Exam 6: Light and Telescopes

It is a common misconception that the purpose of an astronomical telescope is to _______________ images .

What modern-day instrument do astronomers use to record images from telescopes?

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

Which form of radiation has the lowest frequency?

Visible light with wavelengths at the long-wavelength end ( l = 700 nm) appears as which color?

Diffraction, optical quality, and atmospheric conditions all contribute to the limitations of what power of a telescope?

What does chromatic aberration separate within refracting telescopes?

Which form of electromagnetic radiation is able to easily reach Earth's surface through an atmospheric window?

Why do large reflecting telescopes, like the Keck Observatories, have segmented mirrors?

Jenny, who lives on a farm in a rural part of New York, calls her cousin, Karen, in Brooklyn to tell her that she can see the Milky Way in tonight's night sky. However, Karen says she can't see it at all.  What is preventing Karen from seeing the Milky Way in the night sky?

What must be used to maintain the optics and operation of an infrared telescope?

Which is the longest surviving, and most successful, space telescope?

What unit is used to measure wavelengths?

Astronomers no longer build large observatories in populated areas in order to avoid _______________.

Large doses of _______________ light can cause sunburn and skin cancers.

If telescope A is 160 cm in diameter, and telescope B is 32 cm in diameter, how much more light does telescope A gather than telescope B?

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?

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.

One way to measure and compare the strength of the radio signal at various places in the sky is to produce a(n) _______________ in which each color marks areas of similar radio intensity.