All of you are already familiar with the electromagnetic spectrum at some level (heck, you probably have even seen some of it!), but for the lecture you really need to understand what different parts of the spectrum mean in terms of wavelength, frequency and energy, from radio to gamma-rays. Otherwise much of the nuances don't really make sense. In fact, if you are not familiar with the EM spectrum and its basic uses in astronomy before coming to lecture, we'll spend the first 15 minutes watching the The Electromagnetic Spectrum Song over and over again - and believe me, none of us want that.

A picture tells more than a thousand words, and a video is made of thousands of pictures, so do spend some time watching the short clips from different points of view. Two are about the EM light in general, and two are about space telescopes. Be sure to watch at least one video on both topics. The last one is a longer one (almost half an hour), but goes a bit into the future of space telescopes. Take a look, if you have time!

Light (Crash course astronomy #24) [10:33]

Basics of the EM spectrum in astronomy [5:29]

Why we need space telescopes [6:19]

Space Telescopes You Should Know About Besides Hubble [5:20]

4 Future Space Telescopes NASA wants to build [25:57]


If you need help with putting all this in a bigger picture, check out NASA's site about the EM spectrum, or follow the links at the Wikipedia page.

Last modified: Tuesday, 22 February 2022, 1:47 PM