1. To boldly go... Exploring Space Tools and Techniques

2. Astronomy It is the study of the physical and chemical properties of objects and matter outside the earth's atmosphere.

3. Space is the region beyond the Earth's atmosphere or beyond the solar system ~Merriam-Webster Dictionary “Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.” Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy English humorist & science fiction novelist (1952 - 2001)

4. We look to the skies… We receive electromagnetic radiation (EMR) on Earth from “out there” Electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light “It is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, and certainly not desirable, as one’s hat keeps blowing off.” ~ Woody Allen http://digitalcolors.biz/nature-light.html 300,000 kilometers/second or 186,000 miles/second Now that’s fast!!

5. The light we see… We see in the visible light portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, with wavelengths from about 380 to 750 nanometers (nm) ~750 nm ~380 nm White light goes into a prism… The individual colors that make up white light comes out.

6. At first, we used just our eyes. But eventually, we developed tools… Replica of Galileo’s telescope Galileo improved upon a refracting telescope he heard about while in Venice in May, 1609. He used this telescope to chart the phases of Venus and describe the 4 major moons of Jupiter. He drew the Pleiades, as well as the craters on the Moon. Optical telescopes

7. Optical telescopes Refracting telescopes use convex lenses to bend light to a focal point

8. Optical telescopes Later in the 17th century, the reflecting telescope is reported to have been invented. Sir Isaac Newton is credited with creating the first practical reflecting telescope in 1669.

9. Optical telescopes Reflecting telescopes use curved mirrors to direct light

10. Space-based observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope The new James Webb Telescope (coming soon to a solar system near you!) Other optical telescopes

11. Hubble Trouble Corrective mirrors were installed in 1993. Hubble was placed in orbit in 1990, but had a faulty mirror. The difference was quite impressive…. http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/piercing_the_sky/piercing.swf

12. European Extremely Large Telescope in Chile Twin Keck Telescopes in Hawaii Other optical telescopes Land based observatories like the Sphinx Observatory in the Swiss Alps

13. Other Non-optical telescopes Radio telescopes like the Very Large Array in New Mexico or the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico These collect and record radio waves given off by some objects in space Chandra X-Ray Observatory