Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble Space Telescope

The telescope would become the indispensable instrument for investigations of the cosmos. Bigger and better telescopes were built all over the world. Planets, stars, and nebulae which could not be seen by the naked eye were now being routinely noted and logged. Such is the case with the fantastic discoveries for which the Hubble Space Telescope has been responsible during the twentieth century. Had it not been for the creation of such a monumental piece of scientific machinery, the worlds not have - 1 -acquired the mountain of information, photographs and previously unknown details that have come forth over the last decade. Indeed, the proficiency of the Hubble Space Telescope has allowed mankind to delve far beyond the confines of conventional boundaries in order to encourage further exploration of outer space. Inasmuch as the Hubble Space Telescope has been instrumental in identifying various concepts of existence; it has successfully challenged what was previously considered a sound and reasonable theory of creation. ÐŽ¦the Hubble Space Telescope has sent new data which has astrophysicists rethink their concept of the formation of the universe. With its capability of producing images from any wavelength, the HST is the eyes of the universe for scientists on earth. Like a well oiled machine, HubbleÐ"Ф optics, science instruments, and spacecraft systems work together to capture light from the cosmos, convert it into digital data, and transmit it back to Earth. The main purpose of building this telescope is to conduct the deep space research which can give scientists a better knowledge and understand about the deep space, which human being are now unable to reach there physically.

Chapter 2

One man has been credited throughout history as being the fundamental motivating factor behind the development of the Hubble Space Telescope. Edwin Hubble believed right down to the depths of his soul that planet Earth was nothing more within the vast universe than the equivalent of a grain of sand in the Sahara Desert. Eager to dispel what the ancients had forever construed the purpose of the universe ÐŽ¦to be a Ð*Иlittering celestial frame work for the human raceÐŽ¦(Parshall et al, 1988, p. PG) ÐŽ¦HubbleÐ"Ф quest was to prove that such thought was merely humanityÐ"Ф conceit. Indeed, he thought, it was particularly obvious that Earth was Ð*Ð¥ruly punyÐŽ¦(Parshall et al, 1998, p. PG) when it came to the overwhelming capacity represented by the universe. These concepts were established by Hubble in the 1920s, a time when the public was eager to hear what fascinations he had to offer that would ultimately stretch Ð*Ð"eyond the reach of the worldÐ"Ф moat powerful telescopesНÐ'nd beyond the reach of human imaginationÐŽ¦(Parshall et al, 1998, p.PG).

HubbleÐ"Ф ambition appeared to be unprecedented with regard to his desire to discard all previous interpretations of the universe and its relationship to Earth. Throughout his life, Hubble worked painstakingly as a means by which to prove his theories, utilizing every method and equipment possible to assist in his endeavor. When Harlow Shapley contended that the Milky Way ÐŽ¦which was determined to have been three hundred thousand light years away in distance from Earth, represented the outermost reaches of the universe, Hubble was quick to oppose his view. Inasmuch as Hubble had previously studied the elements of nebulae at the university of Chicago, he asserted that man could only perceive of the universeÐ"Ф vastness based upon the equipment utilized at the time. It was HubbleÐ"Ф contention that as technology progressed and eventually enabled man to delve deeper into space, he would find that the only limits that exist are the ones made by science. Ð*©ubbleÐ"Ф work galvanized astronomers around the world. And it was just beginningÐŽ¦(Parshall et al, 1998, p.PG).

Subsequent discoveries involving nebulae and distance proved enlightening for Hubble and the entire world; indeed based upon his own personal insights, Hubble was eventually able to prove that his postulations held considerable merit. Whether it was spending Ð*Ð--rigid nights beneath the open observatory dome photographing nebulaeÐŽ¦(Parshall et al, 1998, p.PG) or forever challenging the concepts that he deemed unsubstantial, Hubble made it his lifelong ambition to ascertain as much information about the universeÐ"Ф vastness as he possibly could. Of all the monumental discoveries that were credited to HubbleÐ"Ф perseverance, one of the most important concerned the issue of receding galaxies. By all appearances, Hubble had stumbled onto the fact that ÐŽ¦the cosmos was expanding, flying apart as if it has once been highly concentratedÐŽ¦(Parshall et al, 1998 p.PG). Little did he know at the time, but his discovery would come to represent the big bang theory that has evolved as such a well-known concept within the worldÐ"Ф contemporary scientific society. Hubble was a US astronomer who studied extragalactic nebulae and demonstrated them to be galaxies like our own. He found the first evidence for the expansion of the Universe, in accordance with the cosmological theories of George Lema and Willem de Sitter, and his work led to an enormous expansion of our perception of the size of the Universe.

Indeed, it was on account of HubbleÐ"Ф quest to prove his expansion theory, continuing forth with earnest skepticism at the various limitations others placed upon the universe, which eventually saved to establish his conjectures as reality. Due to his tenacity with regard to finding the truth, HubbleÐ"Ф desire to Ð*Ð ne-up on everyoneÐŽ¦(Parshall et al, 1998, p. PG) played to his advantage of the scientific community, particularly when his name was chosen to grace the implementation of the 1990 Hubble Space Telescope, which was created to probe even further into the universe than Hubble himself could ever imagine. Ð*©ubble yearned for the Nobel Prize, bit an astronomy category was lacking. When he died in 1953 at age 65, the Nobel committee was on the verge of awarding him the physics prize. Among his posthumous honors, there were two he would have especially savored. The space telescope, launched in 1990, would bear his name. And Harlow Shapley, who lived until 1972, ultimately acknowledged in an interview that HubbleÐŽ¦was an excellent observer, better than IÐŽ¦(Parshall et al, 1998, p. PG).

Chapter 3

The Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) is an optical sensor used on the Hubble Space Telescope to provide pointing information for the spacecraft and also as a scientific instrument for astrometry science.

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