Telescopes: Our Eyes to the Universe

Telescopes serve as our eyes to see the wonders of the universe. Its importance in studying astronomy became evident thanks to Galilei’s records of his observations with his telescope.

They did not only allow us to understand that we are not at the center of the Universe, but also revealed many planets and stars far away from us. Particular features from heavenly bodies were also shown, such as the craters on our moon and the rings of some of the planets in the Solar System. Telescopes also gave us the capability to understand the laws of nature, such as the speed of light and gravity. Lastly, they paved the way for studying galaxies and astrophysical phenomena that we cannot observe before, which served as laboratories for learning the mysteries of the universe.

Take a look below at some of the websites of the telescopes and space missions that we currently have. Then answer the following questions for each telescope:

1. What topics in astronomy will they study?
2. What will they mainly observe? Galaxies? Planets? Stars?
3. What is the duration of their missions?

Spitzer Hubble Space Telescope NASA Exoplanet Exploration