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Thirty years ago, the NASA space giant started a mission that would lead to some of the most important discoveries about our universe when they launched the Hubble telescope into space.
In April 1990, the gigantic machine launched into Earth’s orbit and has led to a better understanding of our Milky Way … and our neighbors light years away.
At 1:00 p.m. Today, the ESA / Hubble Facebook page will feature a Watch Party featuring new Hubblecast videos, images from the new anniversary image, and contributions from celebratory activities across Europe.
Hubble has a 2.4-meter mirror and four instruments that observe the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
(Image: Getty)
He has recorded some of the most detailed visible light imagery and made some of the greatest discoveries that have revolutionized almost every area of astronomical research today, from planetary science to cosmology.
His countless images are, well, out of this world. These are some of his greatest achievements …..
Pluto:
In 2006 Pluto was downgraded to a dwarf planet.
Hubble discovered that the mass of Eris (another dwarf planet that orbits around the sun on the fringes of the solar system) is 27% larger than Pluto, and saw that our “last” planet was degraded as a result.
It led to the understanding that similar bodies could be within the Kuiper Belt and could help show the difference between planets and dwarf planets.
Future observations of such distant bodies could help scientists better understand how the solar system evolved.
Stunning images:
The Pillars of Creation, the Eagle Nebula, and Abell 1689 are just a few of the incredible images that have emerged from the Hubble Telescope.
(Image: NASA, ESA / Hubble and the Hubble Heritage team)
Last year, an image of the Southern Crab Nebula was released on the telescope’s birthday.
Not to be confused with the Crab Nebula found in the constellation Taurus, the Southern Crab Nebula is the beautifully symmetrical structure created by an uneven binary star system.
Gamma Ray Burst:
Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful bursts in the universe, emitting more energy in seconds than our sun will release in its entire life.
These explosions were a mystery for decades, but Hubble showed that they generally occur in galaxies that are actively forming stars and have low elements that are heavier than helium, known as metallicity.
This suggested that gamma-ray bursts arose when massive stars collapsed to form black holes.
Dark matter:
(Image: Universal Images Group Editorial)
Hubble helped build the larger-scale 3D maps of where dark matter is dodged in the universe.
Dark matter is invisible but reveals its existence through gravity, and makes up about 23% of the universe.
The maps helped show that dark matter exhibits ordinary gravity and also that it tends to cluster.
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