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SATELLITE
HUBBLE
Rome, 2010
The History of the Hubble Space Telescope
How the Hubble Came to Be
1923- A space observatory was proposed by the Hermann Oberth,
1962 - a National Academy of Sciences study group firstly recommended
the development of a large space telescope as goal of space program.
1968 and 1972 - were lunched the first two successful NASA satellites
designed for observing the stars.
1973 - NASA selected a team of scientists to establish the basic design of
such a telescope and its instruments.
NASA assigned responsibility for design, development, and construction
of the space telescope to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville,
Alabama.
1975 - The European Space Agency got involved with the project and it
agreed to furnish the solar arrays and one of the scientific instruments.
Marshall selected two different contractors from Connecticut and
California to build the Hubble Space
1981 – 1985 were completed the precision-ground mirror and the
assembly of the entire spacecraft was completed
1985 - The Space Telescope Operations Control Center was estabelished
as the ground control facility for the telescope.
October 1989 - The telescope was shipped at Kennedy Space Center in
Florida.
April 24, 1990 - was launched aboard the STS-31 mission of the Space
Shuttle Discovery
Within a few months, however, a flaw was discovered in Hubble's main
mirror which significantly reduced the telescope's ability to focus.
December 2, 1993 - the STS-61 crew launched on Space Shuttle
Endeavour for an 11-day mission with a record five spacewalks planned.
February 1997 - astronauts installed two new instruments -- the STIS and
NINCMOS
November 1999 - were installed the Hubble Advanced Camera for
Exploration.
How it works
Every 97 minutes, Hubble completes a spin around Earth at the speed of 8 km/s. As
it travels, Hubble's mirror captures light and directs it into its several science instruments.
Hubble is a type of telescope known as a Cassegrain reflector.
it is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror.
Hubble's primary mirror is 2.4 m in diameter, which is relatively small but its
Hubble's location beyond the atmosphere gives it remarkable clarity.
Wide Field Camera 3(WFC3)
is expected to become Hubble's main instrument.
has two “channels”
studies nearby galaxies, bursts of star formation and distant galaxies
The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS)
is the most sensitive ultraviolet spectrograph ever produced for space.
its mechanism is similar to that of a prism.
the image it produces reveals information about the temperature, chemical
composition, density, and motion of the object being observed.
The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS)
sees in such wavelengths that enable the studying of some of the earliest
activity in the universe.
contains two cameras: the wide field camera, the solar blind camera
contributes in the studying of the evolution of the universe, focuses on hot
stars and planets
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS)
spans ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared wavelengths
it maps out large objects like galaxies
astronomers use it to hunt for black holes
The Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer(NICMOS)
is Hubble's heat sensor
the light from objects in the universe "shifts" into the
infrared wavelengths
lets us observe objects hidden by interstellar dust and those
in deepest space, whose light takes billions of years to reach us.
Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS)
are three sensors that lock onto "guide stars"
keep Hubble pointed precisely in the right direction.
help the development of astrometry
determine if certain stars are actually double stars
Achievements
Dark energy
the dark energy is energy of the empty space
it makes up to 70% of the total energy density
1998- is discovered that the expansion of our Universe is speeding up,
propelled by the repulsive force of this dark energy
Supernovas are extremely bright, and their luminosities are nearly constant
these two features enabled the whole discovery
Swift
2005- detected GRB 050509b, the firot identification of a a short-
duration gamma-ray(1/20 s)
2006- detected GRB 060218, an unusually long (2000 seconds) and
nearby burst, probably indicating an imminent supernova
2006- detected GRB 060614, a burst of gamma rays that lasted 102
seconds in a distant galaxy, leading some to speculate whether it represented a
new class of progenitors or a massive star death.
2008- detected GRB 080319B, a burst of gamma rays which
established a new record for farthest object visible to the naked eye and 2.5
million times brighter than the previous brightest supernova
2009- detected GRB 090423, the most distant cosmic explosion ever
seen, at a distance of 13.035 billion light-years.
The Herschel
is the largest infrared telescope sent into space
its single mirror has a diameter of 3.5 m
collects radiation from some of the coldest and furthest objects in the
Universe
focuses light onto three instruments called HIFI, SPIRE, and PACS, in the
full 60-670 micron range.
Achievements:
study the formation and the subsequent evolution of galaxies in the early
universe
investigate the creation of stars and their interaction with the interstellar
medium
observe the chemical composition of the atmospheres and surfaces of
comets, planets and satellites
examine the molecular chemistry of the universe
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
its launch is planned for 2014.
will be a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror
will study the formation and evolution of our Solar System and life forms
in it
includes: a near-infrared (IR) camera, a near-IR multi-object spectrograph,
a mid-IR instrument, and a tunable filter imager
its innovative technologies include: segmented primary mirror, ultra-
lightweight beryllium optics, sensitive detectors and a cry cooler for the mid-IR
detectors