infrared telescope

In astronomy, telescope designed to receive electromagnetic waves in the infrared part of the spectrum. Infrared telescopes are always reflectors (glass lenses are opaque to infrared waves) and are normally of the Cassegrain telescope type.

Since all objects at normal temperatures emit strongly in the infrared, careful design is required to ensure that the weak signals from the sky are not swamped by radiation from the telescope itself. Infrared telescopes are sited at high mountain observatories above the obscuring effects of water vapour in the atmosphere. Modern large telescopes are often designed to work equally well in both visible and infrared light.