avaruusteleskoopin

avaruusteleskooppin, also known as a space telescope, is an optical or other type of telescope that operates outside Earth's atmosphere in space orbit. The primary advantage of such instruments is the elimination of atmospheric distortion, absorption, and light pollution, which allows for high-resolution observations across a wide range of wavelengths from ultraviolet to infrared and beyond. These telescopes are crucial for astronomical research, providing data on deep-sky objects, exoplanets, and cosmic phenomena that cannot be adequately studied from the ground.

The concept of a space telescope emerged in the mid-20th century, with the first operational optical space telescope being the 37-inch Wright–Biddle telescope on the Apollo 14 command module in 1971. The first dedicated space observatory was the Soviet Sputnik 2 in 1961, which carried a small photographing telescope. The United States launched the first large-scale space telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, in 1990. Hubble’s ability to observe ultraviolet and visible light without atmospheric interference has dramatically improved our understanding of the universe’s expansion, stellar evolution, and galaxy formation.

More recent space telescopes include the Chandra X‑ray Observatory, the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), and the James Webb Space Telescope, which was launched in 2021. James Webb is the most powerful infrared space telescope to date, designed to study the formation of stars and planets, the evolution of galaxies, and the atmospheric composition of exoplanets. Future missions, such as the proposed Habitable Exoplanet Observatory, aim to directly image Earth‑like planets around nearby stars.

Space telescopes require sophisticated engineering to survive the launch environment, operate autonomously, and maintain precise pointing stability. They are typically placed in Earth orbit, the Sun–Earth Lagrange points, or lunar orbits, depending on mission objectives. International cooperation, exemplified by the Hubble and James Webb collaborations, is common, combining resources and scientific expertise to maximize scientific return.