- 1 day ago
The legendary Hubble Space Telescope is facing a silent crisis as orbital decay pulls it closer to a fiery end in Earth's atmosphere.
The Dog Star: By NASA, H.E. Bond and E. Nelan (Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.); M. Barstow and M. Burleigh (University of Leicester, U.K.); and J.B. Holberg (University of Arizona) - https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2005/36/1820-Image, https://tinyurl.com/yeymc44c
PIA07337: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA, https://tinyurl.com/yc86btss
outburst from comet: By NASA, ESA, P. Feldman (Johns Hopkins University), and H. Weaver (Applied Physics Lab) - https://esahubble.org/images/heic0508a, https://tinyurl.com/4j7c6aca
Radiation on Europa: By NASA/JPL-Caltech, https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA22479
Supernova Companion Star: By NASA, ESA, G. Bacon (STScI), NASA Goddard, https://images.nasa.gov/details/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000993
CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0:
Galaxy Clusters: By Andrea Luck - https://flic.kr/p/2qTEFJk, https://tinyurl.com/bdfaf2ru
CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0:
Hydra reprocessed: By Italyoz484, https://tinyurl.com/bdfpkf2c
CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0:
KiDS survey region: By By Kilo-Degree Survey Collaboration/H. Hildebrandt & B. Giblin/ESO - https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1642c, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=170550060
Messier 87: By Event Horizon Telescope - https://tinyurl.com/bdd537u8
Animation is created by Bright Side. Credit:
normal matter and dark matter: By NASA, ESA and R. Massey (California Institute of Technology) - https://esahubble.org/images/heic0701c, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=182056672
Comet Hale-Bopp: By NASA/JPL/STScI, https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA01289
Hubble-V: By NASA, ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team STScI/AURA Acknowledgment: C. R. ODell Vanderbilt University and L. Bianchi Johns Hopkins University and Osservatorio Astronomico, https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA04222
HubbleLegacyFieldZoomOut: By NASA, ESA, G. Illingworth (University of California, Santa Cruz), and G. Bacon (STScI) - https://tinyurl.com/29bbh486, https://tinyurl.com/42kw9ds6
Supernova with Expanding Shell: By Michael McClare, Dana Berry, Goddard Space Flight Center, https://tinyurl.com/yctj9rmj
Explosive Magnetic Reconnection: By Joy Ng, Tai Phan, James Drake, Michael Shay, Jonathan Eastwood, Mara Johnson-Groh, Tom Bridgman, Lisa Poje, Josh Masters, Walt Feimer, Brian Monroe, Mary P. Hrybyk-Keith, Colby Haggerty, Ashley Michini, Tulasi Parashar, Aaron Lepsch, Goddard Space Flight Center, https://tinyurl.com/bnpzzpk2
Geomagnetic and Atmospheric Response: By NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - SSAI/Andrew J Christensen, ADNET Systems, Inc./Laurence Schuler, ADNET Systems, Inc./Ian Jones, Johns Hopkins University/APL/Slava Merkin, NASA/GSFC/Douglas E. Rowland, Catholic University of America/Katherine Garcia-Sage, ADNET Systems, Inc./Rachel Lense, eMITS/Lacey Young - https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5435, https://tinyurl.com/5yaxv2y3
HST SM4 STIS Equipment Prep: By Michael McClare, Bob Sauls, Goddard Space Flight Center, https://images.nasa.gov/details/GSFC_20080822_HST_m10230_STIS_Equp_Prep
HST SM4 WFC3 Installation EVA Unpacking: By Michael McClare, Bob Sauls, Goddard Space Flight Center - https://images.nasa.gov/details/GSFC_20080822_HST_m10233_WFC3_UnPack
History of Hubble Space Telescope: By Hubble Space Telescope, HST. Sagittarius, https://images.nasa.gov/details/9809529
Hubble Space Telescope,Spitzer Space Telescope: By NNASA/ESA, F. Summers, G. Bacon, Z. Levay, J. DePasquale, L. Frattare, M. Robberto and M. Gennaro (STScI), and R. Hurt (Caltech/IPAC), https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA22089
History of Hubble Space Telescope (HST): By NGC 1569 , Hubble Space Telescope , HST, ESA, NASA, P. Anders, https://images.nasa.gov/details/0400391
Celestial Fireworks: By By NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team - https://tinyurl.com/bdzhnspy, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39769712
Nix best view: By NASA/JHU-APL/SwRI/Roman Tkachenko - Roman Tkachenko https://twitter.com/NewHorizonsIMG, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44787794
COSMOS 3D dark matter map: By By NASA/ESA/Richard Massey (California Institute of Technology) - http://spacetelescope.org/images/heic0701b/Isosuface, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17536162
Turning Black Holes into Dark Matter: By NASA Goddard / YouTube, https://tinyurl.com/3sm27x3u
CMB Timeline300: By NASA/WMAP Science Team - https://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/media/060915/index.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11885244
