The James Webb Space Telescope is a shiny new game in astronomy, but the Hubble Space Telescope isn’t old news — it’s at its science peak
Since its launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has made revolutionary advances in astronomy.
The new James Webb Space Telescope is popular, but Hubble has skills, like capturing visible and ultraviolet light, that Webb doesn’t.
The two telescopes will collaborate to study the universe in greater detail.
For three decades, the Hubble Space Telescope has provided stunning cosmic views.
As the world cheers about NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble continues to be an astronomical work horse, providing critical observations of the universe, while Webb absorbs light.
But as a pair, telescopes are more powerful than they are alone. Together, space telescopes will provide astronomers with a fuller view and understanding of galaxies, stars and planets than ever before.
“The Webb Space Telescope is good news for astronomy, and good news for the Hubble Space Telescope as well, as Webb and Hubble enhance and complement each other’s unique capabilities,” Jennifer Wiseman, chief Hubble Space Telescope project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said inside.
“Hubble’s scientific comeback is expected to be strong, and even strengthen, during this decade as Webb and Hubble unveil the universe together.”
Through the Hubble glass
Since Galileo Galilei built his telescope in 1609, astronomers have turned these instruments to the sky. Astronomers have greatly improved these instruments over time, allowing them to delve deeper into the universe.
But their observations were restricted by Earth’s atmosphere, which absorbs light before it reaches ground-based telescopes. Enter the space telescopes. By sitting high above the distortion of Earth’s atmosphere and far from light-polluted cities, observatories like Hubble provide, as NASA says, “an unobstructed view of the universe.”
Hubble launched on the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. Although it was originally scheduled for only 15 years of service, it still flies through space about 340 miles above Earth’s surface, orbiting the planet every 97 minutes.
“Hubble is in good technical shape, even 32 years after its launch, with a robust suite of scientific instruments on board,” Wiseman said.
Over the years, Hubble images have played an important role in our understanding of the universe. It provided evidence for the existence of supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies and measured the expansion rate of the universe. Hubble also helped discover and characterize the mysterious dark energy that caused this expansion by separating galaxies from one another. Among his most famous achievements is the image of the Pillars of Creation, taken in 1995, which shows newly formed stars glowing in the Eagle Nebula.
And Hubble is still taking amazing pictures, even after Webb began handing over images from his science observations in July. Hubble recently captured the image of star-studded NGC 6540, a globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius.
Infrared web look
Webb and Hubble are space telescopes, but they differ in many ways. Hubble sees ultraviolet light, visible light, and a tiny slice of infrared, while Webb will look primarily at the universe in infrared.
Webb – 100 times more powerful than Hubble – will be able to look at objects whose light was emitted more than 13.5 billion years ago, which Hubble cannot see. This is because this light has been converted into infrared wavelengths that Webb specifically designed to detect.
But because Webb was designed this way, it would also miss celestial bodies in visible and ultraviolet light that Hubble could see.
“In fact, Hubble is the only stratified observatory that can access ultraviolet wavelengths,” Wiseman said.
Binocular telescopic
While Webb has been referred to as Hubble’s successor, the two space observatories will collaborate to uncover the universe together.
Wiseman points out how they will provide insights into how stars are born within cosmic dust clouds and spread across most galaxies. “Hubble, for example, can detect and analyze in detail hot blue light and blazing ultraviolet light from star-forming nebulae in nearby galaxies,” Wiseman said, adding, “This can be compared to the strength of star formation in the early universe. Detected using Webb”.
The two space telescopes will also combine their gazes to look at the atmospheres of other worlds, looking for signs that might harbor life.
Astronomers typically look for the ingredients that sustain terrestrial life — liquid water, a continuous source of energy, carbon, and other elements — when looking for life-supporting planets. In 2001, Hubble made the first direct measurement of the atmosphere of an exoplanet.
“In our galaxy, understanding the planets inside and outside our solar system will also be
It has been greatly improved using the Webb and Hubble array, Wiseman said, adding, “Fingerprints of water, methane, and other atmospheric components will be identified using the combined spectroscopic capabilities of Webb and Hubble.”
And although Webb may be seen as a shiny new game in astronomy, Hubble’s unique abilities to capture visible and ultraviolet light still make it a much needed tool for understanding the universe. “Hubble is actually at its peak scientific performance right now,” Wiseman said. She added that this is thanks to a team of NASA technical experts on the ground who monitor and quickly deal with any technical challenges that arise.
“The number of proposals from scientists around the world who want to use Hubble has grown to more than 1,000 per year, with only the top of those selected for actual observations,” Wiseman said, adding, “Many of these proposed observations are complementary to Webb. “