There are famous Infrared Telescopes out there that have led to many discoveries. Spitzer and W.M Keck are both Infrared Telescopes that have led to discoveries (1,2). There are other telescopes, such as the telescope that is currently being made, the James Webb Space Telescope (J.W.S.T). This telescope is being made to study infrared light and is the scientific successor to the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. This telescope will be able to see older stars and older galaxies. This is because of its mirrors. Its mirrors are 2 to 3 times larger than the mirrors on Hubble. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has contributes a significant amount to the James Webb Telescopes development, such as the Fine Guidance Sensor (3)
Friday 22 March 2013
Discoveries made by Infrared Telescopes
Discoveries Made by Infrared Telescopes:
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An Infrared Telescopes main purpose is to pick up the source of heat. This has led to two such discoveries. In 2009, the Spitzer Space Telescope discovered an enormous ring around Saturn, the largest one yet. It is thought that the discovery of this ring may help solve the mystery of Lapetus. Lapetus is one of the many moons of Saturn. But what makes it so special is that it is similar to the Yin-Yang symbol (1).
Also in 2009, NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility and the W.M Keck Telescope in Mauna Kea, Hawaii, discovered Methane in the atmosphere of Mars, which proves that the red planet is either biologically or geologically active, or both (2).
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Wednesday 20 March 2013
Disadvantages of Infrared Telescopes
Although Infrared Telescopes are useful and have led to many discoveries, such as discovering an even bigger ring around Saturn and discovering that Mars is not a dead planet, there are many disadvantages (2,3). One such disadvantage includes placement. An infrared telescope must be placed on a tall and dry mountain to avoid the radiation, coming from space, to be absorbed my water vapor and to avoid picking up Earth bound energy. Even with the altitude, they can still pick up Earth bound energy. Placement is an issue but the telescopes themselves are also an issue. The telescopes must be cool themselves, otherwise, they will pick up themselves. Keeping cool is an expensive process. As a result, signals that are cooler then the telescope itself and are fainter are not picked up and astronomers lose that part of the sky. It could hold something valuable, but it would be lost. To keep the telescopes cool, scientists use liquid helium. The first Infrared Telescope used 127 gallons of liquid helium to keep cool, but the mission only lasted 10 months because the liquid helium ran out (1).
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