Question

2. There are a number of reasons why professional astronomers locate their telescopes on the tops of remote mountains. List two of those reasons.

Answer 1

Answer :

the atmosphere presents many problems for astronomers, because it causes starlight to scintillate, or twinkle. This is a very similar effect to heat haze, and it comes from pockets of the atmosphere continually changing in temperature and density.

Minimizing the effect of the atmosphere on observations using telescopes makes a huge difference to the quality of the observations. Astronomy is a unique science, in that it is almost totally passive. Humans mostly sit on Earth and collect light, because that is almost all we can do to learn about the Universe

The need to minimize interference from the atmosphere and extract as much information as possible from the tiny amount of light available means that we need to put our telescopes in strange, exotic locations, like at the top of mountains or even the summits of dormant volcanoes.

These remote locations minimize the twinkling, because the atmosphere is thinner in these spots.

If a location is chosen carefully, we can also eliminate the glare from outdoor lights, which reflect off the atmosphere and give the sky an artificial brightness.

Air quality is important for good observations, because any particles in the air will reflect light and also make the sky glow. Finally, weather has a substantial impact on the quality of observations. Ideally, observatories should be located as high above the clouds as possible.