Peter A. Clyde Robert A.

Macdonald English 1010 11/25/13

Death of a Wonder
On April 24th, 1990, a shuttle was sent into space with something that had been seldom made before, a space observatory known as the Hubble Space Telescope. According to NASA, this telescope is 43.5ft long with a mirror that is 7ft 10.5inches tall, weighing in at 24,500lbs, the same as two elephants. The telescope also hosts an impressive array of scientific instruments, including according to NASA, the ACS - Advanced Camera for Surveys, used for Surveys and broad imaging, the NICMOS Near Infrared Camera/Multi-Object Spectrometer,(basically a fancy imager for infrared and other stuff). And the STIS Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, (another imaging device). (NASA) These instruments on the telescope, and its placement above the distortions of the earths atmosphere for nearly twenty years have given us a window into the past, present and future of our world and the universe and worlds around us. From what happens with stars, to the earliest images of the universe. We as a race of intelligent beings because of the Hubble Space Telescope, have been able to gain an understanding that we would never have achieved without it. Though despite these facts there is still the question of, if Hubble really is out dated, why keep it up and running if we have better satellites and telescopes coming? Why not just let it go? In answer I believe that if something still works, even though its not working fully it can still be put to good use and show us even more if we allow it to keep going and fix it. An example of

Clyde2 this extreme usefulness is found in what was found by Hubble back in 1996. According to deepastronomy.com, astronomers had found a spot that looked as if there was nothing there. Yet because they had the means and resource to do it, out of curiosity they pointed the Hubble Space Telescope at that spot, and let the light come into Hubble for 10 days, and sure enough, as much as 3,000 galaxies appeared. This helped us age our universe more accurately and gave us a greater sense of Identity and understanding. (deepastronomy.com) Also the advances we have made thanks to the operations and observations made by this telescope are priceless. Many of us here on earth would have no idea of how amazing and great our universe is without the Hubble Space Telescope, this machine and scientific instrument has, because of what has been done with it, become just as important as say the Mona Lisa, or Leonardo da Vincis drawings, or the statue of David, these things are priceless, and the Hubble Space Telescope has become the same, irreplaceable and invaluable to our cultural Identity. The Hubble has enhanced and made our lives better. Another reason to keep Hubble is that this telescope is extremely versatile, it can do and look and see things that the most powerful land based telescopes cannot see. And though there is a replacement telescope coming, known as the James Webb Space Telescope which according to NASA, is supposedly a better telescope, and Hubbles Successor. (NASA) the Hubble can still serve the purpose of looking deep into space on certain fronts. Were as according to NASA, the James Webb Space Telescope is meant to look mostly into what is called the dark ages, the period of time between the Big bang, and the period of time where the formation of the earliest galaxies took place. This is where there is supposed to be the earliest formation of stars, we have no data concerning this period of time. And the James Webb Space Telescope is designed to look there. (NASA) Also according to

Clyde 3 deepastronomy.com, it only has a limited range in the visible light spectrum, hardly a replacement for the Hubble and the images it has produced. The JWST is mainly for this infrared range, making it more on the scientific end of looking into the universe. where Hubble did both. Then also the James Webb Space Telescope is only supposed to operate for 5 to 10 years.(deepastronomy.com) This is a bandaid fix for replacing and making a successor for the Hubble if this telescope is only going to operate for that short of time. Also to prove even more the relevancy of the Hubble Space Telescope, if youre going to have the James Webb Space Telescope out there, you could coordinate the two telescopes, the JWST and the Hubble, and get a better and clearer understanding and perspective, verses just what one or the other could bring in, you could have two advanced instruments looking at the same object or point and youd be absorbing more info than you would have just with one or the other. Sadly though, Hubbles days are numbered, despite the need for it. For a start according to hubblesite.org, and deepastronomy.com, the telescope is out dated and has been on its own since 2009 without any service or maintenance, the Instruments on the Hubble telescope are failing and the atmosphere is causing drag on the Hubble. So eventually the Hubble will fall out of the sky and burn up. (hubblesite.org)(deepastronomy.com) As for saving Hubble, the suggestions to save it have been sad. Such as according to NASA, they plan to send a rocket or another craft up that would guide the Hubble into a safe course to burn up, Hardly a solution. Also NASA has installed a ring on the back of Hubble for someone or thing to grab it to do the controlled reentry. (NASA) this is rather pathetic considering what has been done in the past to save something of ours in space. A practical solution is you could push it into space just a little further, out of the thin atmosphere that causes

