ViewSpace Interactives: Gathering Light

If you have ever used manual camera controls to photograph in low light, you know that the darker it is, the longer the exposure needs to be. Keeping the camera shutter open longer allows more light to reach the film or detectors. The same is true for a telescope. The more light a telescope can gather, the fainter and more distant the objects it allows us to see. One way to increase the amount of light a telescope collects is by increasing the amount of time it spends pointed at a particular part of the sky. See how this works by examining the Hubble Ultra Deep Field and star cluster NGC 602 as light is built up over several frames.

Are you interested in setting up ViewSpace in your museum, library, or other informal learning venue? Our interactives and individual videos may be accessed by anyone; however, for informal learning venues that would like to present the ViewSpace looping video collection to the public, please request a free account.