Will space based telescopes make ground based astronomy become a thing of the past?

Question

If space based telescopes are as good as i hear, the only thing left to use home based telescopes for is to spy on your neighbours right?

Answer 1

Not really. There's still a lot to learn using ground telescopes. Astronomers reserve the space scopes for the things the ground scopes can't do.

Answer 2

That's what we all thought 20 years ago. However, terrestial (earth-based) telescopes have evolved a lot since then. Modern large scale telescopes use adaptive optics which can correct for the effects of atmospheric distortion - which is why we launch telescope into space. It's getting to the point where there will soon be no advantage for visible light scopes to be in space. For UV telescopes however, it's another story, as the atmosphere absorbes most UV.

Answer 3

Space telescopes are so extremely expensive to build and maintain that ground-based telescopes will be with us for a long time to come. The 2.4 meter Hubble space telescope cost $2.5 billion to build and launch, and another two or three billion in maintenance. By comparison, the two 10-meter Keck telescopes cost about $180 million for the two of them.

The only real advantage to a space telescope now is the ability to see wavelengths invisible from the surface of Earth due to atmospheric absorption. Adaptive optics on ground-based telescopes can now produce sharper images than Hubble is capable of.

Answer 4

No, because they are WAY to expensive. There are hundreds of telescopes on the ground that are as big or bigger than Hubble, and adaptive optics are making ground based telescopes better able to overcome the blurring effects of the atmosphere.

Answer 5

WRONG! The need for home based telescopes allows the everyday Joe like you and I to witness the marvels of space for ourselves. This way we can make discoveries for ourselves, or confirm the discoveries of others. If you do any research at all you will find that many significant discoveries such as super novas and asteroids, along with comet discoveries have been made by amateur astronomers. So in essence, think before you jump.