October 2, 2024

Vladimir B. Lañada 

11th Grade

John F. Kennedy High School

Have you ever wondered how we got to understand our universe? Well, it's all thanks to telescopes. Originally used for observing distant objects on Earth like surveying the land, military, etc. In the 17th century, an astronomer named Galileo Galilei, refined the instrument to the point that it could be magnified thirty times. By increasing the magnification, it allowed the telescope to observe celestial objects such as the moon, Jupiter, and more. Centuries later, telescope technology rapidly became better to the point we have them orbiting around Earth, such as the Hubble Space Telescope.

For instance, the most used type of telescope is the ground variant, due to many factors such as accessibility, and cheaper cost to build and maintain. Although the benefits are great, there are also downsides to ground-based telescopes. The first obstacle is the Earth’s atmosphere, when looking through it, your view might get ruined due to blurring caused by the atmosphere. Another downside is the obstruction of the electromagnetic spectrum due to the atmosphere, including infrared, gamma rays, long radio waves, and X-rays. Without these, we will never see the true colors of our universe.

Another type of telescope is the space telescope, such as the famous Hubble Space Telescope and the more advanced, James Webb Space Telescope. Its benefits and drawbacks are the complete opposite of the ground telescopes. The positive side of a space telescope is that it doesn’t look through the effects of the atmosphere, since it's above it. Another advantage is that when using the instrument, the electromagnetic spectrum isn’t interfered with by elements that occur on Earth. Without the interference, space telescopes such as the Hubble and James Webb enabled us to observe the universe in unprecedented detail.

Being the first variant of the two kinds of telescope, the Earth telescopes made the most improvements to astronomy. From discovering all the planets in our solar system to identifying galaxies such as the Andromeda Galaxy. Other contributions are the research of exo-planets, the locating of asteroids, and many more. The device is the backbone of astronomy, being widely used and still is by astronomers to understand the mysteries of our universe.  

As for space telescopes, their contribution to science is astronomical! The use of these instruments helped us mark down the age of our universe, which is around 13.8 billion years old. Another contribution is that it allows us to determine the rate at which our universe is expanding. The last example is the discovery that black holes hold galaxies together. Although these are just a few of their findings listed, there will be more breakthroughs due to how vast the universe is and how advanced these telescopes are.

All things considered, both of the variants have their own benefits and contributions to astronomy with ground telescopes being widely accessible, while space telescopes with its remarkably advanced technology and location. Together, they help us comprehend what's out there in the limitless cosmos.