Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a telescope in orbit around the Earth, named after astronomer Edwin Hubble for his discovery of galaxies outside the Milky Way and his creation of Hubble's Law, which calculates the rate at which the universe is expanding. Its position outside the Earth's atmosphere allows it to take sharp optical images of very faint objects, and since its launch in 1990, it has become one of the most important instruments in the history of astronomy.

Since 1990 it has been extended in its scientific powers through new instrumentation installed during four servicing missions with the Space Shuttle, the Hubble, in its sixteen years of operations, has validated Lyman Spitzer Jr.'s (1914-1997) original concept of a diversely instrumented observatory orbiting far above the distorting effects of the Earth’s atmosphere and returning data of unique scientific value.

Hubble's coverage of light of different colors (its "spectral range") extends from the ultraviolet, through the visible (to which our eyes are sensitive), and into the near-infrared. Hubble's primary mirror is 2.4 meters (94.5 inches) in diameter. Hubble is not large by ground-based standards but it achieves heroically in space. Hubble orbits Earth every 97 minutes, 575 kilometers (360 miles) above the Earth's surface

It has been responsible for many ground-breaking observations and has helped astronomers achieve a better understanding of many fundamental problems in astrophysics. Hubble's Ultra Deep Field is the deepest (most sensitive) astronomical optical image ever taken.

Hubble whirls around Earth at 5 miles per second. If a car could travel that fast, a road trip from Los Angeles to New York City would take only 10 minutes.
Hubble completes one full orbit every 97 minutes.

Hubble is nearly the size of a large school bus, but it can fit inside the cargo bay of a space shuttle.
In an average orbit, Hubble uses about the same amount of energy as 28 100-watt light bulbs.
Hubble travels more than 150 million miles (241 million km) per year.

For more information about the HST visit http://hubble.nasa.gov