The Hubble Space Telescope is the modern incarnation of long poles with mirrors used by the likes of Aryabhatta, Galileo, and so on. Because of the curiosity of where we are and what is around us, people have tried to look to the stars for the answers. The space is so big that the light can’t even travel from one end to another in its lifetime, and because of this one can never know its actual size. Just to speak, the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second, and one light-year is equal to 5.8 trillion miles on your card.
Such numbers are phenomenal, and because of this result in big delusions for scientists. The measurements used in space are so massive that there are just several zeros that make one go insane, and hence we use different words. So, the most important piece of technology in modern mankind is the Hubble Space Telescope, and in its lifetime in orbit for 31 years, it has given us a glimpse at the farthest we can see. We are here to learn more about it from Dr. Hawley, and Betway is kind to welcome him to share his experiences with the readers of the community.
Dr. Hawley was part of the crew that assembled and put the Hubble into orbit in the 1990s. And, his experiences are a vast source of knowledge for us. The Hubble was expensive at 4.7 billion USD but is soon going to be replaced by James Webb costing around 10 billion USD. This makes it a good time to revisit what the technical marvel gave us in its lifetime. It practically gave everything we know today about the stars, space, and beyond.
The comparison between the two is also natural because they are going to act in harmony. Today, we can tell that the Hubble is a little over 13 meters long and 4 meters wide while the James Webb is almost 22 meters in length and 12 meters in width, almost the size of a half-size aircraft. Because of this, it is going to capture a lot more substance. While Hubble can see up to 15 billion light-years away, the Webb can see up to 13 billion but because of its other capabilities, it will act in combination with Hubble for some time and gather data.
Also, we must note that the orbit of these two is quite different. Because James Webb will be set in the sun’s orbit around 932,000 miles away from the earth, so anything we send there is pretty much fixed, while, the Hubble is very close at 354 miles above the earth, at home.
Dr. Hawley was in the crew of Hubble from 1984 to 1999 and went through 5 space missions during this time. Things turned better when after a job ad from NASA, he took his steps and began a career. He was doing his doctorate at the University of California, and that is how things started.
