Why can infrared telescopes operate from high flying aircraft and high mountain tops whereas X-ray telescopes must be placed in orbit?

What will be an ideal response?


There are a few narrow atmospheric windows at short infrared wavelengths accessible from the ground, especially from high mountains. However, most infrared wavelengths are blocked, especially by water vapor absorption. Also, Earth's atmosphere itself glows in the far-infrared. So observations at very long IR wavelengths can be made only from telescopes carried to high altitudes by aircraft or balloons, or launched entirely out of the atmosphere on board spacecraft. It is very difficult to observe X-rays because Earth's atmosphere is opaque to X-rays. Therefore, X-ray telescopes must be placed in orbit.

Physics & Space Science

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Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).

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Direct current is normally produced by a

A) battery. B) generator. C) both of these D) neither of these

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