Astronomers long dreamed of a telescope unimpaired by Earth’s dense atmosphere. In 1990 dreams became reality with the Hubble Telescope. The Space Shuttle Discovery released it with expectations as high as its 380-mile orbit. The goal? Nothing less than to revolutionize astronomy.
Everyone eagerly anticipated the Hubble’s first images. But author Robert Zimmerman says “the data … made no sense…all they saw was a blur.” Roger Lynds of the camera team suspected something was wrong with the optics, but was told to mellow out and not spark any rumors.
They called in astrophysicist Sandra Faber, who quickly saw the Hubble was doomed. But as with Roger Lynds, the higher-ups didn’t want to hear it. So, using a hand-drawn diagram, she proved that its 94-inch mirror was misshaped, creating a spherical aberration. A male colleague had a similar drawing in his back pocket, but was too chicken to speak up until Faber did.
The primary mirror should have focused light to a single point, but it spread-out due to a grinding mistake. This one-millimeter error blinded a 400-million-dollar telescope. Cal Tech’s Jim Westphal said, “This essentially wipes out our entire science program.” The Hubble was no better than a ground telescope. It was a fine spectroscope, but forget about vivid images.
NASA still held out hope. They’d already planned to service the Hubble in space. After three years of re-engineering, the Shuttle Endeavor came to the rescue. Over five grueling space walks, astronauts installed ten corrective mirrors and new instruments, making the Hubble even better than its initial design.
The world’s first space telescope did revolutionize astronomy, and its brilliant images of nebulas and quasars may be your screensaver. Only the newer James Webb telescope exceeds it. Designed to work for just 15 years, the Hubble continues to unlock the universe’s secrets more than three decades later.
I’m Jeff Gentry
Best reference:
Robert Zimmerman. (2008). The Universe in a Mirror : The Saga of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Visionaries Who Built It. Princeton University Press.
Dumb Ideas that Changed the World copyright 2024 by Jeff Gentry. All rights reserved.