DO TELESCOPES ONLY STUDY VISIBLE LIGHT?

Visible light only makes up a tiny fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum —less than 0.00001 per cent. Objects in space emit radiation in many different forms, from radio waves to gamma rays. By studying these forms of radiation, astronomers can learn more about space. Astronomers use different kinds of telescope to study different types of radiation.

April 20, 1999: By studying the electromagnetic emissions of objects such as stars, galaxies, and black holes, astronomers hope to come to a better understanding of the universe. Although many astronomical puzzles can only be solved by comparing images of different wavelengths, telescopes are only designed to detect a particular portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Astronomers therefore often use images from several different telescopes to study celestial phenomena. Milky Way Galaxy as seen by radio, infrared, optical, X-ray and gamma-ray telescopes.

Different types of telescopes usually don’t take simultaneous readings. Space is a dynamic system, so an image taken at one time is not necessarily the precise equivalent of an image of the same phenomena taken at a later time. And often, there is barely enough time for one kind of telescope to observe extremely short-lived phenomena like gamma-ray bursts. By the time other telescopes point to the object, it has grown too faint to be detected. Radio has long wavelengths and low energies, while gamma rays have very short wavelengths and high energies.

Telescopes rely on the interaction between energy and matter. The atomic matter that forms the telescope has to somehow interpret the energy emitted from astronomical objects. This energy is in the form of electromagnetic waves. Although the first telescope was created 400 years ago, we didn’t have a complete picture of the electromagnetic spectrum until the early part of this century. As our knowledge of physics improves, scientists are able to develop increasingly superior telescopes. But as the technology advances and becomes more specialized, differences among telescope designs become more pronounced.

Picture Credit : Google