Astronomy Astronomy Telescopes and Instruments

Question 1

What type of telescope uses mirrors to collect and focus light?

Accepted Answer

Reflecting telescope

Answer

A reflecting telescope uses curved mirrors to collect and focus light, making it well-suited for viewing faint and distant objects.

Question 2

What does a spectrograph attached to a telescope measure?

Accepted Answer

The wavelengths of light emitted by celestial objects

Answer

A spectrograph disperses light into its component wavelengths, allowing astronomers to determine a celestial object's composition, temperature, and velocity.

Question 3

What is the primary advantage of space-based telescopes over ground-based ones?

Accepted Answer

They avoid atmospheric distortion and absorption

Answer

Space-based telescopes operate above Earth's atmosphere, avoiding the blurring effects of turbulence and the blocking of certain wavelengths like UV and X-rays.

Question 4

What technology do modern large telescopes use to correct for atmospheric blurring in real time?

Accepted Answer

Adaptive optics

Answer

Adaptive optics systems use deformable mirrors and sensors to correct for atmospheric turbulence in real time, dramatically improving image sharpness.

Question 5

What is the unit used to measure the light-gathering power of a telescope related to its mirror diameter?

Accepted Answer

Aperture

Answer

Aperture refers to the diameter of a telescope's primary mirror or lens, and larger apertures gather more light, enabling observation of fainter objects.

Astronomy Practice Test

Astronomy Practice Test

Astronomy Astronomy Telescopes and Instruments