Portal:Astronomy/Featured/January 2006

The Hubble Space Telescope is a telescope in orbit around the Earth. Its position outside the Earth's atmosphere allows it to take extremely sharp images, and since its launch in 1990, it has become one of the most important telescopes in the history of astronomy. It has been responsible for many ground-breaking observations and has helped astronomers achieve a better understanding of many fundamental problems in astrophysics.

From its original conception in 1946 until its launch, the project to build a space telescope was beset by delays and budget problems. Immediately after its launch, it was found that the main mirror suffered from spherical aberration, severely compromising the telescope's capabilities. However, after a servicing mission in 1993, the telescope was restored to its planned quality and became a vital research tool as well as a public relations boon for astronomy.

The future of Hubble is currently uncertain. Though the United States Congress has appropriated funds to repair the telescope in July 2005, it is possible that a servicing mission may be cancelled again. Without intervention it will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere some time after 2010. Its successor telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, is due to be launched in 2012.

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