Hubble is still providing images of the early universe as the James Webb Telescope

• In the year
• The new James Webb Space Telescope is popular, but Hubble has the ability to image visible and ultraviolet light that the Webb does not.
• The two telescopes will collaborate to study the cosmos in greater detail.

For nearly three decades, the Hubble Space Telescope has transmitted spectacular views of space.

As the world raves about NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope, the aging Hubble continues to be astronomy’s workhorse, providing valuable observations of the universe, while Webb draws attention.

But as a pair, telescopes are more powerful than they are alone. Together, space-based telescopes allow astronomers to gain a more complete view and understanding of galaxies, stars, and planets than ever before.

“The Webb Space Telescope is good news for astronomy, and it’s good news for the Hubble Space Telescope, because Webb and Hubble will enhance and complement each other’s unique capabilities,” said Jennifer Wiseman, senior project scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope at NASA Goddard Space. Flight Center told Insider.

As Webb and Hubble explore the universe together, Hubble’s scientific return is strong and expected to continue to improve this decade.

NASA/IMAX

Ever since Galileo Galilei built his telescope in 1609, astronomers have turned these instruments to the sky. Astronomers have developed these instruments to a great extent over time, allowing them to look deeper into the universe.

But their observations are limited by Earth’s atmosphere, which traps light before it reaches ground-based telescopes. Enter space-based telescopes. Perched high above the turbulence of Earth’s atmosphere and away from light-polluted cities, observatories like Hubble provide an “unobstructed view of the universe,” according to NASA.

Hubble was launched on April 24, 1990 aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Although it was originally planned for a 15-year mission, it still orbits the planet every 97 minutes, 340 miles from Earth’s surface.

“Hubble is in good technical shape, even 32 years after launch, with a robust suite of science instruments on board,” Wiseman said.

NASA, Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen (Arizona State University).

Over the years, Hubble images have played an important role in our understanding of the universe. It has provided evidence for supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies and the rate of expansion of the universe. Hubble also helped detect and identify the mysterious dark energy that caused that expansion by identifying galaxies. Among his achievements is the 1995 Pillars of Creation image, which shows newly formed stars shining through the Eagle Nebula.

Even after Webb began delivering images from its scientific observations in July, Hubble is still snapping amazing pictures. Hubble recently captured an image of star-studded NGC 6540, a globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius.

ESA/Hubble and NASA, R. Cohen.

Both the Webb and Hubble are space-based telescopes, but they differ in many ways. Hubble sees ultraviolet light, visible light, and a small fraction of infrared, while Webb mainly observes the universe in infrared.

Webb – which is 100 times more powerful than Hubble – will be able to see things that Hubble could not, whose light was released 13.5 billion years ago. This is because this light is converted to infrared wavelengths that Webb is designed to detect.

But because the Web is built this way, it also misses celestial bodies in visible and ultraviolet light that Hubble can see.

“Hubble is really the only major class observatory that can reach UV wavelengths,” Wiseman said.

NASA/STScI; NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI

Although Webb is being called Hubble’s successor, the two space-based observatories will combine to show the universe together.

Wiseman points out that they provide insights into how stars are born in the cosmic dust cloud and are scattered throughout most galaxies. “Hubble, for example, can detect and analyze in detail the hot blue and ultraviolet light emitted from star-forming nebulae in nearby galaxies,” Wiseman said, “which can match the intensity of star formation in the early universe. Webb discovered it.”

The two space-based telescopes will combine their eyes to look into the atmospheres of other worlds, searching for signs that might harbor life.

As astronomers search for life-supporting planets, they look for the elements that support terrestrial life — liquid water, a constant source of energy, carbon, and other elements. In the year In 2001, Hubble made the first direct measurement of an exoplanet’s atmosphere.

“Our understanding of planets in our own galaxy, within our own solar system and beyond, will be greatly improved by the combination of Webb and Hubble,” Wiseman said.

G. Bacon (STScI/AVL)

And even though the Web is seen as the shiny new toy in astronomy, Hubble’s unique ability to image visible and ultraviolet light still makes it a desirable tool for understanding the cosmos. “Hubble is really at the pinnacle of its scientific performance,” Wiseman said. That, she added, is thanks to NASA’s team of technical experts on the ground who monitor and quickly resolve technical challenges that arise.

“The number of proposals submitted by scientists around the world who want to use Hubble has risen to more than 1,000, of which only a large fraction have been selected for actual observations,” Wiseman said, “many of which meet web observations.”