Download Where to Put the Telescope

Activity 9: Where to Put the Telescope?
©2014 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
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Post-9.1: When astronomers talk about spectral
windows, they are discussing those parts of the
atmosphere that
a. are opaque to certain wavelengths or regions of
the electromagnetic spectrum
b. are transparent to certain wavelengths or regions
of the electromagnetic spectrum.
c. reflect certain wavelengths or regions of the
electromagnetic spectrum back toward the Sun.
©2014 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
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Post-9.1: When astronomers talk about spectral
windows, they are discussing those parts of the
atmosphere that
a. are opaque to certain wavelengths or regions of
the electromagnetic spectrum
b. are transparent to certain wavelengths or
regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
c. reflect certain wavelengths or regions of the
electromagnetic spectrum back toward the Sun.
©2014 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
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Post-9.2: The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and the
United Kingdom Infrared Telescope operate on the top
of Mauna Kea, Hawai’i. If the atmosphere absorbs
infrared radiation, how is it that these telescopes can
observe at these wavelengths?
a. These telescopes have mirrors that can detect all
parts of the spectrum.
b. At 13,796 feet above sea level, the summit is
above 40 percent of the atmosphere.
c. Infrared radiation is detectable if the groundbased telescopes have a large enough diameter.
©2014 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
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Post-9.2: The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and the
United Kingdom Infrared Telescope operate on the top
of Mauna Kea, Hawai’i. If the atmosphere absorbs
infrared radiation, how is it that these telescopes can
observe at these wavelengths?
a. These telescopes have mirrors that can detect all
parts of the spectrum.
b. At 13,796 feet above sea level, the summit is
above 40 percent of the atmosphere.
c. Infrared radiation is detectable if the groundbased telescopes have a large enough diameter.
©2014 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
11
Post-9.3: Our eyes are small detectors. Light enters the
pupil and the photons strike the rods and cones in the
retina. Our eyes are most sensitive to radiation at visible
wavelengths because the visible wavelengths represent
the region where the atmosphere
a. is most transparent to radiation.
b. is most opaque to radiation.
c. reflects most of the radiation back toward the
Sun.
©2014 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
12
Post-9.3: Our eyes are small detectors. Light enters the
pupil and the photons strike the rods and cones in the
retina. Our eyes are most sensitive to radiation at visible
wavelengths because the visible wavelengths represent
the region where the atmosphere
a. is most transparent to radiation.
b. is most opaque to radiation.
c. reflects most of the radiation back toward the
Sun.
©2014 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
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This concludes Activity 9: Where to Put the Telescope?
©2014 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
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