Editing Ultraviolet astronomy (section)

{{short description|Observation of electromagnetic radiation at ultraviolet wavelengths}}
[[Image:M81 wide Galex.jpg|thumb|A [[GALEX]] image of the [[spiral galaxy]] [[Messier 81]] in [[ultraviolet]] light.  Credit:GALEX/[[NASA]]/[[JPL]]-[[Caltech]].]]

'''Ultraviolet astronomy''' is the observation of [[electromagnetic radiation]] at [[ultraviolet]] wavelengths between approximately 10 and 320 [[nanometre]]s; shorter wavelengths&mdash;higher energy photons&mdash;are studied by [[X-ray astronomy]] and [[gamma-ray astronomy]].<ref name="cox2000">{{cite book
  | editor=A. N. Cox
  | title=Allen's Astrophysical Quantities
  | date=2000
  | publisher=Springer-Verlag
  | location=New York
  | isbn=0-387-98746-0}}</ref> Ultraviolet light is not visible to the [[human eye]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/msfc/description/ultraviolet.html|title=Ultraviolet Light|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213163854/https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/msfc/description/ultraviolet.html|archive-date=2017-02-13|access-date=2017-02-12}}</ref> Most of the light at these wavelengths is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, so observations at these wavelengths must be performed from the upper atmosphere or from space.<ref name="cox2000"/>