The Hubble telescope has recently marked 35 years of exploring the cosmos, the Hubble telescope is named in honor of astronomer Edwin Hubble

Inaugurated on – April 24, 1990.

The concept of the Large Space Telescope was first suggested in the 1940s by US astronomer Lyman Spitzer.

Collaborative endeavour – Involving NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

ESA provided 15% of the funding in return for 15% of the observation time. The launch was initially scheduled for 1986 but was postponed to 1990 because of technical issues and the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy.

Objective - To examine and investigate the universe, especially in visible, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths, from a location beyond Earth's atmosphere.

Orbital position - Hubble circles Earth at an altitude of approximately 569 km (Low Earth Orbit).

Observational range – This instrument is capable of examining light frequencies from ultraviolet to infrared.

Renewable telescope – A groundbreaking feature of the Hubble Space Telescope is its design which allows for servicing while in space.

Scientific Accomplishments

• It has detected around 52,000 celestial objects across 1.6 million observations.
• By identifying more than 800 Cepheid variable stars across 24 galaxies, it assisted in determining the age of the universe (13.8 billion years).
• It played a role in developing a three-dimensional map of dark matter.
• Verified the presence of supermassive black holes in the centers of many galaxies.
• It found two more moons of Pluto (Nix and Hydra).
• This telescope is the first to examine the atmosphere of an exoplanet (HD 209458-b/Osiris).
• It detected seasonal variations on Pluto's surface.
• It was useful for calculating the mass of Eris, the most massive dwarf planet in the solar system.

Present Condition

Initially anticipated to run for 15 years, yet it has been in operation for 35 years.

Sends around 150 GB of data each week.