Space Tools

What is a spectrometer?
How do we get information from spacecraft?
When was the first radio telescope built?
Where is the largest optical telescope in the world?
When did the first robot rover go to Mars?

What is a space probe?
How far can the Hubble Space Telescope see?
Why do we put telescopes in space?
How fast does the Space Station travel?
What is the International Space Station?

What is a spectrometer?

A spectrometer is an tool commonly used by astronomers which splits the light collected by a telescope into its colors. This allows astronomers see the details in the light from space. Astronomers know how to get a lot of special information about a space object by studying its light. By using spectrometers, we can find out the temperature of an object in space, learn which direction it is traveling, find out how fast it is going, figure out its weight and even find out what it is made of. Spectrometers help us learn all of this from light!