You can easily say that The Hubble Telescope is the most advanced telescope ever invented by humanity. This telescope has single-handedly revolutionized our perception about the universe and determined the modern astronomy. The Hubble Space telescope is a collaboration between ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). It is able to reach beyond every other telescope thanks to its visible, infrared and ultraviolet light. The Hubble telescope was deployed on June 20, 1990, which means in 2015 it will celebrate its 25th anniversary. There was a defect in the reflecting mirror of the telescope that was affecting the clarity of the images. As a result, there was a second mission when the astronauts repaired Hubble in 1993.
Just imagine that the rays of light have to travel billions of miles before it hits the lens of a telescope on Earth. When the light enters the Earth, it gets lost into the turbulent atmosphere and the cosmic images get blurry. That is why all Earth telescopes are located at the highest mountains where the atmosphere is thin enough. However, Hubble is in the space (600 km above the ground), which means the light from the faraway stars hits the mirrors without interacting with the Earth’s atmosphere and therefore, the images are perfectly clear.
Here are a few of the most breathtaking images from the Hubble telescope taken within the last 25 years.
One of the most famous Hubble images: the Eagle Nebula’s Pillars of Creation
Jupiter in Natural Colors
Young stars sculpt gas with powerful outflows
