Why do space telescopes give sharper images than ground telescopes?
Quick Answer
They avoid Earth’s atmosphere, which blurs and distorts starlight, so they can observe with much greater clarity.
The Full Story
Earth’s atmosphere causes turbulence, absorbs some wavelengths, and blocks much of the ultraviolet, X-ray, and infrared light from space. Space telescopes operate above this layer, so they avoid weather, air distortion, and light pollution. That is why instruments such as the Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, produced crisp images that ground telescopes often could not match at the time. Space observatories also can detect wavelengths invisible from the ground. More recently, the James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, has opened new infrared views of the universe.
Key Facts
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