Astronomy
1st Edition
ISBN: 9781938168284
Author: Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher: OpenStax
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Textbook Question
Chapter 6, Problem 4E
When astronomers discuss the apertures of their telescopes, they say bigger is better. Explain why.
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Chapter 6 Solutions
Astronomy
Ch. 6 - What are the three basic components of a modern...Ch. 6 - Name the two spectral windows through which...Ch. 6 - List the largest-aperture single telescope...Ch. 6 - When astronomers discuss the apertures of their...Ch. 6 - The Hooker telescope at Palomar Observatory has a...Ch. 6 - What is meant by “reflecting” and “refracting”...Ch. 6 - Why are the largest visible-light telescopes in...Ch. 6 - Compare the eye, photographic film, and CCDs as...Ch. 6 - What is a charge-coupled device (CCD), and how is...Ch. 6 - Why is it difficult to observe at infrared...
Ch. 6 - Radio and radar observations are often made with...Ch. 6 - Look back at Figure 6.18 of Cygnus A and read its...Ch. 6 - Why do astronomers place telescopes in Earth’s...Ch. 6 - What was the problem with the Hubble Space...Ch. 6 - Describe the techniques radio astronomers use to...Ch. 6 - What kind of visible-light and infrared telescopes...Ch. 6 - Describe one visible-light or infrared telescope...Ch. 6 - What happens to the image produced by a lens if...Ch. 6 - What would be the properties of an ideal...Ch. 6 - Many decades ago, the astronomers on the staff of...Ch. 6 - The largest observatory complex in the world is on...Ch. 6 - Suppose you are looking for sites for a...Ch. 6 - Radio astronomy involves wavelengths much longer...Ch. 6 - The dean of a university located near the ocean...Ch. 6 - What is the area, in square meters, of a 10-m...Ch. 6 - Approximately 9000 stars are visible to the naked...Ch. 6 - Theoretically (that is, if seeing were not an...Ch. 6 - In broad daylight, the size of your pupil is...Ch. 6 - How much more light can be gathered by a telescope...Ch. 6 - How much more light can the Keck telescope (with...Ch. 6 - People are often bothered when they discover that...Ch. 6 - Telescopes can now be operated remotely from a...Ch. 6 - The HST cost about $1.7 billion for construction...Ch. 6 - How much more light can the James Webb Space...Ch. 6 - The Palomar telescope’s 5-m mirror weighs 14.5...
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- Why are the largest visible-light telescopes in the world made with mirrors rather than lenses?arrow_forwardHow much more light can the Keck telescope (with its 10-m diameter mirror) gather than an amateur telescope whose mirror is 25 cm (0.25 m) across?arrow_forwardWhat kind of visible-light and infrared telescopes on the ground are astronomers planning for the future? Why are they building them on the ground and not in space?arrow_forward
- Many decades ago, the astronomers on the staff of Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories each received about 60 nights per year for their observing programs. Today, an astronomer feels fortunate to get 10 nights per year on a large telescope. Can you suggest some reasons for this change?arrow_forwardHow much more light can the James Webb Space Telescope (with its 6-m diameter mirror) gather than the Hubble Space Telescope (with a diameter of 2.4 m)?arrow_forwardH does the resolving power of the 5-rn telescope on Mount Palomar near San Diego compare with that of the 2.5-rn Hubble Space Telescope? Why does the HST generally still outperform the Palomar 5-rn telescope?arrow_forward
- An astronomer wants to design an infrared telescope with an angular resolution of 1.5 arcseconds at a wavelength (L, in our equation) of 20 micrometers. What would be the diameter (D) of the mirror they would need to make?arrow_forwardwhat advantages does a catadioptric telescope have over a reflecting telescope? what is its disadvantages?arrow_forwardWhat is the area of an 23 meter telescope, consider the area of a circlearrow_forward
- You want to create a telescope with a resolving powe of 0.100 arc seconds at a wavelength of 550 nm. Wha diameter (in m) do you need? If you want to increase the light gathering power by a factor of 10, by what factor does the diameter need to increase? What would the new resolving power be (in arc seconds)?arrow_forwardWhy do optical astronomers often put their telescopes at the tops of mountains, while radio astronomers sometimes put their telescopes in deep valleys?arrow_forwardspy satellite orbiting 410 km above Earth is supposedly capable of counting individual people in a crowd in visual-wavelength images. Assume that the satellite's cameras operate at a wavelength of 550 nm. Assume an average person has a size of 0.6 m as seen from above. Estimate the minimum telescope diameter that the satellite must carry. (Hint: Use The small-angle formula angular diameter (arc seconds) 2.06 105 = linear diameter distance to convert linear size to angular size.)arrow_forward
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