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Astronomical Instruments
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Photometer
An instrument used in astronomy for measuring the intensity or brightness of light coming from celestial objects, which can be used to determine their distances, sizes, and compositions.
Hubble Space Telescope
A space-based telescope launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and has provided high-resolution images of space, free from atmospheric distortions.
Doppler Radar
An observational instrument that measures the velocity of objects such as stars, galaxies, and weather formations by utilizing the Doppler effect of their electromagnetic waves.
Charge-Coupled Device (CCD)
A highly sensitive photographic device used in modern telescopes to convert light into electrical signals, forming digital images of celestial objects.
Very Large Array (VLA)
A radio astronomy observatory located in New Mexico, USA, consisting of 27 independent radio antennas that combine their data through interferometry.
Radio Telescope
A type of telescope that detects radio waves emitted by celestial sources, allowing observation of the universe through radio frequency radiation.
Spectrophotometer
An instrument that measures the intensity of light at different wavelengths to derive the spectrum of an object, providing information on its temperature, chemical composition, density, and motion.
Space Probe
An unmanned exploratory spacecraft designed to transmit information about its environment back to Earth.
Solar Telescope
A special-purpose telescope used for observing the Sun. It is fitted with filters and detectors to reduce the intensity and heat of sunlight.
Coronagraph
An instrument attached to a telescope that is designed to block out the direct light from a star so that nearby objects, like exoplanets or the solar corona, can be observed.
Gravitational Wave Detector
An observatory designed to detect and measure gravitational waves, ripples in spacetime predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, usually caused by massive moving objects like merging black holes.
Telescope
An optical instrument designed to make distant objects appear nearer, containing an arrangement of lenses or curved mirrors and lenses.
Neutrino Detector
A facility designed to detect and study neutrinos, which are nearly massless subatomic particles that rarely interact with matter.
Spectroscope
A device that splits light into its component wavelengths, creating a spectrum which is used to analyze the properties of light sources.
Space Observatory
A satellite or spacecraft equipped with telescopes and other instruments for observing celestial phenomena from outside Earth's atmosphere.
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