Introduction to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Set up in low Earth orbit in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope (commonly abbreviated as HST or Hubble) is still in operation. Even though it wasn’t the first space telescope, it is among the biggest and most adaptable, and it is well known for being a key research instrument and an asset to astronomy’s public relations. The Hubble telescope is one of NASA’s Great Observatories, named after astronomer Edwin Hubble. Hubble’s goal is to pick out the data processed by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), given that the spacecraft itself is managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).
Hubble’s Unique Position and Capabilities
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is the first state-of-the-art optical observatory to be launched into Earth’s orbit. Because Earth’s atmosphere absorbs or distorts light rays from celestial objects, it makes it hard for ground-based astronomers to see them. Yet, compared to ground-based telescopes with similar optics, a telescope stationed in space obtains images of far greater brightness, clarity, and detail because it is completely above the atmosphere.
Technical Specifications and Instruments of HST
With a 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) mirror, Hubble’s five key instruments can observe electromagnetic waves in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared spectrums. Unlike ground-based telescopes, Hubble can take exceptionally high-resolution pictures with notably less background light because of its orbit, which is outside the distortion caused by Earth’s atmosphere. It has captured some of the most complex images captured by visible light, providing a comprehensive look into space. Many Hubble observations have handed out to advances in astrophysics, including the measurement of the universe’s expansion rate.
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was made under the regulation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States and was named after Edwin Hubble, the most well-known American astronomer of the 20th century after the U.S. Congress approved its construction in 1977. On April 25, 1990, the crew of the space shuttle Discovery launched the HST into orbit around 600 kilometers (370 miles) above Earth.
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a huge reflecting telescope that gathers light from astronomical objects and directs it into two cameras and two spectrographs, which spot different wavelengths of radiation and record the spectrum. A 2.4-meter (94-inch) primary mirror, a smaller secondary mirror, and several recording devices with the ability to detect visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light are all part of the Hubble Space Telescope. The wide-field planetary camera, the most important of these devices, is capable of taking high-resolution or wide-field pictures of the planets as well as galactic and deep-sky objects.
Even the greatest Earth-based telescope cannot match the image resolutions that this camera is intended to produce, 10 times more. A faint-object spectrograph collects information on the object’s chemical makeup, while a faint-object camera may identify objects that are 50 times fainter than anything that can be seen with a ground-based telescope. The ultraviolet light from faraway
objects that are blocked from reaching Earth due to air absorption are captured using a high-resolution spectrograph.
Challenges and Repairs of the Hubble Space Telescope
It was discovered around one month after launch that the enormous primary mirror of the HST had been improperly shaped due to flawed testing processes carried out by the mirror’s manufacturer. Spherical aberration, the ensuing optical flaw, made the mirror’s pictures blurry instead of crisp. The HST also experienced issues with its solar-powered arrays and gyroscopes. A NASA space shuttle mission called Endeavour attempted to address issues with the telescope’s optical system and other matters from December 2–13, 1993.
The shuttle astronauts corrected the light routes from the major mirror to the other three scientific instruments by installing a new device with ten tiny mirrors during five spacewalks, besides replacing the wide-field planetary camera on the HST. The mission was a complete success, and the HST quickly reached its peak performance, producing amazing images of a variety of cosmic phenomena.
The HST’s gyroscopes were fixed during three more space shuttle trips in 1997, 1999, and 2002. Also, new sensors, such as a wide-field camera and a near-infrared spectrometer, were added. Launched in 2009, the last space shuttle mission to maintain the HST was designed to install an ultraviolet spectrograph and a new camera. The James Webb Space Telescope, which has a mirror seven times bigger than the HST’s, is predicted to take its position after the HST finishes operating in 2021 at the latest.
Major Contributions of Hubble to Astrophysics
Astronomy has gone through a revolution thanks to HST discoveries. Hubble’s constant, or the rate at which the universe is expanding, was first accurately determined by observations of Cepheid variables in neighboring galaxies. Young stars with disks that will someday form planetary systems were captured on camera by the HST. The Hubble Deep Field, an image of over 1,500 galaxies, provided insight into the evolution of galaxies over almost the whole cosmos. The HST was also put to use in the solar system to find Nix and Hydra, two moons of Pluto, the dwarf planet.