Hubble is about to retire, but it has already changed mankind's view of the universe. How?

Astronomer Edwin Hubble confirmed that the universe is expanding, providing the basis for the Big Bang theory. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is named in honor of Edwin Hubble. Hubble is the first core-scale optical telescope placed in space. Above the atmosphere, above rain clouds and light pollution, Hubble can view the universe from a purer, more unique perspective. Astronomers around the world are using data from the Hubble Telescope to study the most distant stars, galaxies, and even the observable universe in the universe.

The planning of the Hubble Space Telescope began in the 1970s and was launched into low-Earth orbit on April 24, 1990 via the STS-31 Space Shuttle Discovery. The Hubble Telescope is a satellite of NASA and the European Aerospace Exploration Agency. It is one of the greatest observatories in the bureau and even in the whole of mankind. Hubble's launch and deployment in April 1990 marked the most significant advance in astronomy since Galileo's telescope. Because of Hubble, our view of the universe and our place in it has never changed.

The length of the Hubble Space Telescope is 13.2 meters, its mass at launch was 10,886 kilograms, its current weight is 12,247 kilograms, and its maximum diameter is 4.2 meters. The Hubble Space Telescope is located in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 547 kilometers and an inclination of 28.5 degrees. Next, let’s take a look at the schedule of the Hubble Space Telescope:

Deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope: April 25, 1990, the first image was taken on May 20, 1990, The galaxy photographed is NGC 3532. The first maintenance and upgrade service (STS-61): December 1993, the second maintenance and upgrade service (STS-82): February 1997, the third maintenance and upgrade service (STS-103): December 1999 , the fourth maintenance and upgrade service (STS-109): February 2002, the fifth maintenance and upgrade service (STS-125): May 2009.

Hubble's original equipment includes the Wide Field/Planetary Camera WF/PC, the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph GHRS, the Faint Object Camera FOC, the Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS), and the High Speed ??Photometer HSP.

A few weeks later, scientists noticed that the images coming back from Hubble were a little blurry. Although the image is a little blurry, astronomers can still study the universe, but this will prevent the original mission plan from being completed. An investigation eventually uncovered discrepancies in the primary mirror, which were caused by an incorrect measuring instrument that caused the edges of the mirror to be ground too flat.

Engineers scrambled to come up with a solution to the problem in time for Hubble's first scheduled servicing mission in 1993. To correct the error, NASA, ESA and astronomers built a set of replacement corrective optics for the Space Telescope Axial Equipment, a new set of optics that compensate for aberrations and allow all of Hubble's The instruments all work normally.

Shortly after the astronauts returned to Earth, the images returned by the Hubble Space Telescope were much clearer than before. NASA's maintenance mission was a success. Astronomers can now observe the universe with a fully functional space telescope, and ordinary people can view stunning photos of stars, galaxies, nebulae, and other deep-sky objects. Subsequent servicing missions improved Hubble's capabilities, and Hubble increasingly became humanity's eye on the universe.

In February 1997, STS-82 astronauts installed the near-infrared camera and the multi-object spectrometer NICMOS and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrometer STI on the Hubble Space Telescope to detect the infrared rays of deep space objects and photograph celestial objects Detailed photos of. A December 1999 maintenance mission replaced all six of the telescope's aging gyroscopes, which control the Hubble Space Telescope's precise alignment on its target.

STS-103 astronauts also replaced one of the telescope's three precision guidance sensors and installed a new computer. Then in March 2002, Columbia astronauts installed the new Advanced Survey Imaging Equipment ACS on the Hubble Space Telescope. Its field of view is sharper and wider than the Wide Field/Planetary 2 Imaging Equipment, and the data collection and imaging speed is faster. . Astronauts also replaced Hubble's solar panels with more efficient arrays and performed repairs on NICMOS.

Next, let’s take a look at what scientific payloads the Hubble Space Telescope has? In fact, the scientific payload of a space telescope is very important. It will determine how far the telescope can see. The farther it can see, the clearer it will be, which will be more conducive to astronomers' statistical data. The Hubble Space Telescope has three instruments that analyze cosmic light: the imager, the spectrograph, and the interferometer.

Hubble has two main imagers that capture images of the universe. The two systems, also known as the Advanced Survey Imager ACS and the Planetary Wide Field Camera 3WFC 3, work together to provide excellent wide-field imaging over a wide wavelength range.

Advanced Survey Imager ACS

Installed on the Hubble Telescope in 2002, the ACS is primarily used for wide-field images at visible wavelengths. It can also detect ultraviolet and near-infrared light. .