The Dog Star: By NASA, H.E. Bond and E. Nelan (Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.); M. Barstow and M. Burleigh (University of Leicester, U.K.); and J.B. Holberg (University of Arizona) - https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2005/36/1820-Image, https://tinyurl.com/yeymc44c
PIA07337: By NASA/JPL-Caltech/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA, https://tinyurl.com/yc86btss
outburst from comet: By NASA, ESA, P. Feldman (Johns Hopkins University), and H. Weaver (Applied Physics Lab) - https://esahubble.org/images/heic0508a, https://tinyurl.com/4j7c6aca
Radiation on Europa: By NASA/JPL-Caltech, https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA22479
Supernova Companion Star: By NASA, ESA, G. Bacon (STScI), NASA Goddard, https://images.nasa.gov/details/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000993
CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0:
Galaxy Clusters: By Andrea Luck - https://flic.kr/p/2qTEFJk, https://tinyurl.com/bdfaf2ru
CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0:
Hydra reprocessed: By Italyoz484, https://tinyurl.com/bdfpkf2c
CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0:
KiDS survey region: By By Kilo-Degree Survey Collaboration/H. Hildebrandt & B. Giblin/ESO - https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1642c, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=170550060
Messier 87: By Event Horizon Telescope - https://tinyurl.com/bdd537u8
Animation is created by Bright Side. Credit:
normal matter and dark matter: By NASA, ESA and R. Massey (California Institute of Technology) - https://esahubble.org/images/heic0701c, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=182056672
Comet Hale-Bopp: By NASA/JPL/STScI, https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA01289
Hubble-V: By NASA, ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team STScI/AURA Acknowledgment: C. R. ODell Vanderbilt University and L. Bianchi Johns Hopkins University and Osservatorio Astronomico, https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA04222
HubbleLegacyFieldZoomOut: By NASA, ESA, G. Illingworth (University of California, Santa Cruz), and G. Bacon (STScI) - https://tinyurl.com/29bbh486, https://tinyurl.com/42kw9ds6
Supernova with Expanding Shell: By Michael McClare, Dana Berry, Goddard Space Flight Center, https://tinyurl.com/yctj9rmj
Explosive Magnetic Reconnection: By Joy Ng, Tai Phan, James Drake, Michael Shay, Jonathan Eastwood, Mara Johnson-Groh, Tom Bridgman, Lisa Poje, Josh Masters, Walt Feimer, Brian Monroe, Mary P. Hrybyk-Keith, Colby Haggerty, Ashley Michini, Tulasi Parashar, Aaron Lepsch, Goddard Space Flight Center, https://tinyurl.com/bnpzzpk2
Geomagnetic and Atmospheric Response: By NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - SSAI/Andrew J Christensen, ADNET Systems, Inc./Laurence Schuler, ADNET Systems, Inc./Ian Jones, Johns Hopkins University/APL/Slava Merkin, NASA/GSFC/Douglas E. Rowland, Catholic University of America/Katherine Garcia-Sage, ADNET Systems, Inc./Rachel Lense, eMITS/Lacey Young - https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5435, https://tinyurl.com/5yaxv2y3
HST SM4 STIS Equipment Prep: By Michael McClare, Bob Sauls, Goddard Space Flight Center, https://images.nasa.gov/details/GSFC_20080822_HST_m10230_STIS_Equp_Prep
HST SM4 WFC3 Installation EVA Unpacking: By Michael McClare, Bob Sauls, Goddard Space Flight Center - https://images.nasa.gov/details/GSFC_20080822_HST_m10233_WFC3_UnPack
History of Hubble Space Telescope: By Hubble Space Telescope, HST. Sagittarius, https://images.nasa.gov/details/9809529
Hubble Space Telescope,Spitzer Space Telescope: By NNASA/ESA, F. Summers, G. Bacon, Z. Levay, J. DePasquale, L. Frattare, M. Robberto and M. Gennaro (STScI), and R. Hurt (Caltech/IPAC), https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA22089
History of Hubble Space Telescope (HST): By NGC 1569 , Hubble Space Telescope , HST, ESA, NASA, P. Anders, https://images.nasa.gov/details/0400391
Celestial Fireworks: By By NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team - https://tinyurl.com/bdzhnspy, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39769712
Nix best view: By NASA/JHU-APL/SwRI/Roman Tkachenko - Roman Tkachenko https://twitter.com/NewHorizonsIMG, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44787794
COSMOS 3D dark matter map: By By NASA/ESA/Richard Massey (California Institute of Technology) - http://spacetelescope.org/images/heic0701b/Isosuface, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17536162
Turning Black Holes into Dark Matter: By NASA Goddard / YouTube, https://tinyurl.com/3sm27x3u
CMB Timeline300: By NASA/WMAP Science Team - https://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/media/060915/index.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11885244
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FunTranscript
00:01The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed dark energy, mapped dark matter, and shown us galaxies billions of years in the
00:09past.
