With relief, the Hubble Telescope Finally Sent the First Picture

 

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has finally sent out its first picture since it crashed due to a technical glitch on the computer last June 13th. This development is certainly a relief, especially for the world of space science.

The first picture sent by Hubble shows the appearance of a galaxy with what is known as a spiral arm. NASA says this picture is the first high -quality picture of a pair of colliding galaxies.

Hubble is back! ⁇

After the Hubble team managed to turn on backup hardware on the telescope, the observatory returned to work over the weekend and took pictures of the galaxy.

Find out more here: https://t.co/2mWwSGyIKc pic.twitter.com/Y6tVQWrjig

- Hubble (@NASAHubble) July 19, 2021

   

Quoted from Fox News, the photos were taken by a program pioneered by Julianne Dalcanton of Washington University. Other potential targets for the program include globular star clusters and auroras around Jupiter.

Of note, scientific observations using the Hubble telescope were extended on July 17, after the telescope’s main computer failed to receive signals from the payload computer, and then put the Hubble science instruments into safe mode. The Hubble device itself and other telescopes remain healthy.

A payload computer is a 1980s system that can use one of four memory modules, each containing 64 kilobytes of complementary metal oxide semiconductor memory. Backup computers are also available.

The Hubble Telescope has orbited about 340 miles above the Earth for more than 30 years. The telescope was built in the 1980s and NASA says Hubble alumni scientists are working together on a recovery effort.

This isn’t the first technical fault Hubble launched 31 years ago. In March, Hubble ran into problems with software updates. In early October 2018, a faulty gyro component took the telescope offline for three weeks.

NASA says, during the breakdown, the telescope generally works well and remains useful for astronomers. The agency in charge of Hubble’s science operations and the James Webb Space Telescope, made plans to expand Hubble’s operations.