Telescope Instrumentation

Filters

Cameras on telescopes measure the amount of light emitted by a star. However, most cameras are also not able to measure colour at the same time as brightness.

The Gran Telescopio Canarias is also known as 'GranTeCan' or the 'GTC'. It sits 2,267 m up a mountain above the sea on La Palma. It is the largest telescope on the island. The GTC is owned by Spain, Mexico, and the University of Florida in the USA. It is looked after on the site by the local university, the IAC.

Spectroscope

Spectrographs are instruments place onto telescopes. Instead of taking a picture of an object, it splits the light up into all the different colours of the spectrum.