The Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a telescope named after Edwin Hubble, a famous space scientist from Missouri, USA, the discoverer of Hubble's Law, first announced in 1929. Hubble was an astronomer who devoted his life to science, especially astronomy. Hubble's Law itself is one of the laws of astronomy, stating that the redshift of light from distant galaxies is proportional to their distance.
Here are 5 interesting facts about the Hubble Telescope, which I have summarized from various sources:
- The Launch of the Hubble Space Telescope Was Delayed
Construction of the Hubble Space Telescope was completed in 1985, and it was scheduled to begin operating in 1986. However, operations were put on hold because of the Challenger space shuttle disaster, which exploded at launch on January 28, 1986, before Hubble was officially launched in April 1990.
- Hubble Lens Shift
A few years after the trial, the telescope produced blurry and unclear images. Hubble's lens appeared to be misshapen by up to 1/50 the thickness of a human hair. In December 1993, NASA sent the Space Shuttle Endeavour to modify Hubble by adding a new camera to correct the error in the primary mirror.
- It Went Offline for 3 Weeks and Was Damaged
As reported on NASA's official website on October 5, 2018, Hubble experienced a malfunction in one of its gyroscope sensors, causing it to appear to be in safe mode or suspended animation. This gyroscope sensor is used to measure or maintain orientation and angular velocity. It can also measure the rotation rate of a spacecraft. This sensor also helps the Hubble Telescope acquire new targets in space. To fix the damage, NASA restarted the gyroscope with Hubble, but it was unsuccessful. Finally, the Hubble Response team set up the telescope and ran it for several days to maneuver, and Hubble was successfully repaired. The repair took up to three weeks before Hubble finally returned to operation on October 26, 2018. On January 8, NASA stated that the Hubble Space Telescope's camera could not be operated because of another failure of the Wide Field Camera 3, but did not say what type of damage it was.
- Extension of Its Operational Life
Hubble has carried out several successful missions. The last two took place in 2001 and 2003. Hubble was supposed to be retired by the end of 2005, but scientists were still optimistic about Hubble's performance, so NASA decided in 1997 to extend Hubble's operations until 2010. However, on March 30, 2021, the James Webb Telescope will be launched in Hubble's name.
- Hubble Can Show Pictures of the Universe's Past
Well, this is one of the coolest facts about the Hubble Space Telescope, making it a legendary telescope that has contributed greatly to science on Earth. Hubble can see the past of the universe, but do not get the wrong idea. Hubble has no magical powers and is not a magic tool that lets you see the past. The meaning of these words lies in the space exploration that Hubble supports for scientists' research. It lets us study, observe, and understand the universe and other cosmic objects such as black holes, galaxies, stars, and even the formation of the solar system through its discoveries. It sends many amazing images from space, including supernovae, the birth of stars, and star collisions. Hubble managed to capture a galaxy cluster called Abell S1063. This cluster is estimated to be about 4 billion light-years from Earth. Being 4 billion light-years away means that light takes 4 billion years to travel here at the speed of light. In other words, if the Hubble Telescope can capture the light of a galaxy 4 billion light-years away, the light or object Hubble captures is light or an object from 4 billion years ago. In other words, Hubble has actually seen the past of the universe. Wow, how great that Hubble can capture objects from such a great distance.
Let's get to know the study program better Bachelor of Telecommunication Engineering and visit the official website ITTelkom Jakarta yes!
Written by Laksmana Aidzul Haq.