00:09But while it was busy up there in Earth orbit, something else was happening.
00:15For years, Hubble has been slowly losing altitude.
00:19And now, the telescope that once helped us understand space better could become a danger to Earth itself.
00:25Is there trouble with the Hubble? How long does it have left? And what happens when gravity finally wins?
00:33For over 30 years, the Hubble has changed how we understand the universe.
00:38It orbits Earth at about 17,500 miles per hour, moving so fast it circles the planet every 90 minutes.
00:46And since its launch in 1990, it has made more than 1.7 million observations of space.
00:53Before Hubble, scientists didn't even agree on the universe's age. Estimates range from 10 to 20 billion years.
01:01Now, thanks to Hubble's observations, we know that the universe is more like 13.8 billion years old.
01:08Plus, by watching certain stars and massive explosions, it helps scientists realize the universe is expanding.
01:16And even uncover dark energy, the mysterious force that's making space stretch faster and faster.
01:22But we'll talk more about this later.
01:24Right now, there's a much more urgent question.
01:27Will Hubble threaten entire towns and cities once it nears the end of its life?
01:33So, to begin with, most all good things eventually end.
01:38And that includes the Hubble Space Telescope.
01:40It wasn't built to orbit Earth forever.
01:42Even though it floats high above us, it still passes through the very edge of Earth's atmosphere.
01:48Which, by the way, extends far beyond the Moon.
01:51Yep, the orbit of the Moon lies in the geocorona of our planet's atmosphere.
01:56An extremely thin cloud of hydrogen atoms.
01:59And in Earth orbit, well, it's kind of a drag.
02:03Over time, it slows the telescope down, coming bit by bit closer to Earth.
02:08And eventually, Hubble will be unable to stay in orbit and could crash back down to the planet.
02:15Over its long mission, astronauts help keep Hubble safe.
02:19During spacewalks to fix it and upgrade it,
02:21they used the space shuttle's thrusters to nudge Hubble into a slightly higher orbit.
02:26This pushed it away from Earth,
02:28which was just enough to slow down the effects of atmospheric drag.
02:33This way, the space telescope got a few extra years of life.
02:37But those spacewalks are no longer possible.
02:40And the original plan to bring Hubble back to Earth is gone, too.
02:44The telescope was supposed to be retrieved by the space shuttle at the end of its mission.
02:48But nobody expected it to outlive the shuttle program.
02:53Now, scientists are studying exactly when and how Hubble will finally come down.
02:58And what risks it might pose when it does.
03:01Hubble's orbit is now slowly decaying.
03:04It means it will eventually fall back to Earth uncontrolled.
03:08The problem is, the telescope wasn't designed to re-enter safely.
03:12Plus, solar activity, like the Sun's storms, can also push Hubble's orbit.
03:17So making any predictions is super tricky.
03:20The study has found that in the best-case scenario, Hubble might stay in orbit until 2040.
03:27But in the worst case, it could start falling as early as 2029.
03:32The most likely scenario is 2033.
03:34If Hubble re-enters, some parts of it could survive the trip through the atmosphere.
03:40And this debris could spread along a path on the ground between 217 and 997 miles long.
03:48Scientists can't say exactly where the pieces might land.
03:51But the overall risk to people is very small.
03:54For example, it's just 1 in 31,000 if the telescope falls in the most remote parts of the South
04:01Pacific Ocean.
04:02Still, even though the chance of people getting hurt is small, and the event is still years away,
04:08NASA rules say that the risk is technically too high.
