Astronomy
...ing telescope. It can see 7 times further into the universe than any telescope that has been built before. In 1856 Charles Piazza Smyth used a thermocouple (a device which converts heat into electric current) to detect infrared light from the moon. The bolometer was developed in 1878 by Samuel Pier point Langley. It is used to study the intensity of infrared radiation from the sun. g) Who was Tycho Brahe and what was his main contribution? Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) was a Danish nobleman and a clever instrument maker. He made more accurate observations of the movements of the planets than had ever been made before. From his findings Kepler made the heliocentric theory with elliptical orbits. h) Distinguish between geocentric and heliocentric theories of the universe. Which is correct? The difference between geocentric and heliocentric is this: The geocentric theory is that Earth is the centre of the universe. The heliocentric theory is that the sun is the centre of the solar system, which is just a small part of the universe. i) Did better telescopes help astronomers to make a decision? Yes, more powerful versions have been since the telescope's invention, much developed: Radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray telescopes are capable of sensing and measuring things like invisible forms of radiation. These telescopes have helped us learn about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the universe itself. j) Out line the main types of optical telescopes available today. There are 3 types of telescopes: „« The Reflecting telescope ¡V They have a curved mirror inside the telescope. The mirror reflects the rays so that they meet. The wider the telescope is, the better it works. This is because it picks up more light. „« The refractor telescope ¡V The light rays are bent to make them meet inside. They are bent when the rays pass through a big lens at the front of the telescope. „« Catadioptric telescope - the light enters the scope through what is called the corrector plate. Once inside the tube of the telescope, the light reflects off a concave mirror it focuses the light to the eyepiece, where the image is directed to your eye. k) What is a radio telescope? Radio telescopes can pick up radio waves from the most distant parts of universe. They look like huge bowls which point up to the sky. Radio Telescopes, but they do not work in much the same way. Radio waves come from all kinds of objects in space. The first radio telescope was bu...