Happy Birthday, Hubble Telescope

erco

Ah to be 28 again! Some fabulous images & zoom videos of the Lagoon Nebula.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/20/604368999/its-the-hubble-space-telescope-s-birthday-enjoy-amazing-images-of-the-lagoon-neb

GordonMcComb

If the speed of the zoom could be converted to warp speed, I wonder what it would be, assuming these figures (which we know to be completely accurate, because they are from Star Trek)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warp_drive#Warp_velocities

To get things started, the Lagoon Nebula is about 4,000 light years away, though the zoom stops well short of going into its center.

Buck Rogers

As it happens in the original series, they used both artist's work, and some photos.

But for the movies, and then the next TV shows, Hubble took all the photos. They were so well taken, that I'm surprised they were not signed.

And I even remember watching it done live on CSPAN the work to replace the telescope's optics, and everything else. It was an amazing job. The one complaint I remember was that of Story Musgrave complaining about 5MM screws and space gloves.

Strangely enough the 94 Inch rig that Hubble uses, may be the same size that the Keyhole series of spy satellites use.

erco

Not too shabby for an old telescope wearing corrective lenses, huh?

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

I remember when Hubble was first launched and the photos from "first light." Uh oh. Something was amiss. So much hope; so much disappointment. I was personally crestfallen from news that the optics were out of focus.

But a subsequent visit from a space shuttle repair crew added corrective optics, and the rest is history.

-Phil

Buck Rogers

erco wrote: »

Not too shabby for an old telescope wearing corrective lenses, huh?

Indeed. The ST wears designer glasses.