TheSubaruTelescope(left)and

KeckObservatory(center)on
MaunaKea,bothexamplesofan
observatorythatoperatesat
nearinfraredandvisible
wavelengths.TheNASAInfrared
TelescopeFacility(right)isan
exampleofatelescopethatoperates
onlyatnearinfraredwavelengths.
Historically,opticalastronomy,alsocalledvisiblelight
astronomy,istheoldestformofastronomy.
[45]
Opticalimagesof
observationswereoriginallydrawnbyhand.Inthelate19th
centuryandmostofthe20thcentury,imagesweremadeusing
photographicequipment.Modernimagesaremadeusingdigital
detectors,particularlydetectorsusingchargecoupleddevices
(CCDs)andrecordedonmodernmedium.Althoughvisiblelight
itselfextendsfromapproximately4000to7000(400nmto
700nm),
[45]
thatsameequipmentcanbeusedtoobservesome
nearultravioletandnearinfraredradiation.
Ultravioletastronomy
Ultravioletastronomyreferstoobservationsatultraviolet
wavelengthsbetweenapproximately100and3200(10to
320nm).
[39]
Lightatthesewavelengthsisabsorbedbythe
Earth'satmosphere,soobservationsatthesewavelengthsmust
beperformedfromtheupperatmosphereorfromspace.
Ultravioletastronomyisbestsuitedtothestudyofthermal
radiationandspectralemissionlinesfromhotbluestars(OB
stars)thatareverybrightinthiswaveband.Thisincludesthebluestarsinothergalaxies,whichhave
beenthetargetsofseveralultravioletsurveys.Otherobjectscommonlyobservedinultravioletlight
includeplanetarynebulae,supernovaremnants,andactivegalacticnuclei.
[39]
However,asultraviolet
lightiseasilyabsorbedbyinterstellardust,anappropriateadjustmentofultravioletmeasurementsis
necessary.
[39]
Xrayastronomy
XrayastronomyisthestudyofastronomicalobjectsatXraywavelengths.Typically,Xrayradiationis
producedbysynchrotronemission(theresultofelectronsorbitingmagneticfieldlines),thermal
emissionfromthingasesabove10
7
(10million)kelvins,andthermalemissionfromthickgasesabove
10
7
Kelvin.
[39]
SinceXraysareabsorbedbytheEarth'satmosphere,allXrayobservationsmustbe
performedfromhighaltitudeballoons,rockets,orspacecraft.NotableXraysourcesincludeXray
binaries,pulsars,supernovaremnants,ellipticalgalaxies,clustersofgalaxies,andactivegalactic
nuclei.
[39]
Xrayswerefirstobservedanddocumentedin1895byWilhelmConradRntgen,aGermanscientist
whofoundthemwhenexperimentingwithvacuumtubes.Throughaseriesofexperiments,Rntgen
wasabletodiscoverthebeginningelementsofradiation.The"X",infact,holdsitsownsignificance,as
itrepresentsRntgen'sinabilitytoidentifyexactlythetypeofradiation.
Gammarayastronomy
Gammarayastronomyisthestudyofastronomicalobjectsattheshortestwavelengthsofthe
electromagneticspectrum.GammaraysmaybeobserveddirectlybysatellitessuchastheCompton
GammaRayObservatoryorbyspecializedtelescopescalledatmosphericCherenkovtelescopes.
[39]
TheCherenkovtelescopesdonotactuallydetectthegammaraysdirectlybutinsteaddetecttheflashes
ofvisiblelightproducedwhengammaraysareabsorbedbytheEarth'satmosphere.
[46]
Mostgammarayemittingsourcesareactuallygammaraybursts,objectswhichonlyproducegamma
radiationforafewmillisecondstothousandsofsecondsbeforefadingaway.Only10%ofgammaray
sourcesarenontransientsources.Thesesteadygammarayemittersincludepulsars,neutronstars,
andblackholecandidatessuchasactivegalacticnuclei.
[39]
AstronomyWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomy
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