Hubble Celebrates 35th Year In Orbit (esahubble.org) 18
To celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope's 35th anniversary in orbit, NASA and ESA released a series of new, out-out-of-this-world images spanning planets, nebulae, and galaxies. From a press release: Hubble today is at the peak of its scientific return thanks to the dedication, perseverance and skills of engineers, scientists and mission operators. Astronaut shuttle crews gallantly chased and rendezvoused with Hubble on five servicing missions from 1993 to 2009. The astronauts, including ESA astronauts on two of the servicing missions, upgraded Hubble's cameras, computers and other support systems.
By extending Hubble's operational life the telescope has made nearly 1.7 million observations, looking at approximately 55,000 astronomical targets. Hubble discoveries have resulted in over 22,000 papers and over 1.3 million citations as of February 2025. All the data collected by Hubble is archived and currently adds up to over 400 terabytes. The demand for observing time remains very high with 6:1 oversubscriptions, making it one of the most in-demand observatories today.
Hubble's long operational life has allowed astronomers to see astronomical changes spanning over three decades: seasonal variability on the planets in our solar system, black hole jets traveling at nearly the speed of light, stellar convulsions, asteroid collisions, expanding supernova bubbles, and much more.
By extending Hubble's operational life the telescope has made nearly 1.7 million observations, looking at approximately 55,000 astronomical targets. Hubble discoveries have resulted in over 22,000 papers and over 1.3 million citations as of February 2025. All the data collected by Hubble is archived and currently adds up to over 400 terabytes. The demand for observing time remains very high with 6:1 oversubscriptions, making it one of the most in-demand observatories today.
Hubble's long operational life has allowed astronomers to see astronomical changes spanning over three decades: seasonal variability on the planets in our solar system, black hole jets traveling at nearly the speed of light, stellar convulsions, asteroid collisions, expanding supernova bubbles, and much more.
Time flies (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Um yeah? It would be really fucking stupid to cut the funding for such an instrument which is insanely expensive to replace and still producing amazing results. But you know money to fund Hubble is hard to divert to enrich the presidictator's oligarch buddies so it's a good candidate for the chop.
Re:Translation (Score:4, Informative)
Like building a whole telescope then trying to cut the funding to send it into space? https://futurism.com/trump-can... [futurism.com]
Re:A heroic success (Score:4, Informative)
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I too remember the launch and subsequent repair mission by a space shuttle crew, great feats of engineering that required lots of cooperation.
This makes me think of what I have done over these 35 years...
Re:A heroic success (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:1)
You're sounding a bit geeky there, Jock. Feel free to beat the crap out of yourself.
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The lens was not scratched, the mirror was ground the wrong shape. The orbit was not wrong, it was an issue with its stabilization. You would have known if you had researched it, but you did not. Deorbit yourself into a landfill.
I made a presentation at the time that included an image of who I said was the designer of the Hubble - It was Mr. Magoo.
That was a time when people had a sense of humor, so it got quite a reaction.
Re: (Score:2)
It also helps to know the actual error in the mirror was only a few microns - thinner than a sheet of paper. Grinding the mirror was also something that was basically a 24/7 operation done over 6 months or so, so you can imagine the precision required for everything to remain solid
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Even with the defective mirror (not scratched lens), it was pretty impressive. The first images with Pluto and Charon visually separated were crazy. Then they replaced the mirror, and the images got so much better!
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Even with the defective mirror (not scratched lens), it was pretty impressive. The first images with Pluto and Charon visually separated were crazy. Then they replaced the mirror, and the images got so much better!
They didn't actually replace the mirror. They gave it a set of eyeglasses — additional lenses that mounted in the optical path and corrected for the focusing error. If memory serves, they had to remove one of the instruments to make it fit, too.
*searches Wikipedia*
Yeah, they removed the High Speed Photometer [wikipedia.org].
Space Shuttle repair missions were fantastic! (Score:2)
I thought it got knocked out of orbit (Score:2)
"Mike broke the Hubble! Mike broke the Hubble!"
Bang for the buck (Score:2)
Hubble has provided a spectacular return on its investment, both in science results and in PR (i.e. pretty pictures).
Is it worth additional refurbishing? Is it worth bringing back to Earth? Both decisions are way above my paygrade. In many ways JWST is "better", but will it capture the public's imagination the way Hubble did? I doubt it.
...laura
Nickelodeon (Score:2)
I remember watching a program on Nickelodeon when the HST launched, I think it was SK8 TV, and they said the show is so great that it blows the doors off the Hubble telescope. I thought that was the funniest thing ever. Apparently it was so memorable, I'm writing it on Slashdot, 35 years later.
stellar convulsion (Score:2)
seasonal variability on the planets in our solar system, black hole jets traveling at nearly the speed of light, stellar convulsions, asteroid collisions, expanding supernova bubbles, and much more
What is stellar convulsion? Wikipedia does now know about it.