How do we get images back from regions of space like the surface of Pluto?

Question

Any images at all from space even, like with Hubble and JWST. They seem so unfathomably far away.

In: 3

Answer 1

Robotic probes in deep space communicate with Earth using ‘high-gain’ radio antennas, which are designed to send a very narrow beam of radio waves in one very specific direction. By keeping the waves tightly focused, you can greatly reduce the drop-off in signal strength over distance, though you have to aim the antenna very carefully. There’s also a network of *massive* radio antennas down here on Earth, which are designed to listen carefully to a very small area of sky, aimed at the spacecraft’s expected location.