Hubble Space Telescope Celebrates Its 34th Birthday Today!

 Events
Apr 242024
 

Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble Space Telescope was deployed from the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1990. Unfortunately the lenses were not working properly until a shuttle team could repair it in 1993. It was modified again in 1997 and once more in 2009. Because the telescope is beyond earth’s atmosphere, it can detect images seven to ten times better than any earth scope. The size of a school bus, the telescope continues to send back amazing images of our universe. Children can check out all the Hubble resources at: http://hubblesite.org/gallery/. NASA has a special site to celebrate Hubble’s birthday: Hubble Birthday. There you can enter your birthday to see what Hubble saw that day!

Hubble Space Telescope Discovered First Example of Atmosphere around an Exoplanet in 2001

 Events
Nov 272024
 

Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble Space Telescope discovered first example of atmosphere around an exoplanet in 2001. Hubble spotted a hydrogen atmosphere around the exoplanet with the unofficial name of Osiris. The exoplanet’s official name is HD 209458b, and it is a “hot Jupiter” body, because its atmosphere temperature is 2150 degrees Fahrenheit. Located in the constellation Pegasus, it is 150 light years away from us. It is 220 times the mass of the earth. Children could learn more at: Osiris.