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NASA's Great Observatories : Paper Model Kits
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Office of Human Resources and Education
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Office of Human Resources and Education
Issue Date
1993
Type
Text
Keywords
United States--National Aeronautics and Space Administration--Juvenile literature, Hubble Space Telescope (Spacecraft), Compton Observatory, Observatories--Models--Study and teaching--United States--Juvenile literature, Orbiting astronomical observatories--Models, Models and modelmaking, United States--National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Observatories--Study and teaching--Models, Science
Abstract
Why are space observatories important? The answer goes beyond twinkling stars in the night sky. Pockets of cold and hot air in Earth's atmosphere act as a hazy veil that many visible rays of light cannot penetrate. The atmosphere absorbs the majority of radiation from celestial bodies and distorts the types of light that do reach Earth's surface. Some types of radiation (like gamma rays) seldom reach Earth's surface. The radiation that Earth's atmosphere absorbs and distorts limits scientists' observations of stars, galaxies, and other celestial bodies. Even the most powerful ground based observatories can collect only a limited amount of data, but observatories in space collect data free from the distortion of Earth's atmosphere.
Rights
Public Domain. For more information contact, South Carolina State Library, 1500 Senate Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201.