[dramatic percussion music]
- WELCOME TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."
I'M YOUR HOST, JUSTIN TULLY.
REMEMBER THOSE OBSERVATORIES
ON THE TOP OF MAUNA KEA IN HAWAII?
WELL, THERE ARE ACTUALLY 13
CURRENTLY OPERATING NEAR THE SUMMIT.
NINE ARE USED FOR OPTICAL AND INFRARED ASTRONOMY.
"OPTICAL" MEANS VISIBLE LIGHT,
SO IT'D BE MORE LIKE WHAT YOU'RE USED TO SEEING
THROUGH A TELESCOPE.
AND INFRARED ASTRONOMY
LOOKS AT THE INFRARED RADIATION
EMITTED FROM OBJECTS IN THE UNIVERSE.
ONE OBSERVATORY IS USED FOR RADIO ASTRONOMY,
WHICH MEANS IT'S STUDYING THE RADIO WAVES
EMITTED BY STELLAR SOURCES.
AND THREE OF THE OBSERVATORIES
ARE USED FOR SUBMILLIMETER ASTRONOMY.
THAT'S SUBMILLIMETER ASTRONOMY.
THE SUBMILLIMETER WAVE BAND OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
IS BETWEEN THE FAR-INFRARED AND MICROWAVE WAVE BANDS.
SO THERE ARE ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF TELESCOPES ON MAUNA KEA,
BUT THE ONE WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT IS OPERATED BY NASA,
THE INFRARED TELESCOPE FACILITY, OR IRTF.
LIKE THE NAME SUGGESTS,
IT'S USED FOR INFRARED ASTRONOMY,
AND THIS TELESCOPE HOSTS A MIRROR
THAT IS THREE METERS IN DIAMETER.
ORIGINALLY, IT WAS BUILT TO SUPPORT THE VOYAGER MISSIONS
TO LOCATE AND STUDY
THE BOUNDARIES OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
BUT ITS DUTIES HAVE GROWN,
AND NOW IT'S THE UNITED STATES' NATIONAL FACILITY
FOR INFRARED ASTRONOMY.
SO IT PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR PLANETARY,
SOLAR NEIGHBORHOOD, AND DEEP-SPACE APPLICATIONS.
INFRARED ASTRONOMY IS IMPORTANT.
IT WILL PROVIDE A GREAT DEAL OF INFORMATION
ON HOW THE UNIVERSE WAS FORMED
AND WHAT THE EARLY UNIVERSE WAS LIKE.
HOW DOES THAT WORK?
WE CAN'T TRAVEL TO THE STARS
OR TAKE SAMPLES FROM OTHER GALAXIES,
SO SCIENTISTS USE ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FARAWAY OBJECTS.
ASTRONOMERS USE WAVELENGTHS OTHER THAN VISIBLE LIGHT,
LIKE INFRARED, TO STUDY THESE OBJECTS
AND THEN APPLY COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
TO CODE THE LIGHT WITH ARBITRARY COLORS THAT WE CAN SEE.
THE INVISIBLE BECOMES VISIBLE.
IN SPACE, THERE ARE MANY REGIONS
THAT ARE HIDDEN FROM OPTICAL TELESCOPES
BECAUSE OF THE DENSE CLOUDS OF GAS AND DUST.
BUT THE LONGER WAVELENGTH OF INFRARED RADIATION
CAN PASS THROUGH THE DUSTY REGIONS
WITHOUT BEING SCATTERED.
WE KNOW THAT OUR UNIVERSE IS EXPANDING
AND MOST GALAXIES ARE MOVING AWAY FROM EACH OTHER.
ASTRONOMERS HAVE DISCOVERED
THAT THE FARTHER AWAY THE GALAXY IS,
THE FASTER IT'S MOVING.
AN INTERESTING THING HAPPENS TO THE LIGHT
COMING FROM THESE GALAXIES.
THE WAVELENGTHS GET LONGER
AND SHIFT TOWARD THE RED PART OF THE SPECTRUM.
THIS REDSHIFT IS KNOWN AS THE DOPPLER EFFECT.
BY THE TIME MUCH OF THE LIGHT FROM DISTANT GALAXIES
REACHES OUR TELESCOPES,
THE ONLY WAY TO STUDY IT IS WITH INFRARED TECHNOLOGY.
AND COOL STARS,
THOSE THAT BURN AT TEMPERATURES COOLER THAN OUR OWN SUN,
DO NOT PUT OUT ENOUGH LIGHT TO BE SEEN.
BUT ALL OBJECTS EMIT HEAT SIGNATURES,
AND INFRARED TELESCOPES HELP ASTRONOMERS DETECT
THESE OTHERWISE INVISIBLE OBJECTS IN SPACE.
AND SPEAKING OF COOL,
IN SPITE OF THE VERY COOL TEMPERATURES ON THE MOUNTAIN,
STANDARD EQUIPMENT ON THE IRTF INCLUDES CAMERAS
THAT ARE COOLED WITH LIQUID NITROGEN.
THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE TELESCOPE
IS TRYING TO PICK UP THE INFRARED
OR "HEAT" SIGNATURES OF OBJECTS IN SPACE,
KIND OF LIKE INFRARED CAMERAS USED BY FIREMEN
IN SEARCH-AND-RESCUE OPERATIONS.
COOLING THE CAMERA HELPS REDUCE THE EXTERNAL HEAT INTERFERENCE
AND MAKES THE CAMERA MORE SENSITIVE.
ANOTHER FACT ABOUT THIS TELESCOPE IS,
IT'S BEING USED BY ASTRONOMERS AROUND THE WORLD,
AND THEY NEVER HAVE TO LEAVE HOME TO USE IT.
THIS TELESCOPE IS FITTED WITH A VARIETY
OF ELECTRONIC CAMERAS AND SPECTROGRAPHS
AND HAS BEEN SET UP SO THAT IT CAN BE CONTROLLED
FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD
THROUGH A HIGH-SPEED INTERNET CONNECTION.
ASTRONOMERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD SUBMIT PROPOSALS
TELLING NASA WHY THEY NEED TO USE THE INFRARED TELESCOPE.
IF THEIR PROPOSAL IS CHOSEN, THE ASTRONOMER
CAN ACTUALLY SIT IN THEIR OFFICE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD
AND CONTROL THE SCOPE WITH THE CLICK OF A MOUSE
WHILE WATCHING IMAGES BEING CAPTURED
RIGHT ON THEIR COMPUTER MONITOR,
JUST AS THEY WOULD IF THEY WERE ON THE MOUNTAINTOP.
THAT PUTS A WHOLE NEW SPIN ON REMOTE SENSING.
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW. I'M JUSTIN TULLY.
THANKS FOR WATCHING,
AND WE'LL CATCH YOU NEXT TIME ON "NASA LAUNCHPAD."