Notable satellite observatories

Notable satellite observatories

Table
Notable satellite observatories
name nationality years in
service discoveries/
notable features
Radio (wavelengths less than 0.1 cm)
Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) (Cosmic Background Explorer) U.S. 1989–93 mapped cosmic microwave background from the big bang
VLBI Space Observatory Programme (VSOP) Japan 1997–2005 joined with radio telescopes (telescope) on Earth to form an array 33,000 km across
Infrared (wavelengths between 0.1 cm and 7 × 10−5 cm)
Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) (Infrared Astronomical Satellite) U.S./U.K./
Netherlands 1983 first space observatory to map the entire sky at infrared wavelengths
Spitzer Space Telescope U.S. 2003– studied atmospheres of extrasolar planets (extrasolar planet)
Optical (wavelengths between 4 × 10−5 and 7 × 10−5 cm)
Hipparcos ESA* 1989–93 measured the distances to more than 100,000 stars (star)
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) (Hubble Space Telescope) U.S./ESA 1990– accurately determined the rate of the universe's expansion
Ultraviolet (wavelengths between 4 × 10−5 and 10−8 cm)
International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) (International Ultraviolet Explorer) U.S./U.K./ESA 1978–96 observed light ring around Supernova 1987A
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) U.S./ESA 1995– studied sunspots (sunspot) on the far side of the Sun
X-ray (wavelengths between 10−8 and 10−11 cm)
Röntgensatellit (ROSAT) Germany 1990–99 surveyed the entire sky
Chandra X-ray Observatory U.S. 1999– found direct proof of the existence of dark matter
Gamma-ray (wavelengths less than 10−11 cm)
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) (Compton Gamma Ray Observatory) U.S. 1991–99 showed that gamma-ray bursts (gamma-ray burster) happened outside the Milky Way
Swift U.S. 2004– studied hundreds of gamma-ray bursts
See as table:

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Universalium. 2010.

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