It is indeed party time. You have an open invite to join the celebrations. For a quarter of a century,since its launch on 24th April 1990, Hubble space telescope has been functioning as our eyes in the sky with a unique mission. Tracing galactic histories, witnessing cosmic events, unraveling the mysteries of black holes, dark matter, dark energy.....
There were initial hiccups. Though Hubble began transmitting pictures within a couple of months, they were of poor quality . It took three and a half years to fix a defective reflector. In January 1994, earth station received the first clear pictures from Hubble. Then on 2nd November 1995, Hubble transmitted its first masterpiece the Pillars of Creation, a composite of 32 frames from 4 individual cameras. An unbelievably beautiful and enigmatic insight into the formation of a star. How a nascent star draws raw material from these gaseous columns of hydrogen gas and cosmic dust. Hubble has been relaying information about the universe; information hitherto unknown and unsuspected
In 1999 when the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into planet Jupiter, Hubble enjoyed a ringside seat. It stood witness to an amazing cosmic accident. Jupiter's enormous gravitational pull disintegrated the comet into several pieces and as they fell, violent shock waves were generated. Equally fascinating was the visual proof of dark matter in a set of galaxy cluster collision images captured by Hubble and Chandra, the X-ray observatory. While Chandra glued its eyes on the hot gas emissions, Hubble observed the uncanny ability of invisible dark matter to warp space and thus deforming the images of heavenly bodies in the background
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| Pillars of creation :Eagle Nebula M16 Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) |
In 1999 when the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into planet Jupiter, Hubble enjoyed a ringside seat. It stood witness to an amazing cosmic accident. Jupiter's enormous gravitational pull disintegrated the comet into several pieces and as they fell, violent shock waves were generated. Equally fascinating was the visual proof of dark matter in a set of galaxy cluster collision images captured by Hubble and Chandra, the X-ray observatory. While Chandra glued its eyes on the hot gas emissions, Hubble observed the uncanny ability of invisible dark matter to warp space and thus deforming the images of heavenly bodies in the background
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 Courtsey: HubbleSite |
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Hubble is being periodically serviced and could now be well like the ship of Theseus, with most of its parts repaired or replaced. But its time is up. Hubble will be retired from active service by 2020. Its successor, the next generation James Webb Space Telescope(JWST) will be launched by 2018. JWST,will carry a telescope roughly the size of a tennis-court with sharper infra-red vision. It is described as an observatory that folds up inside a rocket for launch and unfurls like a butterfly opening its wings upon nearing its orbit.
Edwin Powell Hubble was a world renowned Astronomer. But Who is James Webb ? Jim Webb is neither a scientist nor an engineer. He was an efficient administrator. Second person to head the nascent yet mighty NASA, he could hold his own in the power corridors of Washington D.C and deftly negotiate the bureaucratic labyrinths, Jim Webb set the space program of NASA on a solid footing.
Edwin Powell Hubble was a world renowned Astronomer. But Who is James Webb ? Jim Webb is neither a scientist nor an engineer. He was an efficient administrator. Second person to head the nascent yet mighty NASA, he could hold his own in the power corridors of Washington D.C and deftly negotiate the bureaucratic labyrinths, Jim Webb set the space program of NASA on a solid footing.
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| Dusty spiral galaxy ngc4414Image Credit: The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA) |
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