Why is there such a long delay between Hubble Space Telescope discoveries?
Because there hundreds of observing projects going on each year, but most of these are pieces of some large research effort with results to be announced only after all the pieces have been put together. Some few of these observing programs may turn up interesting results with little effort. On occasion, a particular program will yield immediate returns without a protracted period of analysis. You will note that all of the press releases to date have come from imaging programs. A picture is still worth a thousand words, and if it also yields a scientific bonanza without having to be extensively interpreted, it stands a big chance of being released to the public within a few months after it is obtained from the telescope, and processed to enhance its visual effect.
