After capturing the most beautiful images of the sky for a decade, the Hubble Space Telescope may expand its view of the universe even further thanks to a midlife overhaul.
After capturing the most beautiful images of the sky for a decade, the Hubble Space Telescope may expand its view of the universe even further thanks to a midlife overhaul.
The observatory circling the Earth has so far watched comets falling into the Sun, and the echo of a huge explosion that happened 10 billion light years away, and has also helped measure the expansion rate of the universe.
However, in the first week of March, when the space shuttle Columbia reaches it, its astronauts will replace parts of the telescope, so that its vision will be even brighter.
A series of improvements includes the installation of an advanced camera - a multi-frequency device that promises to increase the imaging capacity of the telescope. The power of visualization is so strong and it is equivalent to watching two separate fireflies in Tokyo in the observation made in Washington. explains Holland Ford, a scientist at the Hubble Space Telescope Science Center.
The camera upgrade could help Chechel observe planets orbiting other suns. At least we will try to make such an observation. says Ford. So far, scientists have identified several dozen planets around other suns, but only by indirect methods - by observing their gravitational disturbances to the mother star.
Closer to Earth, the telescope will be able to image climate and weather systems on the planets in the solar system. New instruments will also be assembled, including a filter that blocks bright light that will allow observing black holes further away in the universe.
The Hubble Space Telescope, a joint project of NASA and the European Space Agency, was launched in 1990. Due to a structural fault, it suffered from a series of problems that caused blurred vision, which only improved after the first repair flight in 1993.
The Columbia astronauts are planning five spacewalks for the renovations. They will also install new solar collectors, replace the camera with infrared frequencies as well as the gyroscopes that help stabilize the satellite.
