Question

Why are optical telescopes located in uninhabited places on mountains?

Answer 1

1. The visible light coming from a heavenly body has to pass through the earth’s atmosphere to reach the earth’s surface.
2. The intensity of light rays reaching the Earth's surface decreases as some of the light is absorbed by the atmosphere.
3. The change in atmospheric pressure and temperature causes the light rays to change their path slightly and thus shake the position of the image.
4. We cannot use optical telescopes during the daytime because of the presence of sunlight.
5. Even at night, city lights and cloudy weather can cause hindrances to observing the heavenly bodies.
6. To reduce these problems, optical telescopes are situated on top of mountains, at in uninhabited places.