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Gallery: Top Ten Hubble Scientific Discoveries

The ten most important scientific discoveries that the Hubble made possible, and the amazing images to go with them

Posted 5.26.09 at 3:25 pm 3 Comments

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10. The Source of Long Gamma Ray Bursts
Courtesy of NASA
In the 1960s, US satellites designed to detect gamma radiation from Russian nuclear testing began picking up huge radiation bursts from deep in space. For decades, no one knew where the bursts were coming from. When the Hubble went on line, scientists were able to track the gamma ray bursts back to galaxies with rapid star production, like the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy (pictured). According to Livio, the gamma ray bursts occur when one of the galaxy’s massive stars collapses in on itself.
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9. Accurate Measurement of the Hubble Constant
Courtesy of NASA
For years, scientists argued over the value of the Hubble Constant, a key component in the equation that measures the speed at which the universe expands. “Before the Hubble telescope, the estimates for the Hubble Constant were different by at least a factor of two,” said Livio. After analyzing Hubble pictures of far-off super novae (the remnants of one are pictured here), astronomers narrowed the value of the Hubble Constant down to within an error of five percent.
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3 Comments

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bdc005

05/28/09 at 4:06 am

We probably won't fully realize how significant Hubble was to space exploration for another hundred years. It will truly be one of those landmark occasions for humankind.

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suzyjenkins

06/25/09 at 3:00 pm

Those pictures are quite amazing, but it is the true knowledge we have gained from the Hubble telescope which is the most impressive. I know they have been designing or working on a new telescope as the replacement to Hubble. Does anyone have any info on that?

http://suzyjenkins.deviantart.com/journal/25268259/

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hershko

06/25/09 at 4:32 pm

First, I want to tell that those pictures are great.
Second, from Hubble's deep space shot we can see the shape of many galaxies, therefore the Big Bang could not started from nothing, or from a smallest point but from an old and existing nebula.
dordor77@netvision.net.il