The world's first space-based optical telescope marks its 25th anniversary this week. Here are some facts about the Hubble Space Telescope.
The telescope launched aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1990 and is named after US astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889-1953).
About two months after launch, a problem with its primary mirror was discovered. It was repaired in 1993 by astronauts who traveled to the telescope aboard the space shuttle.
Its main accomplishments include confirming the "expanding" universe, which provided the foundation for the Big Bang theory.
The size of a bus, it is 43.5 feet (13.3 meters) long and its maximum diameter is 14 feet (4.3 meters).
The telescope is so steady and accurate that it can take an image of a target without deviating more than 7/1000th of an arcsecond, or about the width of a human hair seen at a distance of one mile (1.6 kilometers), according to NASA.
This is also like being able to shine a laser beam on a dime 200 miles away.
Hubble orbits the Earth at an altitude of 340 miles, not much higher than the International Space Station.
It completes one orbit every 95 minutes, and travels at a speed of 17,000 miles per hour.
The telescope is unable to observe the sun or Mercury.
However, it has peered into the very distant past, to locations more than 13.4 billion light years from Earth.
Hubble sends back about 140 gigabits of raw science data every week, and has helped scientists publish more than 12,800 scientific papers, making it one of the most productive scientific instruments ever built, according to NASA.
The telescope has five instruments that have been updated or added in space, as well as some others that have been removed over the course of five maintenance missions by astronauts on the space shuttles in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2009.
It is powered by the sun, and its electricity is stored in six nickel-hydrogen batteries, the equivalent of 20 car batteries.
Hubble's cost at launch time was $1.5 billion. It was built by NASA with contributions from the European Space Agency.
GMT 10:53 2018 Tuesday ,09 January
Apple urged to shield kids from iPhone addictionGMT 10:28 2017 Saturday ,09 December
Bitcoin surges above $16,000 as concerns mountGMT 12:38 2017 Thursday ,02 November
Gulf Craft Continues to Redefine On-Water Lifestyle ExperienceGMT 09:30 2017 Wednesday ,18 October
Is facial recognition the stuff of sci-fi? Not in ChinaGMT 00:01 2017 Thursday ,05 October
This new machine will help boost skills of medic at Oman's College of Medicine and Health SciencesGMT 23:42 2017 Wednesday ,04 October
Robots under Swedish forest breathe life into ancient minesGMT 21:31 2017 Wednesday ,04 October
Russia, Saudi Arabia to set up $1 bln technology fundGMT 18:58 2017 Friday ,29 September
Lockheed Martin unveils reusable water-powered Mars landerMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©