Why is the Hubble Space Telescope important to modern astronomy?

Answer 1

Any telescope on earth will have the problems of cloudy nights, light pollution, atmospheric perturbances, meteor showers, rain, hail, sleet lightening and fog to contend with as well as the scattering of light by particles in the atmosphere.

A non-terrestrial location avoids all those problems which both limit the percentage of productive time at the telescope and the quality of the images it produces.

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is in orbit around the Earth. Its position outside the Earth's atmosphere allows it to take sharp optical images of very faint objects, and since its launch in 1990, it has become one of the most important telescopes in the history of astronomy.

It has been responsible for many ground-breaking observations and has helped astronomers achieve a better understanding of many fundamental problems in astrophysics. Hubble's Ultra Deep Field is the deepest (most sensitive) astronomical optical image ever taken.

From its original conception in 1946 until its launch, the project to build a space telescope was beset by delays and budget problems. Immediately after its launch, it was found that the main mirror suffered from spherical aberration, severely compromising the telescope's capabilities. However, after a servicing mission in 1993, the telescope was restored to its planned quality and became a vital research tool as well as a public relations boon for astronomy.

Hubble has helped to resolve some long-standing problems in astronomy, as well as turning up results that have required whole 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.

Before the launch of Hubble, estimates of the Hubble constant typically had errors of up to 50%, but Hubble measurements of Cepheid variables in the Virgo cluster and other distant galaxy clusters provided a measured value with an accuracy of 10%, which is consistent with other more accurate measurements made since Hubble's launch using other techniques.

While Hubble helped to refine the age of the universe, it also threw doubt on its future. Astronomers using the telescope to observe distant supernovae uncovered evidence that far from decelerating under the influence of gravity, the universe may in fact be accelerating. This acceleration was later measured more accurately by other ground-based and space-based telescopes which confirmed Hubble's finding, but the cause of this acceleration is currently very poorly understood.

The collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in 1994 was very 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.

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.

A unique legacy of Hubble is Hubble Deep Field and Hubble Ultra Deep Field images, which utilized Hubble's unmatched sensitivity at visible wavelengths to create images of small patches of sky which are the deepest ever obtained at optical wavelengths. The images reveal galaxies billions of light years away, and have generated a wealth of scientific papers, providing a new window on the early Universe.

Answer 2

Befor hubble most photos of deep space objects at high magnification were blurry due to the fact that the telescopes had to look through the Earth's atmosphere.

Compare this image of the Sombrero Galaxy...
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/phys/observatory/images/Astr112.Spring2005/Wright-SombreroGalaxy.jpg

With this one taken by Hubble:
http://www.space.com/images/besthubble_sombrero_02.jpg

Compare a close up of the Helix Nebula taken by Hubble:
http://www.mama.org/images/HelixF.jpg

With the type of image expected before Hubble:
http://www.bcastropics.com/images/nebulae/HelixNebula_large.jpg

It's only recently that ground based telescopes are starting to rival the hubble in image quality, due to a wonderful technology called adaptive optics. Adaptive Optics telescopes have mirrors that are made in moveable sections. Using special technology, the telescope's computer is able to make small continual adjustments to the mirror sections to compensate for the movement of the atomosphere which reduces blurring.

Answer 3

Hi. Because it can resolve much finer details due to lack of air induced distortion. The photographs have changed how we understand the universe. Just search for "pillars of creation" and "Hubble deep field".

Answer 4

Because with it, we can see optically farther than we ever could before. By putting it in orbit, we've eliminated much of the atmospheric interferences that land based telescopes are subjected to, such as clouds, haze, light pollution, etc...Thus we can get cleaner, more detailed images of objects farther away than we could have gotten before.

Answer 5

I think because it gives us a better vision of whats out there than relying on theories of a bunch of men cramped into a small room deciding what should be and can't be. It gives us an actual picture also in many arena's so that we can discuss and debate more than we already do..........

Answer 6

because by putting it outside our atmosphere we can observe aliens without distortion and plus their mind controll techniques dont work outside of gravity