Since the earliest days of astronomy, since the time of Galileo, astronomers have shared a single goal — to see more, see farther, see deeper.
Interesting Information
The Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope's launch in 1990 sped humanity to one of its greatest advances in that journey. Hubble is a telescope that orbits Earth. It’s position above the atmosphere, which distorts and blocks the light that reaches our planet, gives it a view of the universe that typically far surpasses that of ground-based telescopes.
Hubble is one of NASA's most successful and long-lasting science missions. It has beamed hundreds of thousands of images back to Earth, shedding light on many of the great mysteries of astronomy. Its gaze has helped determine the age of the universe, the identity of quasars, and the existence of dark energy.
Eventually, Hubble's time will end. At some unknown point in the future — around 2013 with the 2008 servicing mission, or earlier without — Hubble's components will degrade to the point at which the telescope stops working.
When that happens, Hubble will continue to orbit the Earth until its orbit decays, allowing it to spiral toward Earth. Astronauts or a robotic mission could either bring Hubble back to Earth or crash it safely into the ocean.
But Hubble's legacy — it’s discoveries, it’s trailblazing design, it’s success in showing us the universe in unparalleled detail — will live on.
Scientists will rely on Hubble's revelations for years as they continue in their quest to understand the cosmos — a quest that has attained clarity, focus, and triumph through Hubble's rich existence.
For more visit
http://hubblesite.org/
