Ground Based Telescopes Essay

Ground based telescopes are used most widely. The main reason for this is their cost. Relatively cheap, they allow observing a large part of the sky. Their scientific impact is estimated at 60-70% of all the information obtained and referred from 1991 to 1998[4]. Currently, numerous huge telescopes are based in different parts of the world and supply information for scientific researches. However, there are several major problems connected with the ground-based telescopes. First of all, the atmosphere is very thick, for this reason the stars can’t be clearly seen. Atmosphere also creates deflections in images. Only 1% of the sky is observed by ground-based telescopes [5]. Another problem is the data gathered and stored by ground-based telescopes. It should be constantly calibrated for the reason of changing equipment, while geosynchronous orbiting telescopes are much more technically stable (the equipment is not changed every now and then).

Geosynchronous orbiting telescopes differ from the ground-based telescope, as they are situated in the zone of the equator, high over the atmosphere. With the help of this type of telescopes the major problem of obtaining objective, detailed data and images from the bodies around Earth such as stars. The importance of geosynchronous orbiting telescopes lies in their ability to see the needed object directly and not through the whole atmosphere. This ability enlarges their efficiency and accuracy. Second, as it was mentioned the science impact of geosynchronous orbiting telescopes is measured as 30-40% of all data referred, while ground based telescopes outnumber them greatly. They are 15-20 times more efficient then the ground based ones [6]. While ground based telescopes contribute a lot to the exploration of the space, they are still much less efficient them the geosyncronous orbiting ones. Their main disadvantage is their high cost of production. Narrow scientific problem require geosynchronous orbiting telescopes, because...