Final answer:
The world's largest infrared telescope in Hawaii collects infrared electromagnetic radiation, facing the challenge of differentiating between cosmic sources and the infrared light emitted by the Earth and its atmosphere.
Step-by-step explanation:
The largest infrared telescope in the world, located in Hawaii, is specifically designed to collect infrared electromagnetic radiation. Unlike the earliest telescopes, which were designed to collect visible light, this infrared telescope has to contend with heat from the Earth and its atmosphere, which radiates infrared energy. This makes detecting faint cosmic sources a challenge, as they must be discerned against the backdrop of infrared light being emitted by surrounding objects and the atmosphere itself. These telescopes on Earth must be complemented by those placed outside the atmosphere, like the ones in ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray regions, to observe the full spectrum of electromagnetic radiation.