Portal:Radiation astronomy/Lesson/16

First ultraviolet source in Sagittarius
The first ultraviolet source in Sagittarius is unknown.

The field of ultraviolet astronomy is the result of observations and theories about ultraviolet sources detected in the sky above.

The first astronomical ultraviolet source discovered may have been the Sun.

But, ultraviolet waves from the Sun are intermingled with other radiation so that the Sun may appear as other than a primary source for ultraviolet waves.

The early use of sounding rockets and balloons to carry ultraviolet detectors high enough may have detected ultraviolet waves from the Sun as early as the 1940s.

This is a lesson in map reading, coordinate matching, and searching. It is also a project in the history of ultraviolet astronomy looking for the first astronomical ultraviolet source discovered in the constellation of Sagittarius.

Nearly all the background you need to participate and learn by doing you've probably already been introduced to at a secondary level and perhaps even a primary education level.

Some of the material and information is at the college or university level, and as you progress in finding ultraviolet sources, you'll run into concepts and experimental tests that are an actual search.