Space and Technology

Space Telescopes

Optical telescopes- use light to produce magnified images.

• refracting telescopes- uses convex lenses to concentrate light from a distance object.

• reflecting telescope- uses a concave mirror to see distant objects.

Radio telescope- telescope that collects radio waves and some micro-waves using an antenna that looks life a TV satellite dish; used to detect objects in space, map the universe and look for signs of life on other planets.

Hubble Space Telescope- first optical space reflecting telescope that orbits Earth.

Space telescopes work better since they can collect energy at all wave-lengths, including those that cannot penetrate the Earth's atmosphere.

Early history of space exploration technology included:

• rockets- helped launch objects into space by propelling itself by ejecting exhaust gas from one end.

• satellite- object that revolved around another object in an orbit; first artificial satellite was launched in 1957 by the former Soviet Union.

• Space probes- an unscrewed spacecraft sent from Earth to explore objects in space.

• Space shuttles- reusable spacecraft that transport people and materials to and from space

  • • A space shuttle, Apollo 11, was used to send Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon, with two other astronauts for the first time in 1968.

In 1998 the United Stated joined 15 other nations to begin building the International Space Station. Occupied since 2000, many astronauts live and conduct research on this Earth-orbiting satellite.

Recent and future space exploration include mission to inner planets, as well as the outer planets and beyond.

Astrobiology- the study of life in the universe, including life on Earth and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.