The Hubble telescope is a telescope named after famous astronomer Edwin Hubble. It orbits in space 380 miles above Earth’s surface, traveling 5 miles per second, finishing an orbit around Earth in 97 minutes. Hubble takes sharp images of space without looking at Earth’s atmosphere, which blurs pictures due to the atmosphere being constantly in motion. The telescope is 2.4 meters in length and has mirrors 94 inches in diameter. Some celestial objects that Hubble takes images of are stars and galaxies. Hubble has the ability to observe ultraviolet light that comes from the explosion of stars, and infrared light that comes from the formation of dust clouds. Both of these types of lights are blocked by the atmosphere, making it impossible to research on the ground.
Hubble is a type of a Cassegrain reflector. Light bounces off from it’s primary mirror and encounters a secondary mirror, which focuses light through a hole in the center of the primary mirror that leads to the science instruments. The idea of a space telescope was suggested as early as 1923 by German astronaut Hermann Oberth, in his book Die Rakete zu den Planetenraumen (“By Rocket into Planetary Space”) which suggested blasting a rocket into space carrying a telescope. Since this book was published in the 1920s, the most advanced pieces of technology were automobiles, and the speed of an …show more content…
In 1975, NASA’s budget was cut by $39 million, which went to helping disabled veterans of World War II. During this time, the European Space Agency (ESA) partnered with NASA and contributed solar panels to the telescope. In the end, NASA’s budget was increased by $4 million, and telescope studies lost $3 million. Due to the budget, LST’s primary mirror was decreased to 2.4 meters. Finally, in 1977, Congress approved funding, and the work started. The total cost was 2.5 billion
Hubble is a type of a Cassegrain reflector. Light bounces off from it’s primary mirror and encounters a secondary mirror, which focuses light through a hole in the center of the primary mirror that leads to the science instruments. The idea of a space telescope was suggested as early as 1923 by German astronaut Hermann Oberth, in his book Die Rakete zu den Planetenraumen (“By Rocket into Planetary Space”) which suggested blasting a rocket into space carrying a telescope. Since this book was published in the 1920s, the most advanced pieces of technology were automobiles, and the speed of an …show more content…
In 1975, NASA’s budget was cut by $39 million, which went to helping disabled veterans of World War II. During this time, the European Space Agency (ESA) partnered with NASA and contributed solar panels to the telescope. In the end, NASA’s budget was increased by $4 million, and telescope studies lost $3 million. Due to the budget, LST’s primary mirror was decreased to 2.4 meters. Finally, in 1977, Congress approved funding, and the work started. The total cost was 2.5 billion