In May 2009, seven astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis visited the Hubble Space Telescope for a final servicing mission. The drama of a shuttle flight with ambitious and challenging spacewalks that refreshed, repaired, and renewed astronomy’s most beloved telescope captured the attention of the world.... Read More | Share it now!
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Goodnight Moon: Hubble’s Universe Unfiltered
Occultation occurs when one celestial body — for instance, a moon or a planet — aligns with another. Striking images of occultation give us an unusual glimpse of the traffic in our cosmic backyard.... Read More | Share it now!
Hubble Servicing Delayed: Hubble’s Universe Unfiltered
In September 2008, Hubble was two weeks away from a servicing mission when an electrical problem shut down much of the telescope. Intense work and effort has resulted in a replacement part to fix the problem. The servicing mission took place in 2009 and was entirely successful, and Hubble is expected to continue for many more years.... Read More | Share it now!
Eye Spy a Planet: Hubble’s Universe Unfiltered
In 2008, Hubble released the first visible-light picture of a planet around another star. Planets around distant stars are extremely difficult to visualize — astronomers usually find them by observing the dimming of light as a planet passes in front of a star, or the wobble of the star as its tugged by the planet’s gravity.... Read More | Share it now!
Through a Lens, Brightly: Hubble’s Universe Unfiltered
Matter warps the space around it. The more matter there is, the stronger the warp. For really strong distortions of space-time, like black holes, the warping acts like a lens. Such gravitational lenses have been found, and astronomers can use them to study very distant and very faint galaxies.... Read More | Share it now!
Jupiter Gets the Measles: Hubble’s Universe Unfiltered
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, a whirling storm on the gas giant planet’s surface, has been one of the planet’s most recognizable features for centuries. But in 2006 and 2008, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot was joined by two companions, smaller red spot storms. ... Read More | Share it now!
Hubble Falls Into Coma: Hubble’s Universe Unfiltered
Take a safari through the Coma Cluster, one of the richest nearby galaxy collections. Thousands of galaxies are gathered together here, making it an ideal location to witness the diversity of galaxies in the universe. ... Read More | Share it now!
Interacting Galaxies Galore: Hubble’s Universe Unfiltered
Hubble celebrated its 18th anniversary in 2008 by releasing a huge image gallery of interacting galaxies. Such galaxies pass close enough to each other that their mutual gravity can stretch and distort their shapes. Eventually, interacting galaxies merge together to form a single larger galaxy. However, since these interactions can take billions of years, how do we study them? ... Read More | Share it now!
Tonight’s Sky: April 2011 Highlights
Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere’s skywatching events with “Tonight’s Sky.” In April, Saturn reaches its closest point to Earth, the Big Dipper overflows with cosmic sights, and the Lyrid meteor shower streaks the sky. “Tonight’s Sky” is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. This is a recurring show, and you can find more episodes — and other astronomy videos — at HubbleSite.org.... Read More | Share it now!