NASA suspends scientific activities of the Hubble telescope due to a glitch

On April 23rd, NASA has placed the Hubble Space Telescope in safe mode while it analyzes a glitch in the telescope. Safe mode means that only some systems remain active but scientific activities have been interrupted. While in this mode, the telescope is unable to send scientific data from its observations across the Universe.

The Hubble telescope is already considered an ancient telescope by astronomers but to this day it has a gigantic importance within Astronomy. The telescope continues to obtain scientific data and observe the Universe in the visible spectrum. According to NASA, the problem that activated the safe mode is in one of the telescope’s gyroscopes, which had some reading problems.

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In an official statement, NASA confirms that the telescope’s instruments are working and that technicians worked to resolve the glitch. In the statement, the agency confirmed that the telescope will continue to operate scientifically during this decade and possibly at the beginning of the next together with the James Webb telescope.

Hubble Telescope

The Hubble telescope was launched in 1990 by NASA with the mission of observing the Universe through the visible spectrum. It is a space telescope that is located in Earth orbit with a 2.4 meter diameter mirror. Hubble revolutionized Astronomy from the moment it was launched observing spectacular images of the Universe.

One of the main scientific missions was to estimate the expansion rate of the Universe. The expansion was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century by astronomer Edwin Hubble. With data from the telescope, Astronomers found that the Universe was expanding rapidly and from then on dark energy began to gain a greater role in Cosmology.

Hubble observes in the visible spectrum and a small range of infrared. With this observation interval it is possible to reach distant regions of the Universe by observing the time when the Universe was young. The James Webb Telescope has expanded these observations into a larger infrared range.

Is James Webb the successor?

Since the James Webb Telescope was launched, many references to it being the successor to Hubble have gained popularity.. Although James Webb began to be discussed after the launch of Hubble as the next great telescope, it is wrong to say that it is the successor. One reason is that Hubble and Webb have different objectives and observe at different intervals.

While Hubble observes in the visible light spectrum, Webb observes in the infrared spectrum because of the different objectives of each telescope.

Hubble’s mission focused on calculating the expansion rate and observing the cosmic network of the Universe while Webb’s mission is to study the extremely young Universe. The scientific objectives are different but Webb has been used to confirm Hubble observations such as observations of the Pillars of Creation and other nebulae.

34 years of Science

On April 24, Hubble celebrated its 34th anniversary since its launch, exceeding all expectations. Part of Hubble’s longevity is due to the fact that it is close to Earth, making technical repairs easier when necessary. NASA estimates that the telescope will remain operational for the next 10 years.

To celebrate its 34th anniversary, NASA had photographed the Messier 76 nebula, which is a favorite target for observatories. The nebula is located 3400 light years away and is formed by gases from a red giant who is at the end of his life. During the final collapse, the red giant will become a white dwarf.

Gyroscope problem

Just 1 day before its 34th birthday, the telescope showed some erroneous readings on one of its gyroscopes going into safe mode. Safe mode means that only basic activities remain active. Scientific activities were temporarily suspended.

NASA’s team of engineers and scientists are looking for the best solution to deal with the gyroscope problem. If the problem gyroscope does not work again, it is possible that the telescope will continue to work with just one systems only. It will remain in safe mode until the best solution is found.

Reference

NASA 2024 NASA’s Hubble Pauses Science Due to Gyro Issue. Official announcement.