CLASS COPY – Please do NOT write on this paper. Return this sheet at the end of the class period.
READING:
Digging Deeper: Electromagnetic Radiation
[ EarthComm Book pages E63-E64 ]
Directions:
Read the tasks presented below for each section of the article. This will give you a reason for
your reading. Then read the corresponding section of the article in your textbook. Record your responses in your
science notebook, being sure to include a title, date, and any other information you need to make a helpful
entry. Remember – you will be allowed to use your science notebook on the unit test.
The Nature of Electromagnetic Radiation
1. What did Isaac Newton and Christian Huygens discover about light? Explain in a sentence or two.
2. Copy the table below in your notebook and fill it in
Temperature
100 K
10 mill ion K
Less than 1 K
Description
Wavelength
microwave
Visible
light
Longer than
.5cm
x-rays
0.5 nm
0.0005 nm
.
Astronomy and the Electromagnetic Spectrum
3. Explain how the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Very Large Baseline Array (VLBA) use many
antennas to observe space.
4. What are the similarities and differences between the Chandra and Hubble Telescopes?
.
Using Electromagnetic Radiation to Understand Celestial Objects
5. If we aim our various telescopes at an object in space and ‘see’ its full spectrum of
electromagnetic radiation, how do we tell what it is made of?
6. How do we tell how fast an object in space is moving? (Hint: It’s the same way the highway patrol
knows how fast your car is going.)
CLASS COPY – Please do NOT write on this paper. Return this sheet at the end of the class period.
The Nature of Electromagnetic Radiation
1. What did Isaac Newton and Christian Huygens discover about light? Explain in a sentence or two.
Isaac split light into the color spectrum with a glass prism. Christian determined that light travels in
waves.
2. Copy the table below in your notebook and fill it in
100K
100 K
10,000 K
10 million K
10 million K
10 billion K
microwave
infrared
Visible light
Ultra-violet
x-rays
Gamma rays
50 mcm
0.5mcm
0.5 nm
0.5 nm
0.5 nm
0.0005 nm
Less than 1 K
radio
Longer than
.5cm
.
Astronomy and the Electromagnetic Spectrum
3. Explain how the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Very Large Baseline Array (VLBA) use many
antennas to observe space.
The astronomers use computers to process an image. They use recorders with precise atomic clocks
to coordinate the signals after they have been received.
4. What are the similarities and differences between the Chandra and Hubble Telescopes?
Both telescopes are in space to avoid distortions caused by the Earth’s atmosphere. Chandra detects
x-rays while Hubble detects infrared and ultraviolet light (visible too).
.
Using Electromagnetic Radiation to Understand Celestial Objects
5. If we aim our various telescopes at an object in space and ‘see’ its full spectrum of
electromagnetic radiation, how do we tell what it is made of?
Everything has its peak wavelength, so if we know the peak wavelength of objects in space we can
match them to objects we know on Earth.
6. How do we tell how fast an object in space is moving? (Hint: It’s the same way the highway patrol
knows how fast your car is going.)
We measure the Doppler shift or Red Shift of how much the frequency speeds up or slows down from
where it normally is.