|
Galaxies
The Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a wonder of engineering and ingenuity. The idea for building a telescope in space that could see far beyond our own solar system was conceived in 1962 by the National Academy of Sciences in the United States. It wasn't until 1977 that the Congress of the United States finally voted to actually fund the project.
The Hubble telescope is named for Edwin P. Hubble. Hubble was a trailblazing astronomer who was born in 1889 and died in 1953.
The Hubble telescope has given astronomers unprecedented access to views of deep space. It has actually revolutionized the science of astronomy in many ways. The Hubble Telescope can "see" far beyond our own solar system and beyond our own galaxy into deep space, where fledgling galaxies are only just beginning to form.
The Hubble telescope wasn't launched until 1990 even though it was originally scheduled to launch in 1983. The launch experienced many delays, the most notable of which was the space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986. The Hubble telescope was launched into space on April 25, 1990, and was sending pictures back to earth in a matter of days -- but the pictures were out of focus. The problem was found to be a flaw in the giant mirror -- it was too flat on one edge by 1/50th the width of a single human hair.
In 1993, the problem with the Hubble was resolved when the space shuttle Endeavor captured the Hubble Space Telescope and added a camera to correct problems with the telescope's primary mirror.
There have been other problems with the Hubble over the years, but it is still one of the wonders of the world and is providing astronomers with information that they could never have gained access to without it.
See Also:
Ham the Chimp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Astronomy Funny Bone
The Planet Saturn
The planet Saturn resembles the planet Jupiter in many ways. Saturn is also a planet that has very little if any solid matter. It is believed that there is a hard rocky core, but that belief is unproven (albeit very probable) theory. Saturn, like Jupiter, is made up of gases and liquids. There is an internal heat source. We know this because Saturn radiates more energy than it receives.
Saturn rotates fast. It makes one complete revolution once every 10 or 11 hours. Saturn rotates around the sun once every 29.5 years. Because it rotates so fast, Saturn is flattened at the poles, making it an almost oblate planet.
The space probes, Pioneer 11, Mariner 11 and 12, and Voyager I and II, provide the best and most accurate information to astronomers about the planet Saturn, even though the Hubble space telescope takes very good images of Saturn. The space probes get "up close and personal," so to speak, and have provided information about Saturn that nothing else could have provided.
Wind velocity on Saturn is extreme. Wind speeds of more than 1,118 mph have been recorded. Unlike the winds on Jupiter, however, wind speeds on Saturn do not seem to be closely related to the positions of the belts and bands.
The rings around Saturn are one of the most interesting features. Really high-resolution pictures taken on the Voyager missions tell us that the rings are actually made up of hundreds of thousands of very small rings. The evidence suggests that the rings are composed of particles that are mostly ice crystals. A lot has been learned about the rings of Saturn over the last 20 or so years, but there is so much about them that is still a mystery. |
|
More articles:
St. Paul’s Cathedral
HubbleSite -- Out of the ordinary...out of this world.
O'Reilly Media | Digital Astrophotography
SPACE.com -- a practical guide to buying telescopes
Space-Travel.com News
Amateur Astronomy
History of Astronomy
Astronomy is the oldest of all sciences. It has its roots back in the beginning of time. There is evidence of astronomy playing a large role in religious, mythological, and astrological practices of pre-history. Mankind has always looked to the heavens with wonder mixed with a healthy dose of curiosity.
In the earliest cultures, heavenly bodies were identified as gods or spirits, and these gods and spirits were thought to control such things as rain, drought, seasons, and the tides. The first astronomers are believed to have been priests or Magi. The earliest calendars were based upon the phases of the moon and the time between phases.
Western astronomy has its roots in ancient Mesopotamia astrology. The modern practice of dividing a circle into 360 degrees, of 60 minutes each, began in ancient Mesopotamia with the Sumerians.
The oldest astronomical writing that we have is Tablet 63 of the Enuma Anu Enlil. It is called the Venus tablet of Ammi-saduqa. The Venus tablet lists the first and last visible risings of Venus over a period of about 21 years, and it is the earliest conclusive evidence that the phenomena of a planet were recognized.
Since the beginning of time, man has looked up. The sky, particularly the night sky, has been full of mystery that humankind wanted to understand.
The old civilizations of China, India, Greece, and Rome all looked to the stars for explanations to earthly situations and problems, inspiration and guidance. They found all of those things, but they also found knowledge, and over the centuries our knowledge of astronomy has grown. But there are those who believe that we have only just begun to learn all the heavens have to teach us.
Related Topics: The Planet Venus,
Careers in Astronomy, Sir Christopher Wren
|