A H U B B L E T I M E L I N E

1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s

The Hubble Space Te lescope

The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most powerful and prolific science instruments ever conceived by humans. From its perch about 350 miles above Earth, Hubble sees farther and sharper than any previous telescope. Hubble discoveries have revolutionized nearly all areas of current astronomical research, from planetary science to cosmology. The telescope has imaged more than 30,000 celestial objects and produced over 570,000 pictures.

A series of heroic astronaut servicing missions to Hubble have made it the longest-operating

space observatory ever built. Thanks to routine maintenance and upgrades Hubble is 100 times more powerful than when it was launched. In addition to its scientific importance, Hubble brings cosmic wonders into millions of homes and schools worldwide, allowing the public to be co-explorers with this wondrous observatory.

Here is a brief tour of highlights in the history of Hubble — from the idea of a space telescope, first proposed in the 1920s, to construction and launch of Hubble, and onward through the next glorious years — 20 of them, as of 2010 — and counting.

A H U B B L E S PA C E T E L E S C O P E T I M E L I N E , A S O F A P R I L 2 0 1 0

For fifty years, an idea; for the last twenty years, a reality

1920s 2000s

Famed rocket scientist Hermann Oberth publishes an article speculating on telescopes in orbit.

Astronomer Lyman Spitzer writes a report entitled the “Astronomical Advantages of an Extra-terrestrial Observatory,” in which he discusses the feasibility of building, launching, and operating a satellite observatory.

Congress approves the budget for a space telescope. Lockheed

Missiles and Space Company wins the contract to design and

build the telescope. PerkinElmer is awarded the contract to

construct the optical telescope assembly, which includes the

2.4-meter primary mirror, the secondary mirror, and the three

fine guidance sensors.

1920s to 1970s3H U B B L E T I M E L I N E

From idea to design and build …

1920s

1923 1946 1977

1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s

The Space Telescope Science Institute is established as the telescope’s science operations center on the campus of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.

The telescope is named the Hubble Space

Telescope after renowned

astronomer Edwin P. Hubble.

Hubble’s launch is delayed after the

Challenger accident. The telescope is

kept in storage at Lockheed.

1980s to 19904H U B B L E T I M E L I N E

Years of preparation culminate in launch …

1983 19861981

1981 1985 1989

1990April, 1990: Hubble is launched into Earth orbit by the crew of the space shuttle Discovery.

After analyzing Hubble’s first pictures, astronomers discover that the telescope has “blurred vision,” caused by a slight distortion in the 2.4-meter primary mirror.

The telescope resolves a ring of material around Supernova 1987A.

Hubble identifies nearby intergalactic clouds.

Early 1990s5H U B B L E T I M E L I N E

Ingenious repair for flawed optics, first discoveries …

19931992 1994Hubble provides a detailed view of the Comet Shoemaker-Levy

collision with Jupiter, offers definitive confirmation of the existence of

supermassive black holes, reveals details of Pluto’s surface, and

captures a close-up look at jets and disks in young stellar objects.

The orbiting observatory discovers protoplanetary

disks in the Orion Nebula.

Hubble observation of M87 provides

conclusive evidence for the existence of supermassive black

holes in the hubs of galaxies.

The first servicing mission takes

place. Astronauts add a corrective optics system to

fix the telescope’s myopic vision.

1991 1994

IN VISIBLE LIGHT

COMET COLLISION WITH JUPITER

IN ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT

Late 1990s6H U B B L E T I M E L I N E

The universe yields much to Hubble’s sharpened eye …

Hubble resolves the host galaxies of quasars.

Hubble finds evidence for

dark energy in the universe.

19991996 1997 1998Hubble observations allow astronomers to refine the universe’s expansion rate to within 10 percent accuracy.

The second servicing mission takes place. Astronauts install two new science instruments.

The third servicing mission takes place. Astronauts replace the telescope’s six gyroscopes, which help the orbiting observatory point at celestial objects.

Hubble identifies exotic populations of stars in globular clusters, sees the visible afterglow of a gamma-ray burst in a distant galaxy, and, from supernova observations, provides preliminary evidence for an accelerating universe.

1996 1999

The Hubble Deep Field allows astronomers to see to the edge of the universe.

1995

Early 2000s7H U B B L E T I M E L I N E

Discoveries abound, but a tragic setback occurs …

NASA Administrator, Sean O’Keefe, cancels

planned Hubble servicing mission out of concern

for shuttle safety.

Hubble discovers two moons

around Pluto.

Hubble makes the Ultra-Deep Field observation.

NASA Administrator

Michael Griffin reinstates

Hubble Servicing Mission 4.

2002 2003 2004 2005Hubble finds a body in the Kuiper belt that is larger than Pluto, triggering a debate over Pluto’s planetary status.

