Astronomy: The Amazing Hubble Telescope

In 1990 the Hubble telescope was launched by NASA. Since then it has been known for being one of the greatest pieces of NASA technology and has changed the way how many people view outer space. The history of the telescope has been tough at times but over the years it has become incredibly reliable.

The Hubble telescope first came around in the 1970s. In 1977 construction began on the telescope and after years of research and improvements on the telescope it was launched in 1990. The telescope was named after Edward Hubble, the scientist who discovered that the universe is not at a set size and that it is expanding. This is a fact known as Hubble's Law.

Although the Hubble did begin working as it was first launched the telescope was not working as well as hoped. That was because the curvature of the lenses of the telescope were not as good as what was expected. This was especially the case in the main lenses of the telescope. However, thanks to the Space Shuttle program run by NASA repairs and improvements could be easily made on the telescope. In 1993 new lenses were put onto the Hubble and as a result resolution of the images from the telescope were vastly improved.

Since that first repair there were two other repairs used, and both of them took place in 1997. The first was to upgrade and replace older equipment. The other was to use retrofitting on the telescope so that the life of the telescope would extend to at least the year 2010. Since then there has been no maintenance needed, as the telescope has been working especially well over time.

What makes the Hubble impressive among NASA technology is that it is used to explore various parts of outer space that can't be observed normally. About ten percent of the entire universe can be seen by the use of conventional observation methods. Much of this involves the limited atmosphere of the earth. Because the Hubble is able to get out of the atmosphere it will be able to see more than what can normally be found.

There are various different places to go to see some of the impressive things from the Hubble. The official NASA website for the Hubble has images from it at hubble.nasa.gov. Other websites, including heritage.stsci.edu and stsci.edu/ftp/science/hdr/hdf.html, have other pictures that are also impressive of the findings the Hubble has made.

The Hubble telescope is indeed not only one of the greatest parts of NASA technology but it is also one of the most impressive things in the history of astronomy. With this telescope more parts of outer space can be seen and more discoveries about the universe can be made.