Exam 6: Light and Telescopes

A spectrograph spreads out light according to ____ to form a spectrum.

Light-gathering power is proportional to the _______________ of the telescope primary lens or mirror.

Reflecting telescopes suffer from chromatic aberration because the light must pass through the glass.

What is a major selecting factor for astronomers looking to place a telescope atop a mountain?

Space-based telescopes carrying long-wavelength infrared detectors must carry coolant such as liquid helium to chill their optics to near absolute zero temperature.

Space t elescopes carrying long-wavelength infrared detectors must carry _______________ for their optics to avoid the insides of the telescope and instruments from blinding the detectors.

Refracting telescopes use a mirror to gather and focus light.

All large astronomical telescopes built since the start of the 20th century have been _______________ telescopes.

What technique often requires the use of a laser guide star?

What unit is used to measure wavelengths?

The Very Large Array radio telescope in New Mexico is an example of the use of which astronomical technique?

Short-focal-length lenses and mirrors must be strongly curved.

What does a refracting telescope use to gather and focus light?

Refracting and reflecting telescopes form an image that is small, inverted, and difficult to observe directly; therefore, an eyepiece is normally used to magnify the image and make it convenient to view.

Light gathering power and resolving power both depend on what characteristic of a telescope?

CCD images captured from telescopes are often ____ to be stored in a computer's memory for later analysis.

What is so unique about the mirrors of telescopes such as the Keck Observatory, Gran Telescopio Canaries and the soon-to-be-built Giant Magellan Telescope?

What type of electromagnetic radiation does Chandra collect?

Which type of electromagnetic wave is the shortest?