Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Telescope, named after Edwin Hubble, launched into low-Earth orbit in 1990, is indisputably one of the greatest technological advancements of our time. Without this 2.4 meter mirror working tirelessly every hour of every day, astronomers wouldn't be nearly as far along. Most famous for its ground breaking photo, Hubble Deep Field. Within the first week of its orbit, the telescope was able to reveal over 10,000 galaxies using long exposure through the humble reflector mirror. Today it has helped uncover over 10 billion galaxies in the visible universe as well as aided it providing evidence of the origins of the universe. It also has allowed scientist to find that the universe is ever expanding faster and faster and can determine the exact rate of expansion over a series of digital data it constantly collects. Being that it is the only telescope to be serviced in space by astronauts, the Hubble Space Telescope is one of the greatest assets that our soul-searching species owns. 

Hubble Deep Field

For more information and a better learning experience on the Hubble program as well as some interactive modules visit http://hubblesite.org/.