The Universe is gloriously transparent to visible light over journeys lasting billions of years. However, in the last few microseconds before light arrives at telescope mirrors on Earth it must travel through our turbulent atmosphere and the fine cosmic details become blurred. It is this same atmospheric turbulence that makes the stars appear to twinkle on a dark night.
Putting a telescope in space is one way of evading this problem. In addition to collecting visible light from its orbit high above the atmosphere, the Hubble Space Telescope also observes the infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths that are completely filtered out by the atmosphere.
Hubble, a collaboration between NASA and ESA, has made some of the most dramatic discoveries in the history of astronomy. From its vantage point 360 miles above the Earth, it can detect light with 'eyes' 5 times sharper than the best ground-based telescopes, and looks deep into space where some of the most profound mysteries are still buried in the mists of time.
Way to go, NASA and ESA!
Broadcast credit: VEOH
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