The US space agency NASA and European Space Agency’s (ESA) iconic Hubble Space Telescope that is also the largest telescope present in space has uncovered deepest corners of the universe and has helped scientists in unraveling the mysteries of space which would not have been possible otherwise.
Also known as HST, the telescope was launched back in 1990 and since then it has beamed back millions of pictures back to earth. HST has presented some never before seen and mind-blowing pictures of galaxies, black holes, stars and other exoplanets.
We have hand picked some of the best images shot by HST in last six years.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington, D.C.
However, NASA is developing James Webb Telescope to replace HST as the largest telescope in space. James Webb Telescope will have a mirror measuring 6.5 meters in diameter. It is to be noticed that Hubble’s mirror measures only 8-foot-diameter (2.4 meters). Below is the comparison of mirror size of Hubble telescope with James Webb telescope in reference to size of humans.
James Webb Space Telescope is being developed to study stars, galaxies, cosmos, study the evolution of our solar system, examine the formation of stellar systems and search alien life in exoplanets in other galaxies. It is expected that the data obtained from the Webb telescope will help science to take a giant leap ahead and will help us better understand our universe.