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Dr. Jeff Hall
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Dr. Jeff Hall Astronomer, Director, Lowell Observatory
TRANSCRIPT:
From a satellite observatory, you can observe parts of the spectrum that are obscured by the Earth's atmosphere. Our understanding of astronomical objects is quite limited, or our understanding of astronomical objects can be limited if we only observe in the optical. Observing objects synoptically -- in the ultraviolet, the far infrared, the X-ray -- broadens our understanding of how they work. Many of these portions of the electromagnetic spectrum are blocked by the Earth's atmosphere, so being able to observe them from space does allow us to do things we simply can't do from the ground.
Conversely, on the ground, we can explore another axis of the observational graph. Although we might be limited in the portions of the spectrum we can study, we can do that easily and in an ongoing way from telescopes that are just 10 miles from our offices here in Lowell Observatory, and that we own. We can govern what kinds of projects and how long. We don't have that kind of access or control to, say, the Hubble. No one does.
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