Question

List three factors that are important to astronomers who are selecting a good location on Earth for a new large telescope. For each factor, explain how a good choice for the location helps the telescope to gather more data or images, or gather better data or images.  

Answer 1

There are certain factors that determine whether a location on Earth for a new large telescope is good or not.

Clear Nights- Number of clear nights is a crucial factor for deciding where to set a large telescope. For instance, if the observatory where the telescope is set is near by a city, then it is obvious that there will be contribution of city lights while focusing an astronomical object for observation. Hence it should be kept in mind while setting up an large telescope that the location should be far away from cities or industries.

Atmospheric turbulance- The location should be atmospheric turbulance free. Suppose the location is surrounded by such objects that radiate heat. In this kind of circumstances the convection process dominates and the air upto ~100 m altitude from ground will be turbulant which affects the seeing of sky. The location should be in such a place that are surrounded by dust, mud or say grass. Along with these facts, the weather should also be very calm and clear. These factors offer the astronomers a better view. Windy conditions near the ground may require a dome like structures.

The Infrastructures and available manpower- Once the aforementioned primary requirements are satisfied for a location, one should look for the infrastructures, i.e. whether it is possible to build up the underground facilities including electricity and phone services, water and internet connectivity or not. Since seeing, obseving and gathering data requires much accuracy, available manpower that are capable of doing those works is also a crucial factor for choosing a location for a large telescope.