Hubble | The Photography Shack

Everyone from amateur astronomy buffs to the world’s leading scientists have closely followed the Hubble Space Telescope mission. The telescope has transmitted hundreds of thousands of images back to Earth that have given researchers an unprecedented view of space.

Imagine being able to see the birth of a star or new planet. It’s now possible thanks to this piece of technology. Unbelievably, this amazing telescope science really is a distant cousin of the scopes used by common astronomy enthusiasts.

Refurbished And Updated With New Technology

When the Hubble Space Telescope launched into orbit on April 24, 1990 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, it carried five critical instruments for collecting data. These included the Wide Field/Planetary Camera, the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph, the Faint Object Camera, the Faint Object Spectrograph, and the High Speed Photometer.

These instruments have since been refurbished and/or replaced by newer technology during maintenance missions. As with the telescopes used by consumers, this space telescope works by collecting light. Once the mirror captures the light, the telescope’s science instruments work together or individually to provide the observation.

Runs On Solar Power

Each instrument is designed to examine the universe in a different way. All functions are powered by sunlight. Some of that energy is stored in batteries that keep the telescope running even when it’s in Earth’s shadow.

With such an intense mission, maintaining the instruments on Hubble is vitally important. At the Goddard Space Flight Center, a team of hundreds of scientists and engineers closely monitor the telescope’s movements and report any malfunctions.

Repaired And Upgraded With Space Walks

Over the years, ultraviolet rays and collisions with space debris have caused damaged to the instruments and hull of the telescope. In 2008, Nasa dispatched space shuttle crews four times to repair and upgrade the telescope but on June 30, 2009, the most ambitious maintenance mission was launched.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis went into space and astronauts performed space walks to refurbish the telescope with two new science instruments, six positioning gyroscopes, batteries and fresh thermal insulation. This mission was performed in tandem with the European launch of two space observatories.

The two European instruments are the Herschel, which is the most powerful infrared space telescope ever built, and Planck, which is designed to delve into the remnants of the Big Bang that created the universe some 14 billion years ago.

See The Hubble On A Dark Clear Day

You can get an historic glimpse of this amazing machine yourself. Like other space telescopes, Hubble can be seen with the naked eye in the right conditions. The telescope would have to be passing close to Earth in a dark, clear sky.

Some of the telescopes available to consumers would give you an even better view, as it would appear as a very fast moving speck of light. It’s movements are always calculated, so you can plan your opportunity to see it by going to NASA’s website.

More Telescopes Facts....

What types of telescopes are there?
The most commonly used telescope is the optical telescope. Within this category you have the reflecting, refracting and catadioptric telescope. You may not realize it but binoculars are considered to be a form of telescope.

You then have the radio telescope. It may be a bit unfamiliar to you because it is used mainly for collection of microwave radiation. The final category is the X-ray and Gamma-ray telescope which is used to look at different radiation waves. Other telescopes are: monoculars, the solar telescope, spotting scopes, the telephoto lens and theodolites.

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