The History of Hubble
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched by the Space Shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. The launch of a space based telescope was one the greatest advances in astronomy in human history, and it would lead to many other space based observatories. Hubble’s mission was to allow humanity to see more, see farther, and see deeper into the past of the universe. Discovery placed the Hubble Space Telescope in an orbit around the Earth at the farthest reaches of the upper atmosphere. The telescope was placed in such a high orbit because it gives astronomers a view of the universe that typically far surpasses that of any ground-based telescopes, due to the fact that the atmosphere distorts and blocks the some of the light that reaches our planet. Hubble is also one of NASA’s most successful and longest-lasting science missions. It has beamed hundreds of thousands of images back to Earth, shedding light on many of the great mysteries of astronomy. Its gaze has helped determine the age of the universe, the identity of quasars, and the existence of black holes.
Do you know where the Hubble Space Telescope is? It could be overhead or located somewhere else in the sky. When displayed in Sky, you can see where Hubble is projected on the background of stars, and it updates as Hubble moves! Is Hubble visible tonight? Have a look. You will need to switch to Sky in Google Earth 4.2 to view this content.
Currently it is now above California…
http://bit.ly/gbknCw –> Click on the link below to track where is Hubble now??
-Yuva
Yuva's blog 