when the light left them. And in the end, after zooming in as much as possible, we see nothing...
Words: 1508 - Pages: 7
...Lab Research Report 1: Procedures in the Physical Sciences Robert Hugee Professor Brian McCann SCI110024VA016-1134-001: Introduction To Physical Science April 25, 2013 One of the underlying challenges in astronomy measurement is the determination of precise distances. Without a knowledge of its distance, the size of an observed object in space would remain nothing more than an angular diameter, and the brightness of a star could not be converted into its true radiated power, or luminosity .astronomy. (2013). Direct measurement of the wavefunction had also long been deemed impossible because of the key tenet of the uncertainty principle. University of Rochester (2013, March 3). Getting around the uncertainty principle: Physicists make first direct measurements of polarization states of light. ScienceDaily. Large-scale surveying & mapping problems are also key challenges in making direct Measurements in astronomy. Pogge R.(2006) One of the indirect forms that the scientists have used is to resort to GEOMETRY to find the Distance. Parallax is one of the indirect methods where astronomers can measure the position of a nearby star very carefully with respect to more distant stars behind it, then measuring those distances again six months later when the Earth is on the opposite side of its orbit. Allen J.,Boyd P. (1997,April 15) The limitation of parallax is that it just gives distances to stars tp up to a few thousand light Years and beyond those...
Words: 1119 - Pages: 5
...Edwin Hubble was not the inventor but it was named after him of course, thanks to his research about the galaxies. The hubble telescope is a space telescope capable of studying galaxies away that not any telescope to that point could even come close of seeing. This telescope wasnt the best or the first but it sure was the biggest and the most exstravegant at the time, how this telescoped worked was they had to launch it into space in order for it to be used in its full potential. This monster of a telescope too ka toatle of 2,800 watts to power it! Now its power was gained from solar of course considering in the vaccum of space sun light is the most reliable resource. When this was launched it was planned to stay in space for years observing and sending the data back to earth for NASA to observe. This monster of a telescope was launched on April 24, 1990, it was sent up on the space shuttle STS-31 and launched at the Kennedy LC-39B site. Now a lot of people think that Edwin Hubble was the one who invented this, well thats not the case in fact this was a telescope dedicated to Edwin Hubble and was actually invented and carried through by NASA. This was one of NASA's greatest observations and achievments, now the toatle mass and dimensions of this telescope were emance for one of...
Words: 2682 - Pages: 11
...of Spectroscopy in Astronomy Probing the Formation of Stars in Colliding Galaxies in the universe. Uncovering the mystery of quasar Spectroscopy in Astronomy camp Stars like our own Sun Bibliography 1. Introduction Spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the study of matter and its properties by investigating light, sound, or particles that are emitted, absorbed or scattered by the matter under investigation. Spectroscopy may also be defined as the study of the interaction between light and matter. Historically, spectroscopy referred to a branch of science in which visible light was used for theoretical studies on the structure of matter and for qualitative and quantitative analyses. Recently, however, the definition has broadened as new techniques have been developed that utilize not only visible light, but many other forms of electromagnetic and non-electromagnetic radiation: microwaves, radiowaves, x-rays, electrons, phonons (sound waves) and others. Impedance spectroscopy is a study of frequency response in alternating current. Spectroscopy is often used in physical and analytical chemistry for the identification of substances through the spectrum emitted from them or absorbed in them. A device for recording a spectrum is a spectrometer. Spectroscopy can be classified according to the physical quantity which is measured or calculated or the measurement process. Spectroscopy is also heavily used in astronomy and remote sensing. Most large telescopes have spectrographs...
Words: 4072 - Pages: 17
...Astronomy is a natural science that is the study of celestial objects (such as moons, planets, stars, nebulae, and galaxies), thephysics, chemistry, mathematics, and evolution of such objects, and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth, including supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, and cosmic background radiation. A related but distinct subject, cosmology, is concerned with studying the universe as a whole.[1]Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Prehistoric cultures left behind astronomical artifacts such as the Egyptian monuments andNubian monuments, and early civilizations such as the Babylonians, Greeks, Chinese, Indians, Iranians and Maya performed methodical observations of the night sky. However, the invention of the telescope was required before astronomy was able to develop into a modern science. Historically, astronomy has included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, and the making of calendars, but professional astronomy is nowadays often considered to be synonymous with astrophysics.[2]During the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring data from observations of astronomical objects, which is then analyzed using basic principles of physics. Theoretical astronomy is oriented toward the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. The two fields...
Words: 577 - Pages: 3
...microscope. There are many types of microscopes. The most common (and the first to be invented) is the optical microscope, which uses light to image the sample. Other major types of microscopes are theelectron microscope (both the transmission electron microscopeand the scanning electron microscope), the ultramicroscope, and the various types of scanning probe microscope. The first microscope to be developed was the optical microscope, although the original inventor is not easy to identify. Evidence points to the first compound microscope appearing in the Netherlands in the late 1500s, probably an invention of eyeglassmakers there:[1] Hans Lippershey (who developed an early telescope) and Zacharias Janssen (also claimed as the inventor of the telescope). There are other claims that the microscope and the telescope were invented by Roger Bacon in the 1200s,[2] but this is not substantiated. Giovanni Faber coined the name microscope forGalileo Galilei's compound microscope in 1625 [3] (Galileo had called it the "occhiolino" or "little eye"). 2nd Century BC - Claudius Ptolemy described a stick appearing to bend in a pool of water, and accurately recorded the angles to within half a degree. 1st Century - Romans were experimenting with glass and found objects appeared larger when viewed through this new material. 1590 - Two Dutch spectacle makers, Zacharias Jansen and his father Hans started experimenting by mounting two lenses in a tube, the first compound microscope. 12th Century -...
Words: 4371 - Pages: 18
