Issue 88: Telescopes
August 17, 2023
In this week’s issue:
- Space satellites spot space telescopes
- An art project takes over a crater
- Intriguing landscapes accidentally seen
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Feature Story: Telescopes
If you caught the Perseid meteor shower this weekend, congrats! We missed it because of SF’s perpetual meteorological fog. But we won’t let our jealousy stand in the way of the enjoyment of viewing stars with the naked eye. Whether you want to feel small, contemplate a corner of the cosmos, or simply just need some space, looking up at the night sky has a lot to offer. Unless, that is, you want to see really far.
The first patented telescope in 1608 could magnify objects by three times. The most advanced one we have now can see 13.6 billion light years away. We’ve come a long way, in other words. The James Webb Space Telescope is a $10 billion instrument orbiting the sun that gazes not just far into the universe but also deep into its past. Paired with observatories scattered around the Earth, these optical, radio, and other spectra telescopes gather information on distant stars and planets, and teach us about the origins of our universe and where it’s all heading.
The astronomical observatory business is filled with cutting-edge engineering projects, sky-shattering research, and fistfuls of adverbs. These include, but are not limited to, the Very Small Array, the Very Large Array, the Very Large Telescope, and, get this, the Extremely Large Telescope. But don’t be fooled. They may have somewhat dull names but the data they collect is anything but boring.
Unlike the night skies, you’ve probably never stumbled across an astronomical observatory in the wild. These megaprojects tend to be built far from human settlements and are often in deserts, where the lack of light pollution and clouds helps with all that looking up. Placing them at higher altitudes further aids the instruments to rise above atmospheric water vapor that can distort signals. Put it all together and Chile’s Atacama Desert sounds like prime real estate.
Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory is famous for its atmospheric recordings that supplied the data for the Keeling Curve, the graph of rising CO2. But the high-altitude, isolated mountain peak also makes it ideal for astronomy. The twin Keck Observatory telescopes are the most scientifically productive ones in the world, which together have directly imaged exoplanets, studied water on comets, and surveyed ice composition on Jupiter’s moon Europa.
Yet even these projects are subject to ruin. Both the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes have been damaged by micrometeoroid and space object impacts. And on Earth, the elements can take a larger toll. The 305-meter telescope at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory collapsed in 2020, and the site was officially shut down shortly after. Earthquakes, hurricanes, engineering failures, and a global pandemic all contributed to the end of an instrument critical for studying the hum of gravitational waves from black holes.
If you’ve awed at the Pillars of Creation, were amazed by the first image of a black hole, or looked for clues of extraterrestrial life on exoplanets, then you’ve got these telescopes to thank. Our interest is on Earth, but we’re space geeks too. And when we get the chance, we like to peer down at these telescopes looking back at our satellites and far, far beyond.
What in the World: Roden Crater
A different kind of telescope is nearing completion in an extinct volcanic crater in the Arizona desert. This telescope doesn’t see into the depths of outer space, but rather brings celestial light down into its cavernous spaces. Artist James Turrell has been working on the project for 45 years and is almost complete. Its main feature is a 854-foot long tunnel that acts as a refractor telescope, collecting moonlight through a lens to project its image onto a white marble disk. Another room that’s both a radio telescope and a camera obscura has sunlight pass through a curved glass bowl before an image of the sky is displayed on the sand below.
Remote Sensations: Accidental Sights
We spend a lot of time here at Snapshots combing through Planet’s data for interesting stories and images to share with you all. Which means we often come across places that are downright interesting but have no right making their way into that particular issue. But sometimes it’s nice to step away from the torrent of news and let your eyes wander over these scenes. So here’s a few we’ve collected over the past few weeks that we thought you’d enjoy.
All imagery Ⓒ 2023 Planet Labs PBC
Editor: Ryder Kimball | Images: Ryder Kimball, Max Borrmann, Julian Peschel, Maarten Lambrechts, and Rob Simmon
