5.7: Key Terms
- Page ID
- 130931
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Astronomical Instruments Key Terms
- aperture: diameter of the primary lens or mirror of a telescope
- charge-coupled device (CCD): array of high-sensitivity electronic detectors of electromagnetic radiation, used at the focus of a telescope (or camera lens) to record an image or spectrum
- chromatic aberration: distortion that causes an image to appear fuzzy when each wavelength coming into a transparent material focuses at a different spot
- detector: device sensitive to light that makes a record of astronomical observations
- eyepiece: magnifying lens used to view the image produced by the objective lens or primary mirror of a telescope
- filter: a type of window that absorbs certain colors of light while allowing others to pass through
- focus: point in a telescope where the rays of light converged by a mirror or lens meet
- interference: process in which waves mix together such that their crests and troughs can alternately reinforce and cancel one another
- interferometer: instrument that combines electromagnetic radiation from one or more telescopes to obtain a resolution equivalent to what would be obtained with a single telescope with a diameter equal to the baseline separating the individual separate telescopes
- interferometer array: combination of multiple radio dishes to, in effect, work like a large number of two-dish interferometers
- lander: a spacecraft designed to set down on the surface of another celestial body
- lens: an object, usually made of glass, that focuses or defocuses the light that passes through it
- orbiter: an object that orbits another, especially a spacecraft that orbits a planet etc. without landing on it
- photometer: an instrument used to measure the intensity of light
- prime focus: point in a telescope where the objective lens or primary mirror focuses the light
- radar: technique of transmitting radio waves to an object and then detecting the radiation that the object reflects back to the transmitter; used to measure the distance to, and motion of, a target object or to form images of it
- reflecting telescope: telescope in which the principal light collector is a concave mirror
- reflection: the property of a light wave being thrown back from a surface, such as a mirror
- refracting telescope: telescope in which the principal light collector is a lens or system of lenses
- refraction: changing of a light ray's direction when it passes through variations in matter
- resolution: detail in an image; specifically, the smallest angular (or linear) features that can be distinguished
- rover: a vehicle for exploring extraterrestrial bodies
- spectrometer: an instrument for obtaining a spectrum; in astronomy, usually attached to a telescope to record the spectrum of a star, galaxy, or other astronomical object
- telescope: an instrument used to observe distant objects by collecting and focusing their light