{"id":6246,"date":"2026-01-06T07:26:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T01:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/?p=6246"},"modified":"2026-01-07T11:45:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T06:15:45","slug":"hubble-space-telescope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/hubble-space-telescope\/","title":{"rendered":"Hubble Space Telescope"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Named in honour of the famous astronomer Edwin Hubble, the\u00a0<strong>Hubble Space Telescope is a large and space-based observatory<\/strong>. It is an international collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency. Hubble has changed our understanding of the cosmos since its launch and deployment by the space shuttle\u00a0<strong>Discovery<\/strong>\u00a0on April 24, 1990. Hubble orbits about 547 kilometres above Earth. Hubble takes high-quality pictures of objects in the sky, such as planets, stars and galaxies.<\/p>\r\n<p>As of today, the Hubble Telescope has made more than one million observations. These observations include detailed pictures of the birth and death of stars, galaxies that are billions of light years away, and comet pieces crashing into Jupiter\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\r\n<h2>Features of Hubble Telescope<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>Earth\u2019s atmosphere blocks certain wavelengths<\/strong>\u00a0of light altogether and is made up of shifting pockets of air that are responsible for the twinkling appearance of stars in the night sky. This motion does not provide\u00a0<strong>clear images<\/strong>\u00a0captured by telescopes on the ground. For this reason,\u00a0<strong>Hubble\u00a0<\/strong>was put into orbit above the atmosphere<strong>\u00a0to avoid these effects.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Hubble Telescope was intended to be a general-purpose observatory for the\u00a0<strong>exploration\u00a0<\/strong>of the\u00a0<strong>visible, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths of the cosmos.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Orbiting Earth, Hubble\u2019s mirrors gather light from the cosmos, collecting images and data. To capture the faint glow of the far-off universe, the telescope spent days staring at the same spot in the sky for some of the deepest images.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>Hubble\u2019s Instruments<\/h3>\r\n<p>For high-quality and high-dimension images of the universe, the Hubble Telescope is laden with scientific instruments. Important ones are:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3):<\/strong>\u00a0WFC3 is the most important imager on the Hubble telescope that records visible and ultraviolet wavelengths.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS):<\/strong>\u00a0Being a third-generation imaging camera, ACS is optimised to perform surveys or broad imaging campaigns.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS):\u00a0<\/strong>Only ultraviolet (UV) light is the focus of COS. It works best for observing bright spots, such as quasars and stars.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS):\u00a0<\/strong>Being a second-generation imager\/spectrograph, STIS is used for obtaining high-resolution spectra of resolved objects.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS):<\/strong>\u00a0By locking onto guide stars, the FGS gives the spacecraft pointing information.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS):<\/strong>\u00a0It obtains quality images and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets at near-infrared wavelengths.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiram-prod.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com\/locations_of_hubble_s_instruments_inside_the_telescope_9568ac5b23.webp\" alt=\"Locations of Hubble\u2019s Instruments Inside the Telescope\" \/><\/p>\r\n<h3>Additional Features of Hubble Telescope<\/h3>\r\n<p>Other than the scientific instruments on board, Hubble consists of additional features as listed below.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Primary mirror:<\/strong>\u00a0Hubble\u2019s primary mirror is\u00a0<strong>2.4 metres<\/strong>\u00a0in diameter.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Secondary mirror:<\/strong>\u00a0It is<strong>\u00a030.5 centimetres<\/strong>\u00a0in diameter that re\ufb02ects the light back through a hole in the primary mirror and into the instruments.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Aperture door:<\/strong>\u00a0Hubble\u2019s aperture door can be closed when there is a necessity\u00a0<strong>to prevent sunlight<\/strong>\u00a0from entering and potentially causing damage to the telescope or its instruments.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Communication antennas:<\/strong>\u00a0Digital images and spectra in Hubble\u2019s solid-state recorders are converted into radio waves and beamed through one of the spacecraft\u2019s high-gain antennas (HGAs) to NASA's communications satellite, which relays them to the ground.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Solar panels:<\/strong>\u00a0Hubble\u2019s solar panels currently use\u00a0<strong>gallium-arsenide photovoltaic cells<\/strong>\u00a0that can produce enough power for all the science instruments to operate side by side.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Support systems:<\/strong>\u00a0Like computers, batteries, gyroscopes, reaction wheels, and electronics.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3>Colours in Hubble\u2019s Images<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Hubble<strong>\u00a0lacks colour cameras<\/strong>; it uses sensitive detectors that count light without recording its colour directly.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Special filters allow specific colour ranges, creating\u00a0<strong>black-and-white images<\/strong>\u00a0sent to Earth.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Scientists add individual colours to filtered images to create Hubble's final colour images.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Hubble's colour images highlight features of celestial objects studied.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Objects emit a range of colours corresponding to specific electromagnetic waves.