ACS has three cameras with three different channels, which can capture different types of images. An electronic failure in January 2007 disabled two of the most commonly used channels. In 2009, astronauts repaired one of the channels, restoring the imager's ability to capture high resolution and a wide field of view.

Wide Field Camera 3, WFC 3

Installed in 2009, WFC 3 provides extremely wide-field images in ultraviolet, visible and infrared light. WFC 3 is designed to complement the ACS and expand Hubble's imaging capabilities. While the ACS is primarily used for visible light imaging, the WFC 3 detector can provide infrared and ultraviolet imaging at greater depth, providing a more complete view of the universe.

Spectrograph

A spectrograph is an observation device that can break down light and observe its component parts, similar to how a prism breaks light into rainbows. Any object that absorbs or emits light can be studied with a spectrometer to determine properties such as temperature, density, chemical composition, and velocity.

The Cosmic Origins Spectrometer STI and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph are complementary instruments to the Hubble Space Telescope. They can provide astronomers with detailed spectral data on various celestial objects. These two sets of spectrometers work together to provide a tool for analyzing the spectra of cosmic objects for astrophysics research.

Interferometer

Hubble's interferometer has two functions. They help the telescope maintain a stable target and are also a scientific observation instrument. The three interferometers on the Hubble Space Telescope are called fine guidance sensors. The precision guidance sensors measure the relative positions and brightness of stars.

When Hubble is pointed at a target, two of three precision guidance sensors are used to lock the telescope. For certain observations, a third type of precision guidance sensor can collect scientific information about a target, detecting the angular diameter or star position of a celestial body with ten times greater accuracy than can be obtained with ground-based telescopes.

Precision guidance sensors are very sensitive instruments. They look for stable point sources of light, a process also known as "guiding stars," locking onto them to keep the telescope pointing steadily. When the light in the sky is not a point source, the fine guidance sensor cannot lock on, so it will not guide the star.

ACS Advanced Investigation Camera

The Advanced Investigation Camera ACS is a third generation imaging camera. This camera was optimized to perform imaging movements at special angles, and ACS later replaced Hubble's target spectrometer. Its wavelength range extends from ultraviolet to visible light and near-infrared (115 nm~1050 nm). ACS increases Hubble's potential for new discoveries tenfold.

Cosmic Origins Spectrograph COS

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph STI is a second-generation imaging spectrograph. STI is used to measure the spectrum of high-resolution targets. STI has the special ability to simultaneously acquire spectra from multiple different points on the target. The STIS instrument has a mass of 318 kg and a wavelength range of 115~1000 nm. STI can analyze the light from distant stars to determine the chemical composition and abundance, temperature, radial velocity, rotational speed and magnetic field of the celestial body. STI is also equipped with a coronagraph, which blocks light from bright objects so that nearby darker objects can be investigated.

WFC 3 Wide Field Camera 3, Wide Field Camera 3 is the main imager on the telescope. It has a camera that records visible and ultraviolet UVIS, that is, light with wavelengths of 200-1000 nm. Its combination of field of view, sensitivity and low detector noise improves Hubble's previous infrared cameras by a factor of 15-20.

Fine Guidance Sensor FGS

The Federal Geological Survey provides pointing information to the spacecraft by locking the navigation star. The Federal Geological Survey can also detect rapid changes in the brightness of stars by accurately measuring their relative positions. There are three FGSs on the Hubble Observatory.

NICMOS near-infrared camera and multi-target spectrometer

NICMOS near-infrared camera and multi-target spectrometer have the ability to obtain astronomical target images and spectral observations in the near-infrared band. NICMOS is currently inactive, with most of its functions replaced by Hubble's other science instruments.

The Hubble Extremely Deep Field images are stitched together from nearly 7,500 images to provide us with a view of the deep space of the universe, which contains 265,000 galaxies that date back to 13.3 billion years after the Big Bang. years. The faintest and most distant galaxies are only one billionth of the brightness that human eyes can see, and the evolution of the universe is also recorded in this image.

The Hubble Space Telescope is the eye for human observation of space. Its scientific payloads work together to cover a wide range of wavelengths, from ultraviolet light to near-infrared light. Over time, Hubble captured key features of galaxies and regions of the universe, providing important data for astronomers studying the universe.

Although the Hubble Space Telescope is about to be retired, in the past 29 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has brought us too many surprises and expectations.

Although we are looking forward to the arrival of the new space telescope James Webb, the Hubble Space Telescope will not be forgotten by mankind, and its deep space observation data will continue to be studied...