The+Hubble+Space+Telescope

=The Hubble Space Telescope - by Mr. J. Orr =
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2. **Working Individually a) What is the Hubble Space Telescope? b)  Why is it in space and not on the earth? c) What discoveries have been made since its launch? Horoscopes
 * 3. ****My Topic is The Hubble Space Telescope **
 * 4. ****Questions to be answered **



a) The **Hubble Space** Telescope (HST) is a [|space telescope] that was carried into [|orbit] by a space shuttle in April 1990. It is named after the American [|astronomer] [|Edwin Hubble] . Although not the first space telescope, the Hubble is one of the largest and most versatile, and is well-known as both a vital research tool and a public relations boon for [|astronomy] . The HST is a joint project run between [|NASA] and the [|European Space Agency], and is one of NASA's [|great observatories]. Space telescopes were proposed as early as 1923. The Hubble was funded in the 1970s, with a proposed launch in 1983, but the project was beset by technical delays, budget problems, and the [|//Challenger//] [| disaster]. When finally launched in 1990, scientists found that the main mirror had been [|attached incorrectly], severely compromising the telescope's capabilities. However, after a servicing mission in 1993, the telescope was restored to its intended quality.

b) The Earths atmosphere actually inhibits, or distorts, the image of what we can see in space through a telescope. Hubble's orbit outside the distortion of [|Earth's atmosphere] allows it to take extremely sharp images with almost no [|background] light. Hubble's ** [|Ultra Deep Field] ** image, for instance, is the most detailed [|visible-light] image ever made of the universe's most distant objects. Many Hubble observations have led to breakthroughs in [|astrophysics], such as accurately [|determining the rate of expansion of the universe] . Also, a space-based telescope can observe [|infrared] and [|ultraviolet] light, which are strongly absorbed by the atmosphere.



c) One of Hubble's most famous images, "pillars of creation" (shown above) shows stars forming in the [|Eagle Nebula]



Hubble has helped to resolve some long-standing problems in astronomy, as well as turning up results that have required new [|theories] to explain them. Among its primary mission targets was to measure distances to ** [|Cepheid variable] ** stars more accurately than ever before, and thus [|constrain the value] of the ** [|Hubble constant] **, the measure of the rate at which the universe is expanding, which is also related to its age. While Hubble helped to refine estimates of the age of the universe, it also cast doubt on theories about its future. Astronomers from the [|High-z Supernova Search Team] and the [|Supernova Cosmology Project][|[78]] used the telescope to observe distant [|supernovae] and uncovered evidence that, far from decelerating under the influence of [|gravity], the expansion of the universe may in fact be ** [|accelerating] **. The high-resolution spectra and images provided by the Hubble have been especially well-suited to establishing the prevalence of ** [|black holes] ** in the nuclei of nearby galaxies. While it had been hypothesized in the early 1960s that black holes would be found at the centers of some galaxies, and work in the 1980s identified a number of good black hole candidates, it fell to work conducted with the Hubble to show that black holes are probably common to the centers of all galaxies.

The collision of [|Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9] with [|Jupiter] in 1994 was fortuitously timed for astronomers, coming just a few months after Servicing Mission 1 had restored Hubble's optical performance. Hubble images of the [|planet] were sharper than any taken since the passage of [|Voyager 2] in 1979, and were crucial in studying the dynamics of the collision of a comet with Jupiter, an event believed to occur once every few centuries. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Other major discoveries made using Hubble data include proto-planetary disks ( [|proplyds] ) in the [|Orion Nebula] evidence for the presence of [|extrasolar planets] around sun-like stars and the optical counterparts of the still-mysterious gamma ray bursts HST has also been used to study objects in the outer reaches of the Solar System, including the dwarf planets Pluto and Eris.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[[image:http://quest.nasa.gov/hst/images/HSTdigram.gif]]

6. How does this project apply to life outside of school? **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">a) In completing this project I will be able to research and learn about the Hubble Space Telescope from a variety of internet and library sources. b) I can apply this style of research and my knowledge to every day situations such as work to function effectively as a contributing team member.