Comments on: what is the technology behind long range hubble space telescope?

By: minuteblue

minuteblue — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:11:19 +0000

Actually the optical components of the hubble space telescope are very simple. Like in most telescope, the HST has a parabolic mirror that collects light and focuses it a particular location. In telescopes, the key to seeing deep space objects is being able to collect enough light. The larger the mirror (or lens, depending on the type of telescope), the more light the telescope can collect.

The hubble isn’t actually the largest telescope there is, though it is large, with a mirror 2.4 meters in diameter.

What’s special about the hubble though, is where it is, which is, in outer space. Here there is no atmosphere to look through, and little light pollution. This enables the hubble to clearly see light that has traveled billions of years from far away.

By: injanier

injanier — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 05:44:58 +0000

Hubble can see *billions* of light years. Since there is nothing between galaxies that absorbs light, they can be seen across the universe. The key technology in being able to detect such distant objects is a very sensitive CCD camera capable of long exposures. This is supported by tracking control that lets the telescope gather light from one spot for days, and image processing software capable of bringing out faint details.

The Hubble has a slight advantage over Earth-based telescopes in that it doesn’t have to look through Earth’s atmosphere, but large terrestrial telescopes with adaptive optics can now outperform it in the wavelengths that aren’t blocked by our atmosphere.

By: max c

max c — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:39:44 +0000

The hubble has been surpased by some earth based
systems such as Keck.

That’s why the Hubble will not recieve any more heroic
(shuttle) operations to maintain it.

Hubble is basicaly a monolithic relecting telescope,
with solar panels and small thruster rockets to keep
it in place and oriented.

Keck, by comparison is a very large array of independently steered honeycombed,
mirrors that in their total effect surpass any previous earth bound telescopic systems.

Scientists have discovered and have recently started successfully using a technique called “gravitational lensing.”

Whereby very distant objects, Galaxies and Quasars, that lie in the plane of view of closer and very massive galaxies and clusters, are in effect magnified by the gravitational
bending of light. (see also Einstien & General Reletivety).

Thus very, very distant objects, at the edge of the visible
universe can be seen, that otherwize would not. Convercely,
closer objects, but otherwize too small to be seen, can be detected when in proximity, and close to the line of sight of other massive objects.

It’s a theory that’s been know for quite sometime, but only more recently has the technique been developed and used.

Links provided.
LuvUall, Ba-bye.

By: water_skipper

water_skipper — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:45:23 +0000

Light will travel forever until something stops it. That’s how even with your naked eye you see stars that are light years away. The Hubble telescope has a few advantages over your eye though:
1. It has a huge diameter to collect a lot of light. This makes it see dark objects better than your eye.
2. It is above the atmosphere. This keeps the air from distorting the image or filtering out any light.
3. It has several different sensors. If I remember correctly, it can even see ultraviolet. The ozone layer blocks out a lot of ultraviolet.
4. It has some magnification. That Hubble telescope is almost 1000 power, which means it make stuff look a lot closer.