"Currently, the Hubble telescope has become an integral part of our culture." NASA scientist John Grunsfeld said he was once an astronaut involved in the last three Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.
During the service, the number of observations Hubble mission performed more than 1 million! Human history, no one, any device (either in the ground or in space) can be its match.
25 years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit 560 kilometers above the ground is how to spend it?
After a decade of research and polished, April 24, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope by space shuttle Discovery launch into space.
Over the years, astronomers have been hoping to get rid of the Earth's atmosphere on distant stars, the Hubble telescope appear to achieve this desire. The first space telescope known as the astronomer Edwin Hubble name, his greatest achievement was in the 1920s found that the universe is expanding, opening the study of modern cosmology. Many Hubble observations, precisely in order to verify the Hubble theory.
However, astronomers hope-filled soon after the excitement turned to frustration - Hubble's primary mirror of the system during manufacture of a serious error, returned all blurred image unbearable.
Three years later, NASA rigorous argument, decided to send astronauts into space to repair the Hubble telescope.
Space Overhaul
From 1993 to 2009, a total of Hubble astronauts conducted five "personal" service, significantly improves the performance of the primary mirror. The last time in 2003 due to maintenance operations of the space shuttle Columbia accident, was almost canceled, but ultimately in the public support and NASA's insistence, finally able to make the trip.
20 years, for a total investment of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to pay about $ 10 billion.
Participated in three Hubble servicing mission was the last NASA scientists Grunsfeld a close touch to this space observatory, he recalls that when the task, said: "After the completion of the task, I gently patted telescope housing, bid farewell to it. That was an exciting journey. "
Record Data
From 1990 to today, the Hubble Space Telescope in Earth orbit runs nearly 130,007 thousand laps, a total of 5.4 billion kilometers, carried out more than 120 million times observation mission to observe more than 38,000 objects.
Hubble Telescope to the farthest target is 13 billion light-years from Earth, the original galaxies, emit light from the early universe just after the big bang these galaxies formed.
Average month, Hubble will have 829G observational data accumulated more than 100T.
Great Achievements
In the early mission, Hubble proved that massive black holes in the universe prevalent - mostly in the galaxy's central location. At the same time, it also help astronomers observed expansion of the universe accurate data to calculate the age of the universe is 13.8 billion years (error does not exceed 3%).
In this process, the "dark energy" that is now frequently appear in the scientific community mysterious concept gradually for people to know. And after the "big bang", another very critical "surge" stage for the current structure of our universe, also plays a decisive role.
Up to now, the number of scientific papers, either directly or indirectly through the results of the Hubble Space Telescope and released, reached 12,800, including several Nobel Prize aspirations results.
Hubble's Future
According to NASA official introduction to the current state of view, the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit will continue at least until 2020. Gravity and thin atmosphere income level influence the Earth, its orbit will be gradually reduced, but the good news is that this reduced rate is very slow, optimistic point of view, until 2030, the Hubble Space Telescope may still be able to maintain a working state.
Space at the last servicing mission in 2009, astronauts at the bottom of the Hubble Space Telescope's an automatic adaptation of the link device installed. Its purpose is in the future, you can launch unmanned spacecraft docking with binoculars carry the engine in order to achieve a controlled reentry. This is mainly on account of 2.4 m diameter primary mirror larger, burning through the atmosphere will still retained a large volume, so no one wants the last news about the Hubble telescope is that it hit a densely populated area.
Hubble's Successors
NASA plans to launch in 2018 will be the James Webb telescope is currently being pinned successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. It is the former director of NASA to name names, at NASA's Webb under the leadership of the successful implementation of the "Mercury" and "Gemini" manned space program, has laid a solid foundation for successful human landing on the moon.
Webb telescope designed to strengthen the capacity of its infrared band observations, which will make it better able to see the universe in a more distant, fainter objects. Relative to the Hubble Space Telescope, Webb telescope will be able to further approximate picture of the young universe after the Big Bang, scientists estimate that the distance you can see the original 20 billion light-years away galaxy.
In 2019, the Hubble Space Telescope and Webb telescope will orbit at the same time, help people to reveal secrets of the universe.
"Until then, humans will have unprecedented observational capabilities, face the unknown universe, we can better observe it and understand it." Grunsfeld said, "I believe that time there will be" explosive " The new discovery! "
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