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Space telescope
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== Advantages == [[File:NASA's Great Observatories Provide a Detailed View of Kepler's Supernova Remnant.jpg|thumb|[[Kepler's Supernova]] observed in visible light, infrared, and X-rays by NASA's three [[Great Observatories]]]] Performing [[astronomy]] from [[Observatory#Ground-based observatories|ground-based observatories]] on Earth is limited by the filtering and distortion of [[electromagnetic radiation]] ([[Scintillation (astronomy)|scintillation]] or twinkling) due to the [[Earth's atmosphere|atmosphere]]. A telescope orbiting Earth outside the atmosphere is subject neither to twinkling nor to [[light pollution]] from artificial light sources on Earth. As a result, the [[angular resolution]] of space telescopes is often much higher than a ground-based telescope with a similar [[aperture]]. Many larger terrestrial telescopes, however, reduce atmospheric effects with [[adaptive optics]].<ref name=nasa>{{cite web |title=Why a Telescope in Space? - NASA Science |url=https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/overview/why-a-space-telescope-in-space/ |website=science.nasa.gov |date=13 January 2023 |access-date=7 January 2024 |language=en}}</ref> Space-based astronomy is more important for frequency ranges that are outside the [[optical window]] and the [[radio window]], the only two wavelength ranges of the [[electromagnetic spectrum]] that are not severely attenuated by the atmosphere.<ref name=nasa/> For example, [[X-ray astronomy]] is nearly impossible when done from Earth, and has reached its current importance in astronomy only due to orbiting X-ray telescopes such as the [[Chandra X-ray Observatory]] and the [[XMM-Newton|XMM-Newton observatory]]. [[Infrared]] and [[ultraviolet]] are also largely blocked by the atmosphere. But in space, there is nothing to resist. So we can get higher resolutions in these wavelengths. To capture them, we have sent James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and many other telescopes to space.
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