Placing telescopes above our atmosphere in space helps overcome some of these difficulties, making it easier to observe and study radiation emitted by other celestial bodies throughout space. The Hubble Space Telescope, launched into space in 1990, is a great example. This telescope can detect a much wider portion of the electromagnetic spectrum than if it were placed on Earth, due to the opacity of the atmosphere of some wavelengths.

Imagine a conversation among your classmates about why telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope were put into space. Indicate which of the following statements would present a good argument for this. Note there could be more than one correct or incorrect statement.

Select ALL that apply.

A) Student 1: "I think it is because the atmosphere magnifies light, which causes objects to look larger than they actually are."

B) Student 2: "I thought it was because the telescopes emit wavelengths of light that can be blocked by Earth’s atmosphere, so the telescopes need to be above the atmosphere."

C) Student 3: "Wait, I thought it was because moving the telescope above the atmosphere eliminates blurriness caused by atmospheric turbulence of electromagnetic waves."

D) Student 4: "Our atmosphere absorbs some of the electromagnetic spectrum, so telescopes on Earth cannot detect certain wavelengths that they can when they are above our atmosphere."