You know those perfectly crisp photos of deep space — sprawling nebulas and up-close details of Jupiter’s surface — that make you go “Oh my God, there is so much out there”? You have the Hubble Space Telescope to thank for those. Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope’s first photo it sent back from space. And while that first photo wasn’t very impressive, it has since given us enough insight into the vast expanse of outer space to be regarded as “one of the most productive scientific instruments ever built” by NASA.
THE HUBBLE’S FIRST PHOTO —A PEEK INTO THE UNIVERSE
While the hubble’s first photo was taken and received on May 20, 1990, it took a month of the floating in space before it could produce any valuable results. It was launched from the Discovery shuttle on April 24 and finally captured a photo of the binary star HD96755 in the open cluster NGC 3532, which lies about 1,300 light years away from Earth. This first photo, though, is blurry and unimpressive, a way to test the focus of the telescope and a cause for doubt about whether or not the $2.5 billion Hubble was a good investment. The Hubble’s first photo, though, is regarded as only a light test — it helped engineers figure out what needed to be calibrated. It was wasn’t until December of 1993 that the space shuttle Columbia would deliver corrective optics that deliver the type of photos we know and are amazed by today.
A REPUTATION BUILT ON AWE
Today, the Hubble Space Telescope is a household name, known for its awe-inducing photos appreciated by normal people and scientists alike, which is pretty impressive for something 340 miles above Earth. The power of the Hubble is difficult to fathom — its ability to see objects is comparable to being able to see a pair of fireflies in Tokyo while standing in Maryland. The knowledge and insight the telescope has provided have been included in more than 12,800 scientific papers and have contributed to many many major breakthoughs in astronomy and cosmology. After a year goes by, the photos and findings are release to the entirety of the scientific community. We’ve come a long way since the Hubble’s first photo, and the best is yet to come.
