4 ms·
> vastly more capable than JWST ... not at the same wavelengths. The earth's atmosphere is largely opaque to IR, for instance.
by kabdib 5y ago
> vastly more capable than JWST
... not at the same wavelengths. The earth's atmosphere is largely opaque to IR, for instance.
- dredmorbius 5y agoAnd even if not opaque, the thermal signature of the atmosphere itself would degrade signal from distant objects. There are some things you can only do beyond the atmosphere.
- dlp211 5y agoDust also greatly degrades earth based telescopes abilities.
- dredmorbius 5y agoSkyglow, atmospheric distortion, atmospheric absorption of specific frequencies, wind, the Earth's inclination, orbit, and rotation (limits time-on-target for any specific target of interest), local conditions (static electricity being a major issue for the ESO in Chile, given elevation and lack of humidity, all electronics must be static-tolerant or resistant), etc., etc. Not that space isn't also hard, but each environment has both affordances and limitations.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]