Question

Which of the following is the biggest disadvantage of putting a telescope in space?

A. Astronomers don’t have as much control in choosing what to observe.
B. Astronomers have to wait until the telescopes come back to Earth to get their images.
C. Space telescopes can only observe in certain parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.
D. Space telescopes are much more expensive than similar ground-based telescopes.

Answer 1

The biggest disadvantage of putting a telescope in space is that space telescopes can only observe in certain parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Earth's atmosphere blocks most radiation at wavelengths shorter than visible light, so space telescopes can make direct observations in ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma ray wavelengths which are not possible from the ground.

Step-by-step explanation:

The biggest disadvantage of putting a telescope in space is that space telescopes can only observe in certain parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Earth's atmosphere blocks most radiation at wavelengths shorter than visible light, so space telescopes can make direct observations in ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma ray wavelengths which are not possible from the ground. However, they are limited in their ability to observe other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.