radio telescopes?

Question

Would the information gathered by a radio telescope in orbit be better than the information gathered by a radio telescope on earth?

Answer 1

Very true, but we can lay out massive radio telescopes here on Earth that are much cheaper and require much less logistics. The Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico consists of 27 independant radio antennas, but put together act like a radio telescope 22.3 miles wide. We dont quite have the skill to build something of that scale in outer space yet, but i'm sure at some point it will be done! But to answer your question you are right, yes it would get better information. just like a mirror telescope can see better in orbit than on Earth, like the Hubble Space Telescope. There were things we didnt even know existed until we saw the clear pictures from the Hubble in orbit! check out the links below for more info.

Answer 2

A is authentic in that for the comparable length, an optical telescope would be lots greater high priced than a radio one. it extremely is by way of fact for a telescope to artwork properly, it needs to be made to an accuracy of a fragment of the wavelength it observes. For gentle, meaning precision of a few hundred nanometres is mandatory. Radio waves are lots longer, so the telescope does not want something like the precision engineering. Millimetre accuracy or perhaps much less will do. although, the determination of a telescope - how lots element it may see - is larger the bigger the telescope, yet much less the longer the wavelength it observes. So on the same time because it extremely is low-priced to make a huge radio telescope, that telescope would possibly no longer see the variety of large element a lots smaller optical telescope might desire to.

Answer 3

The thing about radio telescopes is that they are able to be combined to improve the resolution of the image obtained. We have arrays of telescopes here on earth and we are able to combine the results of sets of those arrays from across the earth. The size of the earth limits the dispersion of telescopes to about 8000 miles apart( the diameter of the earth is about 8000 miles) By placing radio telescopes in independent orbit around the sun we can increase the distance across an array of telescopes to Millions of miles. Such a dispersed set of telescopes significantly increases the accuracy of the measurements capable of being taken by orders of magnitude.

Answer 4

It would be closer to the subject.