The History of the Hubble Telescope

The science of the stars – astronomy- because of the enigma of the dark limitless night sky dotted with twinkling stars and the queen moon has had a mysterious allure for earth bound observers right since the inception of civilization. Right from times immemorial human beings have indulged in endless star gazing or sky gazing to crack the mystery of the celestial world and the objective of most astronomers, whether in the ancient Greek civilization or during 15/16^th century Europe or in modern contemporary times has remained the same – to see deeper, to gaze further, to seek out more about the infinite.

Origins of the Hubble telescope and its role in the development of astronomy

Galileo was the first one to invent a telescope – an optical instrument which makes distant objects (planets, stars, and other cosmic entities) seem nearer and appear larger.

Of course, Galileo, through his revolutionary invention revolutionized the science of the stars and altered the course of history and incurred the wrath of the Roman Papacy and was held guilty of heresy/blasphemy for saying that it was not the sun which revolved round earth, but the earth and other planets which revolved round the sun in actuality.

Of course the telescopes that scientists use today are much more technologically advanced and have incorporated the findings of cutting edge technological progress. And it is through telescopes, very powerful and special and technologically superior, that scientists study the universe and its manifold mysteries and discover new planets, new far off stars, and far off solar systems stationed millions of light years away.

Telescopes have a direct correlation with the development of the science of astronomy and without its invention; the progress of this fascinating science might have stalled for sure.

The Hubble Telescope

If landing on the moon was one small step for a human being but a giant leap for mankind, then another mammoth leap of human civilization was witnessed when the Hubble space telescope was launched in 1990. This telescope however is not an ordinary super powerful telescope placed in some scientific astronomical observatory on earth.

This one, as mentioned earlier, is a space telescope which floats in the cosmic space above the earth and orbits it. It is far superior to any earth bound telescope and sends back sharper, clearer, more distinct pictures of far off celestial bodies because it is stationed up there in space where atmospheric distortions, disturbances and blockage of light is almost nil.

Achievements of the Hubble Telescope in History

The Hubble telescope has added a proud feather to NASA’s cap, being one of its most durable and successful astronomical missions. Hundreds and thousands of crystal clear pictures and images of the universe are beamed back to earth by the Hubble that has helped to unravel many mysteries of the cosmos and to gauge the identity of quasars, the age of the universe and to speculate upon the existence of the dark energy.

Interesting Facts about the History of the Hubble Telescope

• The path for the discovery of the Hubble telescope was paved in 1923 by a German scientist and Father of Modern Rocketry - Hermann Oberth who showed how to propel a telescope through a rocket in to the orbit of the earth.
• Hubble’s origin dates back to 1946. In a scientific paper entitled Astronomical Advantages of an Extra Terrestrial Observatory astronomer Lyman Spitzer held forth on the benefits of space oriented observatories as opposed to earth bound telescopes.
• Those two advantages were better angular resolution and improved observance of UV and infrared rays compared to ground based telescopes.
• In fact he was largely instrumental in shaping the path for the invention of the Hubble telescope and succeeded in getting the green signal from the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1962 for the development of a powerful space telescope.
• However even before the recommendations and thrust of Spitzer, research and development on space based astronomy had started budding after the end of the Second World War.
• And there were sporadic experiments in space telescope missions in 1946 and again in 1962 as part of the Ariel space program helmed by UK and then by the NASA in 1966 which launched the first (OAO) Orbiting Astronomical Observatory program.
• The latter’s failure was succeeded by a successful OAO-2 mission that lasted for 4/5 years from 1968 to 1972.
• This tremendous success fuelled the desire for a proper space bound reflecting telescope that would feature a 3 meter wide mirror. This was provisionally known as the LST or Large Space Telescope or Large Orbiting Telescope and was slated for a 1979 launch date.
• In 1977 a vote was held by the congress as a fund raising venture for the construction of the Hubble.
• The building of the telescope achieved its completion in 1985. Thanks to the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster its launch was delayed.
• Finally on 25^th April 1990 the giant space telescope – The Hubble was launched successfully, surmounting all the initial hiccups and impediments.

Thus began the glorious journey of The Hubble space telescope.