ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Whole Earth Telescope

So, you know how people love to look at the stars and planets up in the sky at night? Well, there are these really special telescopes called "whole earth telescopes" that help scientists and astronomers study the stars and planets even better.

But why are they called "whole earth telescopes," you ask? Well, that's because these telescopes are actually a bunch of smaller telescopes all over the world that work together to look at the same thing at the same time. Kind of like taking a group photo!

These telescopes can see things that no single telescope on its own could see. That's because they can pick up signals from things wayyy far away in space, like exploding stars or black holes, and bring them all together to get a clearer picture of what's happening out there in the universe.

It's kind of like if you and your friends all took turns looking at the same thing through your binoculars, and then you all came together to compare your views and piece together a better understanding of what you were looking at.

So, that's the Whole Earth Telescope- a bunch of telescopes working together to explore and learn more about the universe. Pretty cool, huh?