04:12For example, if Hubble falls back in 2033 along its usual orbit,
04:17the chance of a casualty is about 1 in 330.
04:21NASA's safety rules require the risk to be 1 in 10,000 or less.
04:25So Hubble doesn't meet that standard.
04:28The worst-case scenario would be if debris landed in very crowded cities.
04:33If it hit Macau, two to four people could be injured or lose their lives.
04:37At least one person could be hurt if debris landed in Hong Kong or Singapore.
04:43So, to prevent problems, scientists want to do more detailed studies before Hubble finally comes down.
04:49This includes better predictions of the Sun's activity and Earth's magnetic conditions,
04:54as well as updated maps of population in areas of risk.
04:59Even a telescope as famous as Hubble would have a tragic ending if it were to accidentally hurt people on
05:05its final fall to Earth.
05:07Speaking of Hubble telescope success, one of the main reasons is its position high above Earth's atmosphere.
05:14From up there, it avoids problems that ground-based telescopes face.
05:18For example, gases like ozone block most ultraviolet light, so studying it from the ground is nearly impossible.
05:26But up there? Easy!
05:29Hubble also doesn't have to deal with turbulent air, which is what makes stars twinkle.
05:34This lets Hubble take some of the sharpest and clearest images of the universe ever seen.
05:39When we look at Hubble's images, we always see the past.
05:44Light from stars and galaxies takes time to travel to Earth.
05:48Even for nearby objects, this can be millions of years.
05:52For example, we observe the Andromeda galaxy, our closest neighbor, as it was almost two and a half million years
06:00ago.
06:00Mind-blowing, huh?
06:01So, in a way, telescopes like Hubble are like time machines, letting us study the history of the universe and
06:09see how galaxies and stars looked long ago.
06:13Hubble has a long track record.
06:15It helped scientists pin down the age of the universe, 13.8 billion years, roughly three times older than Earth
06:22itself.
06:22It discovered two moons of Pluto, Nix and Hydra, and revealed that nearly every major galaxy has a black hole
06:30at its center.
06:31It measured how fast the universe was expanding, giving us a more precise picture of cosmic history.
06:37And it was Hubble that mapped dark matter in 3D.
06:41It was the first-ever map showing how dark matter is spread across the universe.
06:46Dark matter is a strange, invisible type of matter that makes up most of the universe's mass, even though we
06:53can't see it or touch it.
06:54The map Hubble made shows that normal matter, mostly galaxies, tends to collect where dark matter is most dense.
07:02Instead of being spread evenly, dark matter forms a huge, web-like structure made of long filaments.
07:08Over billions of years, these filaments have been growing and crossing each other, creating massive regions where galaxy clusters form.
07:17The map looks back almost halfway to the beginning of the universe, and reveals how dark matter slowly became more
07:24clumpy as gravity pulled it together.
07:27Before this, scientists mostly relied on computer simulations to predict how dark matter should behave.
07:33And Hubble helped us directly observe its large-scale influence.
07:38And it's crucial, since by mapping dark matter across space and time, astronomers can better understand how galaxies formed and
07:46grouped together.
07:47Plus, it may also help explain dark energy, the mysterious force that affects how matter in the universe moves and
07:55spreads out.
07:55All in all, Hubble has been a pioneer of firsts.
08:00The first detection of elements from the early universe.
08:03The first proof that supermassive black holes exist.
08:06And the first images showing black holes at the heart of galaxies.
08:10It captured the first collision between astronomical objects.
08:14Spotted oxygen in a moon's atmosphere.
08:17And even took the first image of a star's surface other than the sun.
08:21It gave us first visual evidence of planetary building blocks, first exoplanet atmospheres, and even found organic molecules in other
08:31worlds.
08:32It photographed asteroids with tails.
08:34Captured asteroids breaking apart.
08:36And detected water vapor plumes on Europa.
08:39Hubble saw the first predicted supernova, the farthest galaxy and star ever imaged at the time, and water vapor on
08:47an exoplanet in the habitable zone.
08:49It even snapped the first ultraviolet image of a forming exoplanet and spotted a possible moon orbiting an exoplanet.
08:58Through all this, Hubble gave us the first precise measurement of the universe's expansion rate and countless other discoveries.
09:05It may have cost billions over $10 billion in total, but its contributions are priceless.
09:12Hubble showed us the universe in ways we had never imagined.
09:17That's it for today!
09:18So hey, if you've pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
09:23Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
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