Hubble Space Telescope Photography Shack Guide
Hubble Space Telescope Increases Potential For Many New Discoveries
By Cedric B Georges
Everyone from people interested in amateur astronomy
to Nasa’s most advanced scientists have closely followed
the Hubble Space Telescope mission. Hubble’s Earth orbit
has resulted in hundreds of thousands of images of the
universe that have greatly advanced mankind’s knowledge
of our existence.
Unbelievably, the Hubble really is a distant cousin
of the telescopes used by everyday astronomy enthusiasts.
Hubble Continues To Provide Plenty Of Information
Since its historic launch 1990, Hubble has provided
amateur astronomy buffs and Nasa scientists with information
about everything from the origins of the planets to
theories about collisions with space matter that could
spell disaster for Earth.
It sounds like a Hollywood sci-fi film but the data
has given scientists indisputable evidence about how
galaxies form and how our own universe has evolved.
The Hubble has discovered that gamma-ray bursts, which
are strange, incredibly powerful explosions of energy,
occur in far-distant galaxies when massive stars collapse.
Will this knowledge one day save our planet?
Very Fast Moving
The Hubble moves at an incredible rate of speed. It
takes 97 minutes for the space telescope to complete
one orbit around the Earth, moving at the speed of about
five miles per second.
Traveling at that speed, it would take Hubble just
10 minutes to cross the United States. As it travels,
Hubble’s mirror captures light and directs it into its
several science instruments. This is how vital images
are created by Hubble’s scientific instruments.
Direct Telescope Movement And Activities
Hubble’s maintenance team includes hundreds of engineers
and computer scientists at Goddard Space Flight Center.
As they direct the telescope’s movement and activities,
they also monitor all the instruments to make sure they
are in good working order.
In 2008, Nasa dispatched space shuttle crews four times
to repair and upgrade the telescope. On June 30, 2009,
The Space Shuttle Atlantis began an ambitious five day
mission that included space walks to equip Hubble with
two new science instruments, six positioning gyroscopes,
batteries and fresh thermal insulation.
Found A Binary Star-Disk System
Think the Hubble Space Telescope is really a glorified
digital camera? Two University of Hawaii at Manoa astronomers
have found a binary star-disk system in which each star
is surrounded by the kind of dust disk that is frequently
the precursor of a planetary system.
One of the disks was discovered in an image taken with
the Hubble Telescope. Simply put - this could mean the
beginning of the evolution of Earth-like planets. The
discovery of this massive disk and the binary disk system
could advance our understanding of how common planet
formation happens in our galaxy and place our solar
system in context. No digi-cam can do that!
About the Author:
Cedric B Georges has written a number of articles on
digital photography including 35mm
Cameras, Best
Digital Camera, First
5 Megapixel Camera, People
in Photos, Image
Editor Software, Cheap
Digital Cameras, Digital
Camera Memory Card, Baby
Birth Announcements, Leather
Photo Albums.
Keep a lookout as more articles from this popular author
on this website in the near future.
More Telescope Facts....
What are telescopes constructed from?
Refracting telescopes are constructed
from a long tube with one end holding a convex objective
lens and the other end holding a concave eyepiece. The
reflecting telescope is much like the refracting telescope
except that there is a mirror that directs the field
of vision into a side eye piece.
A telescope can be constructed
rather simply or it can be incredibly complex. It really
all depends on the distance that you want to see and
how clear you want the image to be. There are many,
many different types of telescopes. Some are designed
to see certain wavelengths whereas others are designed
to see into the deepest reaches of space.
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