In this article, we will explore one of the most important technological marvels which accelerated the growth of space science.
Since the human race has come into being and up to 400 years ago, all that we knew about our universe came through observations with the naked eye of curious minds. Things changed when Galileo turned his telescope towards the sky in 1610. A new era has dawned…
What it is?
Hubble, the observatory, is the first major optical telescope to be placed in space, the ultimate mountaintop. Hubble’s launch and deployment in April 1990 marked the most significant advance in astronomy since Galileo’s telescope. NASA named the world’s first space-based optical telescope after American astronomer Edwin P. Hubble (1889 — 1953). Dr. Hubble confirmed an “expanding” universe, which provided the foundation for the big-bang theory.
Why it is needed?
Astronomical advantages of having an extraterrestrial observatory are twofold:
First, the angular resolution (the smallest separation at which objects can be clearly distinguished) would be limited only by diffraction, rather than by the turbulence in the atmosphere, which causes stars to twinkle.
Second, a space-based telescope could observe infrared and ultraviolet light, which are strongly absorbed by the atmosphere.
Amazing Facts related to Hubble Telescope:
- Astronomers using Hubble data have published more than 15,000 scientific papers, making it one of the most productive scientific instruments ever built.Those papers have been cited in other papers 738,000 times.
- Hubble has no thrusters. To change angles, it uses Newton’s third law by spinning its wheels in the opposite direction. It turns at about the speed of a minute hand on a clock, taking 15 minutes to turn 90 degrees.
- Hubble transmits about 150 gigabits of raw science data every week.
Today we explored: What Hubble Telescope is and why is it needed? In our next article, details about its working and various exciting facts related to it will be discussed.
References:
- https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/story/index.html
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/05/09/we-have-now-reached-the-limits-of-the-hubble-space-telescope/#257604b43208
- https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html
- https://www.space.com/15892-hubble-space-telescope.html
- Image By Ruffnax (Crew of STS-125) – http://catalog.archives.gov/OpaAPI/media/23486741/content/stillpix/255-sts/STS125/STS125_ESC_JPG/255-STS-s125e011848.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6826183
