The universe is so large that we currently have no way of telling its exact size. It is said that even light wouldn’t be able to reach from one end of the universe to the other before the universe ends, and we know that light travels at 186,000 miles per second.
The most important technology that has helped us establish the limits of the observable universe is the Hubble Space Telescope, as per Betway Casino. It was first launched into space in 1990 and has been operational ever since.
The Hubble Space Telescope is credited with revolutionizing optical astronomy. Its awe-inspiring pictures can be found in grammar school textbooks to calendars and even postage stamps, etc. Although it wasn’t solely responsible for some of the major discoveries, it still is at the forefront of modern astronomy. It has made huge contributions in the fields of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
1- The age of the universe
Many scientists have been trying to figure out the age of the universe. Edwin Hubble gave evidence in the 1920s that other galaxies also exist beyond our Milky Way. The famous American scientist also proved that the universe was expanding.
However, determining the age of the universe remained a challenging task for many astronomers for many years. That work was made easier by the Hubble Space Telescope, which helped us determine the age of the cosmos.
2- Galaxies
In 1995, Robert Williams aimed Hubble at an apparently empty region of deep space. All the resulting images were combined and thus a startling picture emerged.
Astronomers were stunned to find more than 1,500 galaxies in a very tiny area of the sky. Using the Hubble, other deeper views revealed other galaxies that were in the process of forming.
The latest endeavours by the scientists are taking the Hubble to its limit to increase our understanding of the universe. These efforts of astronomers are helping to provide more details about the history of star formation.
3- Black Holes
Scientists already believed in the existence of black holes a place in space where gravity is so intense that not even light could get out) before the Hubble Space Telescope was launched. However, there wasn’t a lot of data to prove the existence of these black holes.
Although black holes are not directly observable, it has been noted that any in-falling gas would be accelerated, thus releasing rays that could be observed. But it still was very difficult for scientists with the instruments on Earth.
A few months after NASA managed to remove the glitch in the telescope by installing an instrument named COSTAR, astronomers made a pioneering observation of the core of an active galaxy. With the help of the telescope’s spectrograph, the scientists detected light from a disk of gas at the core, and thus they were able to measure its velocity. And since velocity directly depends on the mass, they determined a black hole with a mass more than 3 billion suns. This was great proof for the existence of the supermassive black holes.
Studying about the universe has always been a fascination for a lot of people. Even among those who are majoring in Biology or Chemistry, you are likely to find at least one person who is a great fan of Astronomy. The subject even appeals to some of the most enthusiastic soccer fans obsessed with the best football stadiums in the world because of the interesting subjects it deals with.
Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It dares to question beyond ourselves and our Earth using mathematics, physics and chemistry. It is one of the few sciences in which amateurs play an active role.
