ExploraTour - Looking at the World in a Different Light
Solar radiation peaks strongly at visible wavelengths but the sun also emits other types of radiation. The Earth's atmosphere allows visible light and radio waves to pass through it. However, it shields the Earth's surface from most other types of radiant energy by absorbing or reflecting them. Because of this protection, we have to lift instruments high above the Earth's atmosphere, in balloons, on rockets, or on spacecraft, to get an unobstructed view of the universe.