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Infrared Telescopes

Infrared Telescopes. Andrea, Scott, and Mart ín. Visit www.worldofteaching.com For 100’s of free powerpoints. Infrared…wait what?!?!?. Infrared is a certain region in the light spectrum Ranges from .7 µ to 1000µ or .1mm Broken into near, mid, and far infrared

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Infrared Telescopes

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  1. Infrared Telescopes Andrea, Scott, and Martín Visit www.worldofteaching.com For 100’s of free powerpoints

  2. Infrared…wait what?!?!? • Infrared is a certain region in the light spectrum • Ranges from .7µ to 1000µ or .1mm • Broken into near, mid, and far infrared • One step up on the light spectrum from visible light • Measure of heat

  3. Infrared Telescopes • Infrared telescopes work much like visible light telescopes • Light hits parabolic mirror • Light is sent to focal point • Light is recorded by computer and translated into visible light

  4. History of Infrared • Thirty years ago images were created by crude temperature readings and simple recording devices • In 1980’s the military dedicated the first large sum of money towards infrared advancement (high background infrared) • Recently scientists have changed the technology to focus on lower background heat and high sensitivity to fit the applications needed for astronomy

  5. Problems with Infrared • 99% of infrared rays are absorbed by water in our atmosphere • The use of airplanes, weather balloons, and space bound telescopes help to solve these problems Infrared

  6. Another Problemo • Everything in the universe above absolute zero radiates heat (infrared) • This means the heat from the telescope may interfere with data • Everything is cooled to almost absolute 0

  7. Why Do We Need Infrared Telescopes? • Infrared telescopes allow astronomers to gain information about regions in space that might otherwise remain invisible. http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/ir_tutorial/psc_allsky.html

  8. These regions include: • Cool states of matter • Regions obscured by clouds of dust or gas particles http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/ir_tutorial/animation.html

  9. Cool States of Matter • Most solid bodies in space vary in temperature from 3 Kelvin’s to 1500 Kelvin's. • This means that extremely cool objects undetectable to the human eye can be studied using infrared telescopes. • These can include… http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/picturegallery/index.shtml

  10. http://www.iras.ucalgary.ca/~volk/crab_infrared_lg.gif • Stars • Infrared galaxies • Clouds of particles around stars • Nebulae • Interstellar molecules • Brown dwarfs • Planets http://swtrekking.com/photo_gallery/images/stars.jpg http://www.astr.tohoku.ac.jp/~tohru/AGgroup/arp220image.jpg http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/ContentMedia/M16WF2.jpg

  11. Clouds of Dust and Gas • Some bodies of matter in space are hidden behind huge clouds of dust particles or gas. • Infrared telescopes allow scientists to view these regions much more easily • These include the centers of galaxies and clouds containing forming stars and planets.

  12. The Early Universe • The Universe is constantly expanding • Because of this, most of the radiation emitted from distant stars is in the infrared spectrum. • Our views of these distant bodies of matter in space actually show us how they looked a long, long time ago. http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/cosmic_reference/redshift.html

  13. To gain a greater knowledge about bodies of matter in space, we need information about all of the different forms of radiation that they emit.

  14. SOFIA • Airborne Observatory • Reduces Atmospheric Interference • Will begin observing in 2005

  15. SOFIA • 747SP Aircraft • 2.5 meter reflector • Largest telescope put in an aircraft

  16. UKIRT • Earth-based • Largest infrared telescope • Located on Mauna Kea in Hawaii • 3.8 meter reflector • A lot of atmospheric interference

  17. Spitzer Space Telescope • Largest infrared telescope in space • No atmospheric interference • .85 m reflector • Cryogenically cooled so not to interfere with signals

  18. Spitzer’s Cryostat • Infrared is mostly heat waves, Spitzer is cool so its own heat does not interfere with signals • 1.4 degrees kelvin

  19. Spitzer Images

  20. Bibliography • http://www.sofia.arc.nasa.gov/Sofia/sofia.html • http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/about/index.shtml • http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/JACpublic/UKIRT/home.html

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