The Hubble Space Telescope, named after pioneering astronomer Edwin Hubble, is a gigantic, space-based observatory that has revolutionized astronomy since its launch and deployment by the space shuttle Discovery in 1990. Hubble shows the best and crystal clear universe above rain clouds, light pollution, and atmospheric aberrations. Hubble has been used by scientists to examine some of the most distant stars and galaxies ever observed, as well as our solar system's planets.
Hubble's capabilities have greatly expanded throughout the course of its 30 years of operation. This is because, during the course of five astronaut servicing flights, new, cutting-edge scientific instruments have been fitted to the telescope. These repair trips have substantially extended the telescope's lifetime by replacing and upgrading aging sections.
Telescopes can detect a certain wavelength spectrum of light. Hubble's domain spans the ultraviolet, visible (what human eyes see), and near-infrared wavelengths. Hubble has been able to produce breathtaking photos of stars, galaxies, and other celestial objects thanks to this range, which has inspired people all across the world and altered our understanding of the cosmos.
Approximately the course of its life, Hubble has made over 1.5 million observations. Over 19,000 peer-reviewed academic publications have been published on the observatory's discoveries, and contributions from the observatory may be found in every modern astronomy textbook. Interstellar objects have been tracked as they sped through our solar system, a comet collided with Jupiter, and moons near Pluto have been discovered with the telescope. It has discovered dusty discs and stellar nurseries that may one day become fully-fledged planetary systems throughout the Milky Way, as well as investigated the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars. Hubble has gazed into the distant past of our universe, to locations more than 13.4 billion light-years from Earth, capturing galaxies merging, investigating the supermassive black holes that lurk in their depths, and aiding our understanding of the expanding universe's history.
Hubble has made observations that have captivated humanity's imaginations and increased our understanding of the cosmos throughout its almost 30 years of operation. It will work for many years.
That's just a small sample of Hubble's achievements during the last three decades. Here's a summary of some recent Hubble highlights to give you a better feel of the observatory's breadth and depth of accomplishments:
2021: Discovered a strange 250-light-year-wide "superbubble" inside a nebula, discovered a galaxy with surprisingly little dark matter and witnessed the birth of a Jupiter-size exoplanet.
2020: Evidence for a mysterious star-eating black hole at the edge of another galaxy was discovered, and the black hole's 30th birthday was celebrated.
2019: Captured amazing photographs of the interstellar Comet Borisov, took a close-up photo of a spiral galaxy that may help debunk black holes, and gave us the colorful end of a fading star.
2018: Discovered the massive 'El Gordo' galaxy cluster, witnessed the disappearance of a massive storm on Neptune and got a close look at the remnants of a supernova explosion.
2017: Detected a stratosphere on a massive exoplanet, discovered ultrabright galaxies, observed the farthest known active comet, and discovered many asteroids accidentally while observing a galaxy cluster.
2016: Made close-up studies of Comet 252P/LINEAR), discovered the farthest galaxy known at the time, showed that the cosmos has at least 10 times the number of galaxies previously thought to exist, and discovered a dark vortex on Neptune.
2015: Made new observations of the "Pillars of Creation" to see how they altered over time, gained the finest 3D perspective of the deep universe and captured the sharpest glimpse of the Andromeda Galaxy ever.
2014: Observed asteroid P/2013 R3 disintegrate, discovered a very distant "cosmic magnifying glass," and produced an image, the Ultraviolet Coverage of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, that depicted the evolution of the universe.
2013: Observed Comet ISON multiple times before it broke up near the sun, investigated an explosion on a distant star, identified a new Neptune moon, and revealed facts about the Milky Way's history based on photos of 400 galaxies in various phases of evolution.
Hubble has been displaying signs of its senior age in recent years. For example, in the summer of 2021, the telescope stayed offline for a month due to a problem with its primary payload computer. By swapping to backup hardware, the Hubble crew was able to resolve the issue.
A problem with Hubble's internal messaging synchronization surfaced just a few months later, in October 2021, throwing all five of the observatory's science instruments into a precautionary "safe mode." Over the next two months, the mission team was able to bring all of the instruments back online.
If you're a pessimist, such flaws can lead you to believe Hubble is nearing the end of its useful life. If you're an optimist, you can focus on the success of the troubleshooting efforts, as well as the fact that the Hubble team has confronted and conquered many similar issues over the last three decades.
The truth is that no one knows how much longer Hubble will be able to examine the universe. Engineering analyses show Hubble's various systems will last until 2025 and possibly beyond, although this is only a guess.
The $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble's long-awaited replacement, is already in orbit. Webb was launched on December 25, 2021, and arrived a month later at its final destination, the Earth-sun Lagrange Point 2.
In the summer of 2022, Webb is expected to begin science operations. Webb and Hubble will be used in tandem, something astronomers are very thrilled about. Webb will observe the universe in infrared light, whereas Hubble's greatest wavelengths are optical and ultraviolet, thus examining the same objects and events with both telescopes will yield a plethora of knowledge, according to NASA officials.
