Which space telescope, launched in 1990, transformed astronomy with deep images of distant galaxies?

The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, transformed astronomy with exceptionally sharp images of distant galaxies and other cosmic objects.

Hubble was launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery on 24 April 1990 and placed in low Earth orbit. Its position above most of Earth’s atmosphere allowed it to observe ultraviolet and visible light without atmospheric blurring. A flaw in its primary mirror initially produced blurry images, but astronauts installed corrective optics during a 1993 servicing mission.

Hubble’s observations helped refine the expansion rate of the universe, revealed stages of galaxy formation and provided detailed views of nebulae, star-forming regions and planets. Its Deep Field images showed thousands of galaxies in apparently tiny patches of sky, demonstrating how much structure exists beyond the Milky Way.

Hubble is not the same as the James Webb Space Telescope, which launched in 2021 and is optimized mainly for infrared observations. Hubble continues to operate in space, though its instruments and operating systems have changed through servicing and repairs.