As NASA’s Hubble Telescope turns 25, a retrospective look is required to celebrate the numerous moments of glory that the space camera has registered. Officials at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have released a collection of some of the most important pictures that Hubble has registered since its first day in the outer space on May 20, 1990.
NASA has had many important moments during the decades it has worked for the exploration of the space. The launching of the Hubble Telescope with the space shuttle Discovery is one such memorable occasion that the Administration will forever mention in their historical records.
Scientists are now celebrating the 25th anniversary of the telescope as its first pictures were sent on Earth on May 20, 1990. The Administration has grasped this occasion to revise some of the most important and beautiful images that the telescope has captured during its 25 years of outer space activity. The small collection also includes the first black and white picture ever captured by Hubble, the first close-up of Mars, as well as pictures of various space phenomena.
Space experts all over the world dedicate this day to the commemoration of the most important activities that were carried out by the Hubble telescope. Although the space camera will probably end its activity by the end of the decade, scientists are determined to do whatever it takes to prolong its existence, hence its activity in the outer space.
Although a groundbreaking device for the study of the universe, Hubble was not free of technical problems. During its first three years of existence, the telescope failed to provide the high-quality images that NASA’s officials claimed it would have, as a result of spherical aberration.
Based on the information provided by researchers at NASA, the images that Hubble initially sent on Earth were not better than the ones captured by regular terrestrial telescopes. The problem resided in the fact that the mirrors of the telescope had too thin edges. Therefore, a team of scientists replaced the initial mirrors in 1993 enabling Hubble to get the clear pictures we now know today.
There have been other missions for the maintenance of the Hubble telescope, as well in the following years, as experts wanted to make sure that the cameras were in keeping with the modern technology available on Earth. Thus, in 1997 a near-infrared camera was installed on the surface of the telescope, which enabled the space shuttle to capture images of the most distant galaxies in the universe.
Additional missions were carried out to improve Hubble’s clarity. In December 1999, NASA’s experts provided Hubble with fine sensors and advanced cameras so the dark space of the universe would be easier to decipher.
The last mission involved the replacement of some of the components that were installed in 1993. Similar endeavors will most likely take place again in the future as the Hubble Telescope needs to be constantly upgraded.
Image Source: Starmon