Why is the Space Telescope named Hubble?
The telescope is named for Edwin P. Hubble, the astronomer who in the 1920’s first identified galaxies outside our own milky Way Galaxy and determined that most are speeding away from us. On his work is based the idea that our universe is expanding from an original “big bang” that occurred between 15 to 20 billion years ago. Although most astronomers support this theory, it is still not known if the universe will continue to expand, collapse back in on itself or remain unchanged. The mission of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is to explore our expanding and evolving universe. From its orbit over 300 miles above the Earth and beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, HST can peer far out into space and back into time with high resolution and unprecedented clarity. HST is the largest and most complex astronomical observatory ever placed into orbit. Launched April 24, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has observed galaxies and quasars billions of light-years from Earth. This great observatory is nam
