He saw everything. Launched almost … April 24, 1990 by the NASA , or there just 25 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has traveled to date some 5 billion miles in the Universe. I must say it makes a complete turn of our planet every 96 minutes.
It is the most famous-and certainly the most abouti- space observatories ever sent to the space . The machine, costing $ 2.5 billion and weighing 11 tonnes, is in orbit 570 km above the Earth. Hubble deserves to celebrate the birthday of a quarter of a century of remarkable discoveries (planets, stars, galaxies, black holes …), shared with the Earthlings with fascinating capture images … all this despite significant technical blunders of the telescope.
Originally, he had run for 15 years and had a shaky start when errors in calculations NASA made during the tests, resulted in a spherical aberration System mirrors. A rescue mission in 1993 helped heal the telescope. And now today, Hubble continues to observe the universe and to issue each year between 180 and 200 stars observed impressive shots. Magic or miracle? Regardless, Hubble is an indisputable success.
Five servicing missions
The name given to the telescope celebrates the American astronomer Edwin P. Hubble (1889-1953). Long by 13.2 meters, it has a 2.4 m primary mirror and five science instruments that study the universe in the visible, infrared and ultraviolet. The light captured by the primary mirror is reflected on a smaller mirror, before being sent to the instruments. The data is then transmitted to Earth via a relay satellite. The observatory is powered by two huge solar panels (2.6 x 7.1 m). Precise pointing sensors are used to fix the guide stars. This ensures precise pointing necessary to make accurate observations.
Hubble is the only telescope for which maintenance is carried into space by astronauts to replace the instruments at end of life. This proved very useful, when in 1993 the first images transmitted were blurred and had to install a special optical system to correct the problem. There has been to date five maintenance missions, the last of which took place in May 2009.
Thousands of galaxies discovered
Is the universe infinite? This is THE eternal question of Albert Einstein: “Two things are infinite:. The universe and human stupidity But regarding the Universe, I have not yet acquired absolute certainty”, said to the time the famous physicist. With more than 1.2 million observations since 1990, Hubble has no answer to this big question, but is certain about one thing: he did not see the end.
In 1995, exploration called the “Hubble Deep Field”, allowed to view thousands of galaxies, very young, born there 600 700 million years after the supposed origin of the universe, there is 13.7 billion years. An exploration launched by Bob Williams – nicknamed “the adoptive father of Hubble. – Who decided to aim the telescope for two long weeks … nothing According to the theory of relativity, the more man looking off into space the more he goes back in time, that required for the light to reach us. pointed at the empty Hubble explores the history of our universe like no telescope could not do before.
Sun will become a red giant
It was observed white cloud settled near Saturn’s equator, the sudden collision of galaxies, or how a star dies. With his extraordinary journey, Hubble delivers essential information about our destiny. When the sun disappear, it will become of First a red giant, multiplying its diameter by 100, turning the furnace Land before projecting a gas wall certainly destroy the entire solar system. There will be our star a formidable task, a kind of fried egg with strange colors and visible to millions of light years.
A planned inevitable end, rest assured, in 5 billion years. It will not be to Hubble, or his successor James Webb (to be launched in 2018), photographing the collapse of our beloved planet.
VIDEO. Travel with Hubble through the stars
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