Hubble celebrates “incalcuable” contribution on 25th birthday

Recreation of the 1995 image ‘Pillars of Creation’, a cluster of young, massive stars in a small region of the Eagle Nebula or M16, which was taken by Hubble to commemorate the upcoming 25th anniversary of the telescope. Image by NASA/PA Wire

Astronomers have paid tribute to the “incalculable” contribution to science made by the Hubble Space Telescope, which celebrates its 25th birthday tomorrow. The cylindrical satellite the size of a school bus was sent into orbit on April 24 1990, after its launch was delayed by the Challenger space shuttle disaster four years earlier.

Hurtling round the Earth at almost 16,800mph at a height of 347 miles, the telescope has transformed our view of the universe, led to astonishing new discoveries about the cosmos, and delivered breathtaking images from the great beyond.

Speaking of the £5.3 billion instrument with which he has been involved from the outset, Royal Astronomical Society president Professor Martin Barstow said: “The scientific and cultural contribution is incalculable. Hubble has measured the size of the universe and contributed to the discovery of Dark Energy, leading to a Nobel prize. It has gone on to study planets outside our solar system, a project that could not have been conceived when Hubble was launched, as no such objects were known. Its images have coloured all our lives and engaged millions in an exciting scientific adventure.”

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was named after US astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) whose work led to the discovery that the universe is expanding.

(Press Association)