Space telescopes use the electromagnetic spectrum to give us a complete picture of space

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Space telescopes see the cosmos in such amazing detail. They can see the cosmos in ways we simply cannot. Most of the images we are seeing aren’t actually viewable with the naked eye.

We have a lot of telescopes in space. Since 1970, there have been nearly 100 space telescopes launched into orbit. Of these, only a couple dozen remain active today. So, why do we need so many space telescopes? It has to do with the things we can’t see.

Rhode Island native, Dr. Kimberly Arcand, the visualization scientist for the NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory notes: Space telescopes do not take space selfies. A number of them operate outside of the visible spectrum- what we can see with the naked eye. The space telescopes are specialized to see different parts of the light spectrum, which are then translated into a form we can see.

The Space Telescope Arcand works with is the Chandra X-ray Observatory — it operates in the X-ray light part of the spectrum. The Hubble Space Telescope operates in the UV and visible part while the James Webb Space Telescope works in the infrared spectrum. The long wavelengths of the infrared allow scientists to see through clouds of dust and further back in time — to the birth of the first stars and galaxies.

When we combine observations from different parts of the spectrum, we get a more complete picture of the universe.