Space telescope

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/space-telescope

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the conceptual origin?Lyman Spitzer Jr. in 1946
2. What is the first operational space telescopes?OAO-2 (USA, 1968) and Orion 1 (Soviet Union, 1971)
3. Why do space telescopes need to be in space instead of on Earth?Earth's atmosphere can block or distort light, especially ultraviolet, X-ray, and infrared, and it makes stars twinkle. In space there is no atmosphere, so images are sharper and faint objects can be seen even during daylight.
4. How do space telescopes collect and turn light into pictures?They use big mirrors or lenses to gather light, then sensitive detectors like CCDs or infrared sensors turn the photons into electrical signals that are digitized into images.

Electromagnetic Spectrum: The range of all types of light, including radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays.
Atmospheric Turbulence: Irregular movements in the atmosphere that cause light to bend and distort, leading to the twinkling of stars.
Astronomical Survey: A systematic observation of a large area of the sky to catalog celestial objects and phenomena.