Hubble finds the oldest

known exoplanet in

a globular star cluster.

During Servicing Mission 3B astronauts install a powerful new instrument on Hubble, the Advanced Camera for Surveys. They install a cryocooler that extends the life of Hubble’s infrared camera.

Space shuttle Columbia

disintegrates on atmospheric reentry, killing

the seven-person crew

and grounding the shuttle

program.

2001 2004

PLUTO

CHARON

NEW MOONSPLUTO’S ORBIT

SUN

KUIPER BELT

2006 to early 20108H U B B L E T I M E L I N E

Hubble gets its final servicing mission and returns to duty …

The telescope finds direct observational evidence for dark matter.

Hubble data are used to make a 3-D map of

dark matter.

Hubble photographs

never-before-seen evidence

of a collision between two

asteroids.

Hubble finds the first organic molecules on an

extrasolar planet and makes the first direct

image of an exoplanet.

2006 2007 2008 2009

2009: First images from WFC3

2010During Servicing Mission 4 astronauts install two new instruments that make Hubble 100 times more powerful than when it was launched.

Astronomers issue the first images taken with the newly installed Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). The stunning photos are of a gaseous shroud around a dying star, a sparkling stellar jewel box, a clash among galaxies, and a turbulent birthplace of stars (see left).

The telescope takes the deepest infrared view of the universe.

2006 2009

9I M A G E C A P T I O N S A N D C R E D I T S

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The Hubble Space Telescope, drifting away from the space shuttle Atlantis after Hubble’s final servicing visit by astronauts, Servicing Mission 4, in May, 2009. [Credit: NASA]

The Hubble Space Telescope, as seen from space shuttle Atlantis after successful completion of Servicing Mission 4, May, 2009. [Credit: NASA]

1946: Lyman Spitzer [illustration: Kathy Cordes, STScI]

1983: Edwin P. Hubble [illustration: Kathy Cordes, STScI]

Early 1990’s: Launch of the Hubble Space Telescope aboard space shuttle Discovery, April 24, 1990 [Credit: NASA]

Early 1990’s: A dramatic look at the remnants of one of the most spectacular and unexpected astronomical events of this century, the great supernova of 1987. Hubble provided an intriguing view of the object and its surrounding shell of stellar material, whose characteristics had been previously suggested by ground based observations and data from the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite. [Credit: NASA, ESA, and STScI]

1993: Larger Orion image: A region of recent star formation (300,000 years ago) in the Great Nebula in Orion. Inset image of “proplyds:” A small portion of the large image reveals five young stars. Four of the stars are surrounded by gas and dust trapped in orbit about the stars, as they formed. These are possibly protoplanetary disks, or “proplyds,” that might evolve further to agglomerate planets. [Credit: C.R. O’Dell (Rice University); NASA]

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10I M A G E C A P T I O N S A N D C R E D I T S (cont’d)

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1993: Installation of COSTAR, the corrective optics device, during Hubble’s first servicing mission. [Credit: NASA]

1994: Hubble observed comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9’s spectacular collision with Jupiter. The images provided the only information ever obtained on the wind direction and speed in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere, and shed new light on the planet’s immense magnetic field, the mysterious dark debris from the impacts, and the composition of the doomed comet itself. [Credit: John Clarke (University of Michigan), Heidi Hammel (MIT), and Harold Weaver and Melissa McGrath (STScI)]

1994: Hubble observed a spiral-shaped disk of hot gas in the core of active galaxy M87. HST measurements showed the disk is rotating so rapidly it contains a massive black hole at its hub. Earlier observations suggested the black hole was present, but were not decisive. A brilliant jet of high-speed electrons that emits from the nucleus (diagonal line across image) is believed to be produced by the black hole “engine.” [Credit: Holland Ford (STScI/Johns Hopkins University); Richard Harms (Applied Research Corp.); Zlatan Tsvetanov, Arthur Davidsen, and Gerard Kriss (Johns Hopkins); Ralph Bohlin and George Hartig (STScI); Linda Dressel and Ajay K. Kochhar (Applied Research Corp.); Bruce Margon (Univ. of Washington); and NASA]

1995: A detail from the Hubble Deep Field-North (HUDF-N). WIth this image, Hubble provided mankind’s deepest, most detailed, visible view of the universe. Representing a narrow “keyhole” view stretching to the visible horizon of the universe, the Hubble Deep Field image covers a speck of the sky only about the width of a dime 75 feet away. Gazing into this small field, Hubble uncovered a bewildering assortment of at least 1,500 galaxies at various stages of evolution. [Credit: Robert Williams and the Hubble Deep Field Team (STScI) and NASA]

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11I M A G E C A P T I O N S A N D C R E D I T S (cont’d)

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1999: The Hubble Space Telescope, grappled and in the shuttle’s cargo bay, awaiting attention from the astronauts of Servicing Mission 3A. [Credit: NASA]

2002: A diagram of the location of the Kuiper Belt. [Credit: STScI Graphics Dept.]

