Article
Article
Hubble Space Telescope
Article By:
Voit, Mark Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland.
Last reviewed:May 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.757724
Show previous versions
- Hubble Space Telescope, published January 2014:Download PDF
Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
The largest visible-light observatory ever placed into space. The Hubble Space Telescope's orbit, some 612 km (380 mi) above Earth's surface (Fig. 1), keeps it beyond almost all of Earth's atmosphere, at a location where its view of the heavens is much clearer than that of ground-based telescopes. The superior view afforded by Hubble's orbit has made the telescope a unique resource for astronomers worldwide and has led to fundamental discoveries about the size, age, and evolution of the universe, the development of galaxies, the birth and death of stars, the rise of solar systems, the properties of exoplanets, and objects in our solar system. See also: Astronomy; Atmosphere; Cosmology; Earth; Solar system; Star; Telescope; Universe
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