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Hubble detects visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Hubble's full-colour images combine three separate exposures in red, green, and blue light.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Red, green, and blue are primary colours, creating visible colours when mixed.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Significance of Hubble Space Telescope<\/h2>\r\n<p>Having a large observatory like Hubble in the skies is of immense advantage. Some are described below.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Distortion-free:<\/strong>\u00a0The shifting pockets of air in Earth\u2019s atmosphere distort the view, even on the clearest nights. Because of this, a picture of a cosmic object taken by astronomers ends up blurry. Hubble\u2019s position above the atmosphere lets it observe steady, undisturbed light from cosmic objects to achieve higher resolution.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>More Wavelengths:<\/strong>\u00a0Earth\u2019s atmosphere stops certain wavelengths of light.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Hubble is designed to view certain ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths that are completely or partially blocked by the Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Due to Hubble's ability to see a wide range of wavelengths, details about cosmic objects that would otherwise be invisible are captured.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Resolution:<\/strong>\u00a0Having an extremely high angular resolution, Hubble can distinguish between two objects situated very close together.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>It can capture the fine details in star-forming nebulae, galaxies, and other cosmic objects.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Dark Skies:<\/strong>\u00a0Floating 547 km above the surface, Hubble doesn\u2019t have to face any form of light pollution or weather conditions.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>This gives Hubble a permanent, clear, dark sky.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>When combined with its sharp vision, Hubble can see objects 10 times fainter than those that can be observed from Earth, even with the largest telescopes.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Serviceability:\u00a0<\/strong>Hubble is positioned in a low-Earth orbit so that it would be unaffected by Earth\u2019s atmosphere.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>That position, only hundreds of miles above the surface, also meant that Hubble could be repaired and upgraded by astronauts.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Diversity:<\/strong>\u00a0Hubble has multiple science instruments dedicated to observing and studying the universe in unique ways.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Spectrometers at Hubble dissect light into its component colours, exposing details like chemical composition and temperature.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Hubble interferometers are used for aiming the telescope. The brightness and relative positions of stars can also be measured by the interferometers.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Discoveries Made by Hubble Telescope<\/h2>\r\n<p>Hubble is NASA's one of the most successful and long-lasting science missions. It has beamed hundreds of thousands of images back to Earth, which has helped shed light on many of the great mysteries of astronomy.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Universe\u2019s age:\u00a0<\/strong>Among its many discoveries, Hubble has\u00a0<strong>revealed the age of the universe<\/strong>\u00a0to be accurately about 13.8 billion years, changing the old range of anywhere between 10 and 20 billion years.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Discovery of dark energy:<\/strong>\u00a0Hubble has played a key role in the discovery of dark energy, which is a mysterious force that causes the expansion of the universe to accelerate.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Evolution of galaxies:<\/strong>\u00a0Hubble has discovered galaxies in every stage of evolution, which includes galaxies that were around when the universe was still young, helping them understand how galaxies form.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>New planet evolution:<\/strong>\u00a0Hubble discovered protoplanetary discs, clumps of gas and dust around young stars that likely function as birthing grounds for new planets.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Gamma-ray burst:<\/strong>\u00a0It was discovered that gamma-ray bursts, which are strange, mighty explosions of energy, can occur in far-distant galaxies when massive stars collapse.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Successor of Hubble<\/h2>\r\n<p>Hubble is getting old and is in its last legs. Its hardware is ageing and the software is getting errors more frequently. For these reasons, its future version was needed.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Hubble has undergone five space shuttle missions for repairs and upgrades but is expected to decay between 2030 and 2040.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>James Webb Space Telescope(JWST or Webb):\u00a0<\/strong>Meanwhile, NASA and its international partners, like the European Space Agency (ESA), are preparing the James Webb Space Telescope.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The Webb is an infrared telescope that is larger than Hubble and can see through clouds and dust in space.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Webb orbits the Sun near Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2), approximately 1.5 million kilometres from Earth.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Hubble Space Telescope is a space-based observatory launched by NASA and consists of advanced instruments that help to study the universe in unique ways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":20042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[239],"tags":[707,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-6246","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-quest-level-4","8":"tag-hubble-space-telescope","9":"tag-quest"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6246"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19850,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6246\/revisions\/19850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}