Why are we able to see nebulae and galaxies millions of light years away, but the Hublle telescope cannot take clear photos of our 9th planet's surface, Pluto?
2006-08-07 03:56:07 · 6 answers · asked by fespinal4444 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Pluto is om average 39 AU from the sun (and about justy as far from the Earth). Hubble (the space telescope) as a resolution of 0.1 arc second (or 0.000027 degree). At the distance Pluto is, this means the smallest detail you could see would be 2800 km (and since Pluto has a diameter of 2300 km, well, you only get one pixel...).
Compare that with, say, Andormeda galaxy. It is 2.5 million light years away, but it is 220000 light years across. At that distance,
0.1 arc second resolution is 1.2 light year. You will not be able to see any details of the stars, but you would be able to see a star from another. For comparison, the star closest to the Sun is 4.3 light year away.
2006-08-07 04:12:03 · answer #1 · answered by Vincent G 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I can see the signs and street lights of town dozens of miles away, but can't read the label of a beer can laying along side the road three blocks away? Hmm. For one thing, those stars and accumulations of stars are emitting light. We surmise that they are like those luminous bodies we see a tad bit more clearly in our more immediate neighborhood. The only stars we really think we know are within a hundred or so light years of us, but the one only 90-odd million miles away is still not a completely understood object. Still, resolving features on the moon and Mars are hard to do, much less Pluto and its moon. The light is simply too dim and the optics are simply too challenging. Again, much of what we "know" about "nebulae and galaxies millions of light years away" is very vague representations of enormous luminous bodies over which we make quasi-plausible guesses.
2006-08-07 04:09:43 · answer #2 · answered by Rabbit 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hubble's mirror can only resolve images within a certain distance range. Far outside or solar system is where this range starts.
If you want pictures of Pluto's surface, all you have to do is wait till 2014 when New Horizons will rendez-vous with the Pluto-Charon system and send back the first real-color pictures of Pluto's surface.
2006-08-07 04:09:51 · answer #3 · answered by AresIV 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pluto does not emit any light.
2006-08-07 04:06:55 · answer #4 · answered by ag_iitkgp 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because the nebulae and galaxies are so much bigger they are easy to see.
2006-08-07 03:59:51 · answer #5 · answered by loach 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
google. and most of them are drawn because there is no light on pluto, except maybe a few specks from it's moons... maybe not idk...
2006-08-07 07:08:18 · answer #6 · answered by imacatholic1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