ASTR 3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Planetesimal, Gallium Arsenide, Solid Surface
Document Summary
Because on earth : light pollution, air turbulence causes blurred images, atmosphere absorbs most of the electromagnetic (em) spectrum, including all uv and x-ray, most infrared. Turbulence in the atmosphere blurs images and prevents telescopes from reaching their natural degree of angular res. Rapid changes in the shape of a special mirror can compensate for atmospheric turbulence (adaptive optics) Allows 2+ telescopes spread out over a large area to work together to obtain the angular resolution of a much larger telescope (works well w/ radio telescopes) Contains over 99. 9% of the solar system"s mass. Made mostly of ionized h/he gas (plasma); very hot and self-luminous. Converts 4 million tons of mass into energy each second wow! Desolate, cratered like out moon; long, tall, steep cliffs. V hot and v cold (425c day and -170c night) Day = 58. 6 earth days; 3 mercury days per 2 mercury years lol what (1 year = 1. 5 days)
