Asked by fernanda

What is the main reason that we place telescopes on satellites in orbit around the Earth instead of building them on the ground?

A. To get closer to the objects we are trying to see
B. They work better in a vacuum
C. To get a clearer view without the atmosphere of Earth
D. To land on the moon

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
C. To get a clearer view without the atmosphere of Earth.

Explanation: Earth's atmosphere blurs and distorts images (turbulence/"seeing") and blocks or absorbs large parts of the electromagnetic spectrum (X‑rays, much UV, many infrared bands). Putting telescopes in space avoids those problems so you get sharper images and access to wavelengths you can't observe well from the ground.

(Why not the others: being a bit closer to distant objects is negligible, telescopes don't fundamentally need vacuum to "work," and satellites are not placed in orbit to land on the Moon.)