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Space telescope

Adapted from Wikipedia · Explorer experience

This chart shows how different space telescopes, like Hubble and Webb, detect various forms of light from stars, planets, and galaxies to help scientists study the universe.

Space Telescopes

Space telescopes are special telescopes that float high above Earth in space. They look at stars, planets, and other amazing things far away. Because they are above the air, they can see much more clearly than telescopes on the ground.

The idea of putting a telescope in space was first suggested by a scientist named Lyman Spitzer in 1946. The first space telescopes were launched in the 1960s and 1970s. One of the most famous is the Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched in 1990 by the Space Shuttle Discovery.

Space telescopes help us see things that we cannot see from Earth. Some kinds of light, like X-rays and infrared light, are blocked by Earth’s air. That is why telescopes like the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope are needed. They can see these special kinds of light and show us new parts of the universe.

Many countries have sent space telescopes into space. These include NASA, ESA, and others. Scientists use these telescopes to learn more about stars, planets, and everything in space. They have made many exciting discoveries and helped us understand the universe better.

Images

The Hubble Space Telescope floating in space as seen from the Space Shuttle Atlantis during a servicing mission.
The Crab Nebula is a beautiful cosmic cloud formed from the remains of an exploded star, showing colorful gases spreading through space.
A colorful space image showing the remains of an ancient star explosion studied by NASA telescopes.
The beautiful Aurora Australis, or southern lights, glowing in the night sky as seen from the Space Shuttle Discovery.
A stunning view of Earth rising over the lunar horizon, as seen by astronauts during the Apollo 8 mission.
A colorful educational montage showing the planets in our solar system—Mercury, Venus, Earth with the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—all taken by NASA spacecraft.
An artist's depiction of HE 1523-0901, one of the oldest known stars in our galaxy, located about 7,500 light-years from Earth.

Related articles

Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
Infrared
James Webb Space Telescope
NASA
European Space Agency

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Space telescope, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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