This Thursday (24), the Hubble telescope completes 35 years of space observations bringing several advances in astronomy and changing the way we observe the space.
The instrument was launched on April 24, 1990, as a partnership between NASA (United States Space Agency) and ESA (European Space Agency) to better understand the universe. It is located about 515 kilometers from Earth, in an orbit considered low, and has recorded more than one million observations over these three decades.
The images obtained by the telescope have generated more than 21,000 studies and 1.2 million publications refer to these former. Hubble has helped scientists to determine the atmospheric composition of planets, find out more about dark energy and understand the universe as a whole .
Putting the hubble in orbit was an attempt to circumvent the difficulties encountered to observe space with telescopes on the earth’s surface, as the atmosphere of our planet blocks some wavelengths and makes space photos less clear.
In orbit, the telescope can avoid these interference and capture images in more detail and more faithful to reality.
The future of hubble
Last year, scientists responsible for keeping the telescope running established a new way to operate the equipment to avoid observation defects and ensure that it follows at least until the next decade.
Traditionally, Hubble operated with six gyroscopes – tools that determine the direction to which he points out – but with several of them presenting functioning defects over time, the telescope interrupted his remarks from the universe several times over 2024. Because of this, the NASA team decided to operate the hubble with only one functional and a reserve gyroscope to be triggered in the future.
“We believe this is our best approach to supporting Hubble science this decade and next, as most observations in space will not be affected by this change,” said Mark Clampin, director of NASA’s Astrophysics Division of Scientific Missions at the time.
However, change comes with limitations.
The telescope will need more time to move and fix on the objects it is observing, which reduces its efficiency and flexibility – that is, it will be able to make fewer observations in a time space.
Hubble is expected to operate until the mid -2030s, with its cosmic observations complementing the work of the James Webb space telescope – launched in 2021 – and future observatories that have not yet been released.
“We don’t see Hubble as it is in its last days and we think it is a very capable observatory,” said Patrick Crouse, Hubble space telescope manager at NASA’s Goddard space flight center in 2024.
*With information from Giovana Christ, from CNN
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This content was originally published in Hubble for 35 years: what will be the future of the telescope that changed astronomy on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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