2004: A detail from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF). This image superseded the 1995 Hubble Deep Field (HDF) images as the deepest portrait of the visible universe ever achieved by humankind. The million-second-long exposure reveals the first galaxies to emerge from the so-called “dark ages,” the time shortly after the big bang when the first stars reheated the cold, dark universe. [Credit: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the HUDF Team]

Page 6, (cont’d)

1997: This stellar swarm, M80 (NGC 6093), is one of the densest of the 147 known globular star clusters in the Milky Way galaxy. Located about 28,000 light-years from Earth, M80 contains hundreds of thousands of stars, all held together by their mutual gravitational attraction. Globular clusters are particularly useful for studying stellar evolution, since all of the stars in the cluster have the same age (about 15 billion years), but cover a range of stellar masses. Every star visible in this image is either more highly evolved than, or in a few rare cases more massive than, our own Sun. [Credit: The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)]

1999: Aiming to precisely measure the expansion rate of the universe, a team of scientists used Hubble to observe 18 galaxies out to a distance of 65 million light-years. They discovered almost 800 Cepheid variable stars, a special class of pulsating star used for accurate distance measurement. Shown is one of the galaxies studied. Although Cepheids are rare, they provide a very reliable “standard candle” for estimating intergalactic distances. The team determined that the universe is approximately 12 billion years old. [Credit: Jeffrey Newman (Univ. of California at Berkeley) and NASA]

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12I M A G E C A P T I O N S A N D C R E D I T S (cont’d)

Massive globular cluster, Omega Centauri: A panoramic view of a colorful assortment of 100,000 stars residing in the crowded core of a giant star cluster. The image reveals a small region inside the star cluster, which boasts nearly 10 million stars. Globular clusters, ancient swarms of stars united by gravity, are the homesteaders of our Milky Way galaxy. The stars in Omega Centauri are between 10 billion and 12 billion years old. The cluster lies about 16,000 light-years from Earth. [Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team]

Page 8 2009: The first four images released after Servicing Mission 4 (the “Early Release Observations”):

The Butterfly Nebula: This object is a dying star that was once about five times the mass of the Sun. It has ejected its layer of gases and is now unleashing a stream of ultraviolet radiation that is making the ejected material glow, lighting up its delicate-looking butterfly shape. [Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team]

2005: Using Hubble to view the ninth planet in our solar system, astronomers discovered Pluto may have not one, but three moons. Hubble’s images reveal Pluto, its large moon Charon, and the planet’s two new candidate satellites. Between May 15 and May 18, 2005, Charon, and the putative moons all appeared to rotate counterclockwise around Pluto. If confirmed, the discovery of the two new moons could offer insights into the nature and evolution of the Pluto system and the early Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is a vast region of icy, rocky bodies beyond Neptune’s orbit. [Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Weaver (JHU/APL), A. Stern (SwRI), and the HST Pluto Companion Search Team]

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13I M A G E C A P T I O N S A N D C R E D I T S (cont’d)

2010: Evidence of a suspected collision between two asteroids: A mystery object was discovered on January 6, 2010, by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) sky survey. The object appeared so unusual in ground-based telescopic images that Hubble was used to take a close-up look. The observations show a bizarre X-pattern of filamentary structures near the point-like nucleus of the object and trailing streamers of dust. This complex structure suggests the object is not a comet, as was hypothesized, but instead the product of a head-on collision between two asteroids traveling five times faster than a rifle bullet. Astronomers have long thought that the asteroid belt is being ground down through collisions, but such evidence of a smashup has never before been seen. [Credit: NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt (UCLA)]

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Pillar in the Carina Nebula: This image shows the tip of a 3-light-year-long pillar of gas and dust, bathed in the glow of light from hot, massive stars located off the top edge of the image. Scorching radiation and fast winds (streams of charged particles) from these stars are sculpting the pillar and causing new stars to form within it. Streamers of gas and dust can be seen flowing off the top of the structure. Nestled inside this dense structure are fledgling stars. They cannot be seen in this image because they are hidden by a wall of gas and dust. [Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team]

Stephan’s Quintet: A clash among members of a famous galaxy quintet reveals an assortment of stars across a wide color range, from young, blue stars to aging, red stars. Three of the galaxies have distorted shapes, elongated spiral arms, and long, gaseous tidal tails containing many star clusters, proof of their close encounters. These interactions have sparked a frenzy of star birth in the central pair of galaxies. [Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team]