Telescopes and Earth's Atmosphere

Which, if any, of the different wavelengths of light (electromagnetic radiation) shown in the image on the previous page are able to completely penetrate Earth's atmosphere and reach the surface?

• Visible

• UV

• Gamma rays

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-5

Which, if any, of the different wavelengths of light (electromagnetic radiation) shown in the image on the previous page only partially penetrate Earth's atmosphere and reach the surface?

• Visible

• UV

• Gamma rays

Which, if any, of the different wavelengths of light (electromagnetic radiation) shown in the image on the previous page are completely absorbed in Earth's atmosphere and never reach the surface?

• Visible

• UV

• Gamma rays

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-3

Federal funding agencies must form committees to decide which telescope projects will receive funds for construction. When deciding which projects will be funded, the committees must consider: - that certain wavelengths of light are blocked from reaching Earth's surface by the atmosphere, - how efficiently telescopes work at different wavelengths, and - that telescopes in space are much more expensive to construct than Earth-based telescopes.

Use these three criteria when you consider each pairing of telescope proposals listed below. State which proposal out of each pair you would choose to fund. Explain the reasoning behind your decision for each pair.

Which of the two proposals described below would you choose to fund? Explain your reasoning.

Project Delta: A gamma ray wavelength telescope, located in Antarctica, which will be used to look for evidence to indicate the presence of a black hole. Project Theta: A visible wavelength telescope, located on a university campus, which will be used in the search for planets outside the solar system.

Groups:

(a) Project Delta

,

(b) Project Theta

• This project would be cheaper and easier to begin and maintain.

• This project would be more difficult and expensive to begin and maintain.

• The radiation this project observes DO NOT reach Earth's surface.

• The radiation this project observes DO reach Earth's surface.

• I would not fund this project.

• I would fund this project.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3

Which of the two proposals described below would you choose to fund?

Project Beta: An X-ray wavelength telescope, located near the North Pole, which will be used to examine the Sun. Project Alpha: An infrared wavelength telescope, placed on a satellite in orbit around Earth, which will be used to view supernovae.

Groups:

(a) Project Beta

,

(b) Project Alpha

• This telescope is placed above Earth's atmosphere, allowing it to observe more radiation.

• I would choose to fund this project.

• X-rays cannot reach Earth's surface and so this project would not work.

• The radiation observed by this telescope does not reach Earth's surface.

• IR waves are detectable above Earth's atmosphere and so this project would work.

• I would not fund this project.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-3

NGSS.HS-PS4-5

Which of the two proposals described below would you choose to fund?

Project Rho: A UV wavelength telescope, placed high atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii at 14,000 ft above sea level, which will be used to look at distant galaxies.

Project Sigma: A visible wavelength telescope, placed on a satellite in orbit around Earth, which will be used to observe a pair of binary stars located in the constellation Ursa Major. Explain your reasoning.

Groups:

(a) Project Rho

,

(b) Project Sigma

• This project is possible but expensive.

• Although at high altitude, much UV radiation will be blocked by the atmosphere.

• This project is possible but not all UV radiation reaches the ground.

• I would not fund this project.

• In orbit, this telescope would easily be able to observe visible wavelengths.

• I would choose to fund this project.

• Cloud cover can affect the amount of UV radiation reaching the surface.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3

NGSS.HS-PS4-3

Which of the two proposals described below would you choose to fund?

Project Zeta: A radio wavelength telescope, placed on the floor of the Mojave Desert, which will be used to detect potential communications from distant civilizations outside our solar system.

Project Epsilon: An infrared wavelength telescope, located in the high-elevation mountains of Chile, which will be used to view newly forming stars (protostars) in the Orion nebula. Explain your reasoning.

Groups:

(a) Project Zeta

,

(b) Project Epsilon

• This project is focused on utilizing solar energy for power generation.

• Remote location makes this project challenging to maintain.

• This project would be cheaper to set up and maintain.

• All radio waves reach the ground so this project is more reasonable.

• High elevation would improve observation of infrared waves.

• This project would be more expensive to set up and maintain.

• Low interference from surrounding buildings makes this project ideal.

• Extreme weather conditions pose a risk to this project.

• This project requires specialized equipment for data collection.

• High initial investment is needed for this project.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3

NGSS.HS-PS4-1

Why are many large optical telescopes located on mountains?

• it is cheaper to build on mountains

• to be above part of the atmosphere

• because it is easier to build telescopes on mountains

• to be closer to city lights

Why is the Hubble telescope located in space?

• So it can be closer to the stars it magnifies
• They have very large optical lenses
• So its images arent distorted by Earth's atmosphere 
• So it can be operated by astronauts 

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-5

Why are x-ray telescopes placed above Earth's atmosphere?

• to be closer to space

• the atmosphere absorbs most cosmic radiation from space

• they are too big to put on Earth

• X ray telescopes are to dangerous to operate on Earth

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2