Hubble Telescope Research Paper

The Hubble Telescope was launched into low Earth orbit 24 April 1990, and our ideas of space would never be the same. We would be reminded once more how small we really are to the vast frontier of the cosmos. The Hubble Telescope would humble humanity, but not without stumbling out of the gate first. When man put his proverbial eye towards the Cosmos, did he poke out the other eye in the process? What were the costs of the Hubble telescope and were they justified by the results?   The Hubble telescope is essentially a large telescope in space, launched by NASA in 1990. Hubble's need arose when astronomers found that our very atmosphere distorted incoming light from stars, creating less than perfect images of the heavens. This is why stars appear …show more content…
This is roughly four hundred to eight hundred million years after the Big Bang. The picture was accomplished by exposing the lens for thirty to forty-five minutes and continually taking pictures. Hubble is also equipped with multiple fields of vision such as infrared and ultra-violet. Such a deep look into the past helps scientists understand how planets and galaxies form. The Hubble telescope has also assisted scientists in determining the rate of the universe’s expansion, discovering nearly every major galaxy is anchored by a black hole, witnessing the birth and death of stars, and help in the refinement of the universe’s age. In 2011 observations using this golden eye broke one million, resulting in more than nine thousand four hundred scientific papers written. This makes Hubble one of the most productive scientific instruments ever built. These observations, while aesthetically pleasing, play a large roll in our own understanding of our galaxy and …show more content…
Unfortunately Hubble had a major design flaw. As images flooded in it was clear something was seriously wrong. The images were blurry and distorted, with less clarity than that of ground based telescopes. The lens were off by a fraction rendering it blind. It was unable to perform the very job it was intended for. It was later found that Perkins-Elmer, the company in charge of building the mirror, should have known the mirror was defective. Evidence revealed tests were doctored and several standard test procedures were altered or discounted in an attempt to hide knowledge of the flaw. The Justice department reached a twenty-five million dollar settlement that a NASA official called “fair and reasonable.” It would later be learned the repair cost would equal roughly one hundred fifty-million dollars, not including any unforeseen

Show More

The Hubble Telescope Research Paper