How do space telescopes avoid problems caused by Earth’s atmosphere?

Space telescopes avoid the problems caused by Earth’s atmosphere by being placed in orbit, which allows them to operate free from atmospheric interference.1

Earth’s atmosphere presents two primary challenges for ground-based astronomy:

• Absorption: The atmosphere does not transmit all wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation equally well. It absorbs much of the ultraviolet, X-ray, gamma-ray, and infrared spectrum, preventing these signals from reaching telescopes on the surface. By operating in space, telescopes can detect these wavelengths that would otherwise be blocked.2341
• Distortion: Even for wavelengths that do reach the ground, atmospheric turbulence distorts optical images, limiting the practical resolution of ground-based telescopes to about one arc second. Space-based observatories, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, avoid this distortion entirely, providing much clearer views of the universe.21

While some atmospheric effects can be mitigated on the ground through high-altitude site selection or adaptive optics, placing instruments in space remains the most effective way to achieve unobstructed, high-resolution observations across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.21