Hubble Space Telescope

Three.

Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) for near-ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared.

Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) for visible light.

Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) for IR exposures, observing objects hidden by interstellar dust.

Also on board:

Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) sees UV light only.

Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) for keeping the devices locked onto "guide stars" and keep the HST pointed.

NASA Apollo space program, 1966, computer programmer

I assume the question is why we spend so much money putting telescopes in orbit when we have ground-based telescopes.

The answer is because the atmosphere creates a lot of distortions that limits how far our telescopes can see, and what they can see.

Astronomers, as all scientists, are explorers; they are not content to keep looking at the same objects with the same level of detail over and over. It is much like the way so many people like HD television over old analog t.v. ... when looking out into space and distant stars, the atmosphere creates distortions and cannot see very well during the daylight (just as you cannot see stars during daylight). The problem is getting worse by the problem of light pollution -- all those security and traffic lights on all night long in cities creates a glow of light that makes stargazing even more difficult, even at night. By putting telescopes into space, they are no longer hindered by atmospheric distortions and are unaffected by light pollution from our cities. A telescope in space versus on the ground is analagous to an H.D. television versus an old analog t.v. -- there is much more you can see, and what you can see is in greater detail.

No, the Hubble Space Telescope is not Canadian. It is a joint project of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and the European Space Agency (ESA), with contributions from various other countries, but it is operated by NASA.

Hubble was launched 24 April 1990, at 8:33:51 EDT and achieved orbit that day. As of 24 February 2014, Hubble has been orbiting 23 years 10 months 1 day.

It doesn't orbit earth faster. The ISS is in a lower orbit with a period of 91 minutes compared to the Hubble's orbital period of 96-97 minutes. Orbital periods generally increase with orbit radius and speed in the orbit decreases with increasing orbit radius.

The light generated by stars is mostly generated by hydrogen fusion. The light emitted from hydrogen has a distinctive emission spectrum. The emission spectrum undergoes shifting when the source and the receiver (Hubble) are moving in relation to each other. The spectrum will shift to the higher frequencies and shorter wavelengths ("blue shift") when the source and receiver are moving towards each other. Due to the "fact" that the universe is expanding, the source and receiver are moving away from each other. This causes the emission spectrum to shift to lower frequencies and longer wavelengths ("red shift"). The amount of red shift is an indication of the rate at which the cource and the receiver are moving away from each other. The expanding of the universe implies that the farther a source is from the receiver, the farther away the source and receiver are from each other. The red shifts of current objects have estimated that the farthest objects that we see are ~10-15 (not sure of exact number) billion light years distant from earth.

As for absorption, the light emitted from a star that passes through gases of interspace and of planets will be absorbed at different wavelengths depending on the elements contained within the gas. This allows the determination of planetary atmospheres and intergalactic clouds.

Edwin Hubble faced several challenges throughout his career, including skepticism from the scientific community regarding his groundbreaking observations, particularly those related to the expanding universe. He also dealt with the limitations of the technology available at the time, which constrained his observational capabilities. Additionally, Hubble had to navigate the complexities of securing funding and institutional support for his research, which was crucial for advancing his studies in astronomy.

did Edwin Hubble work with any one

Astronauts fixed the Hubble Space Telescope during a series of servicing missions conducted by NASA. They conducted spacewalks to replace and repair critical components, including gyroscopes, batteries, and the camera systems. Notably, in 1993, they installed the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) to fix the telescope's blurry vision caused by a flawed mirror. These missions significantly extended Hubble's operational life and improved its imaging capabilities.

There is no actual 'space'. Our environment is full of air.

-Because it was the fist telescope that can see outside our solar system.

HST has been in continuous orbit since it was deployed in 1990.

11,110 kg (24,490 lbs).

I don't know that each space telescope is explicitly designated as the successor

to an earlier one, but ...

-- The 'Kepler' was launched recently with the primary mission of searching for

extra-solar planets, and has already delivered evidence of hundreds of them.

-- The 'James Webb' is in the final stages of assembly and test before launch.

HST operations are controlled by the Space Telescope Science Institute on the Johns Hopkins campus in Columbia, MD. Observation time is requested and approved by STSI, and is given primarily to scientists who belong to the countries involved in HST's funding and construction.

Small amounts of time (donated by the STSI Director as part of his own discretionary use) has been allocated for amateur astronomers as well, though they still must present a proposal for consideration/scheduling like everyone else.

political view