limitations articles
What unique capability allowed the *Hubble Space Telescope* to overcome aging hardware issues?
Why does a failure in a single, critical component often end the mission for a distant modern space telescope?
What environmental hazard outside Earth’s magnetosphere specifically degrades electronics in space telescopes over time?
What operating temperature is often necessary for telescopes like JWST that observe the infrared spectrum?
What factor governs the inherent, pre-calculated expiration date for space telescopes operating at Earth-Sun Lagrange points?
Why must a spacecraft orbiting the L2 point periodically fire small thrusters?
What primary logistical hurdle is associated with launching space telescopes that are folded up like origami?
What constant threat, even from tiny specks, poses a risk of damaging mirrors or sensors on space telescopes?
What limits the size of the primary mirror for space telescopes, forcing engineering compromises?
What trade-off is often accepted when choosing to place an observatory in space instead of on the ground?
What optical flaw is inherent to standard refracting telescopes due to the objective lens acting like a prism?
Relative to reflector designs, what is noted about the initial cost of high-quality refractors for the same light-gathering potential?
What mechanical feature in Newtonian and SCT designs blocks some light and reduces the actual light gathered compared to a refractor of the same aperture?
Why can an Alt-Azimuth mount be frustrating for high-magnification planetary observation?
What specific optical shape do smaller Newtonians often use instead of the necessary parabolic shape in budget models, severely degrading image quality?
According to the text, what is almost always the greatest performance limiter for telescope views, regardless of instrument quality?
Which telescope type requires regular alignment of its mirrors, a process known as collimation, which is an added maintenance responsibility?
What time-consuming disadvantage affects closed-tube systems like refractors and Catadioptrics when brought outside on a cool night after being indoors on a warm evening?
What trade-off is characteristic of Catadioptric systems (SCT/MCT) regarding their physical structure versus their field of view?
When focusing is difficult due to poor seeing conditions, what critical task can take an observer up to an hour on troubled nights?
What is the single greatest adversary to high astrometric precision for ground-based telescopes?
What becomes the primary limitation on astrometric precision when telescopes escape Earth's atmosphere?
How is the error in proper motion measurement related to the total observation span?
Which objects form the foundation of the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF)?
How do distance errors grow as the target star moves farther away when using parallax?
Which techniques are used to mitigate distortions caused by atmospheric turbulence ('seeing')?
What systematic error is created by a slow, steady warping of the primary mirror cell over a mission?
Since astrometry is inherently relative, what determines the accuracy of any single measurement?
What technique defines the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF) and introduces inherent uncertainties?