Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope — A renowned telescope
The Hubble space telescope is perhaps the best known telescope to the average person, even those who don’t have an interest in astronomy or space have heard the name. For those who are interested in learning more about the Hubble space telescope, I go over some of the things that make this telescope worthy of being well known amongst the public.
Development
Space telescopes were a natural progression for astronomers as they built bigger and more expensive instruments on Earth. Limited by the atmosphere, space telescopes would not be constrained by the inherent fuzziness that comes with seeing through that much gas, even at altitude. The push for a space telescope on the scale of Hubble was not finalized until the seventies, as a few years earlier a telescope by the name of the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory produced spectacular results from space, though this was in the ultraviolet which is more energetic compared to visible light that we are used to and that Hubble would eventually capture. Originally, the telescope was planned to have a 3 meter mirror, but due to budget cuts the mirror became 1.5 meters, the current size today. The first of NASA’s Great Observatories, Hubble finally launched in 1990 after setbacks due to budget cuts and the Challenger disaster in 1986.
Mirror Issues
When the first images arrived back to scientists on the ground, it was found that the Hubble images were worse than expected. Due to a faulty mirror, Hubble was unable to take crisp images of extragalactic objects, essentially shelving and cosmological research until the problem was resolved. In the meantime researchers were able to use Hubble to study objects in the Milky Way and correct for the faulty mirror using sophisticated techniques. Three years after its launch, Hubble was serviced with separate mirrors that would reflect the light to correct for the problematic main mirror. Images taken from the new set of mirrors proved to be spectacular, allowing Hubble to fulfill its goal in studying the Universe.
Scientific Research
Hubble has produced quality research over its current thirty year lifespan. Most people recognize the brilliant photos that accompany public outreach with the space telescope, but Hubble has performed some research that has changed our understanding of the Universe. In continuation of Edwin Hubble’s work, the Hubble space telescope was able to measure Cepheid variable stars at an even greater distance, allowing for the discovery of the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe in the late nineties. Hubble also played a crucial role in establishing that most galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their center, something which was hypothesized but unable to be confirmed with ground based telescopes. Even amateur astronomers joined in on the Hubble research as every year a small percentage of telescope time was dedicated to amateur requests, though sadly this was discontinued due to budget cuts. Hubble continues to make great discoveries today, and as James Webb is now in orbit, can continue to perform specialized research when a small space telescope is needed.
Legacy
Hubble has provided a great amount of scientific research and public outreach photos that will fascinate people for the rest of time. Despite its early setbacks with budget cuts and a failed mirror, scientists and people alike consider the Hubble space telescope a success. As Hubble is eventually returned to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere, the most prolific space telescope will be remembered as an important tool that was used to further our understanding of the Universe.
