Apr 24, 2009

April 24, 1990: Hubble Becomes Big Eye Above Sky



(Wired) - 1990: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched, beginning a new era of deep space observation that opens up the universe to prying eyes as never before.
NASA's telescope, named for American astronomer Edwin Hubble, was placed into Earth orbit by the space shuttle Discovery. Despite some early teething problems and more recent, well-publicized maintenance issues, Hubble remains a crown jewel in NASA's tiara.
Hubble was not the first space telescope but it is by far the most sophisticated, providing earthlings with unprecedented detail and spectacular views of their universe. The images sent back by Hubble have not only advanced the cause of space research, their haunting, spectacular beauty has boosted the popularity of astronomy in general. Continued


Photo: The Hubble Space Telescope in the grip of Columbia's robot arm on the third day of the STS-109 mission (NASA via Wikipedia).

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