Clyde 4 drag. This I think, might also be in the minds at NASA because the ring that was installed is designed to be grabbed easily, a space craft could easily just grab and push Hubble where it would need to be to be safe or become a monument. You could also install a propulsion system that would allow Hubble to maneuver as needed. That would get rid of the drag problem, and it would also change how the Hubble is maneuvered and possibly make it better and able to explore a little more. Though I believe the cost would be astronomical, probably in the Billions considering what kind of work needs to go into it. Like replacing gyros and other equipment, the fuel and supplies needed to get people up there one more time the list can go on for some time, but it would make Hubble able to serve in a more useful way, and be very much worth it over the long run because of what knowledge and use we would obtain. We would save a part of our cultural Identity and have Hubble around for us and future generations to use for a long time to come. It could also serve the purposes of exploration. You need to get a close up of something on Pluto? Send Hubble. And once you were up there installing all this, you could fix the problems already there, do some maintenance, and have Hubble modern and better than ever. If we cant save Hubble. Another solution I thought of is you could build an array of smaller telescopes that do all the same jobs as Hubble and the James Webb space telescopes altogether, but on their own also at the same time. They would only have a certain number of functions individually, but the telescopes would be able to cooperate in small groups or as a mass, and/or link together, making an instrument greater than Hubble, and the James Webb telescopes combined, a swarm that could make a mirror together greater than any other Telescope in existence that would be able to pick up even more light than before. This swarm would also be able to collect more data and see deeper in to the universe and from more

Clyde 5 perspectives than Hubble or the JWST. Also you could send more instruments up there and make better observations and learn even more. Plus to save cost, you could send them up to Hubble and have them take the instruments and components that are still working and install them on these smaller telescopes. Then all of Hubble wed be losing is the shell. But even though these solutions may replace Hubble, this telescope is a historical artifact that proved despite it being up there exposed to elements and storms that make what is faced in our weather look pleasant, and undergoing multiple repairs, it still functioned and gave us great light and knowledge when before there was just a lack, people were blind until Hubble came. It needs to be saved.. Otherwise entire generations will go on without being able to see what made part of their future. Sure the James Webb Space Telescope is on its way and will probably replace Hubble, according to NASA, the launch of the Webb telescope is not happening until 2018. (NASA) and as for Hubble, according to NASA, its supposedly supposed to stop functioning in the following year of 2014, and will burn in 2024. Unless we do something. (NASA). So Id implore anyone who loves the Hubble and has grown up with it there, please try to save it. Imagine your childhood, youre on the grass staring strait up into the sky and seeing the heavens in grand display, rolled out before you and you wish you were really that close to them. The Hubble does that. It gets us in touch, and allows us to wonder and excel. Wherever we are, it challenges us to think and hold better and greater things in our minds. The Hubble did more than give us pictures and knowledge. It gave us an understanding that most wouldnt have without it. Lets not let this wonder die, lets make it something greater. If anything a memorial to those

Clyde 6 whos blood, sweat and tears went into it. Lets make it a memorial to those that had the God given genius to make it happen.

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Works Cited

Darnell, Tony. http://www.deepastronomy.com/. N/A N/A N/A. 10 December 2013 <http://www.deepastronomy.com/hubble-deep-field-3d.html>. NASA. http:///jwst.nasa.gov/. N/A N/A N/A. 10 December 2013 <http://jwst.nasa.gov/about.html>. . http://hubblesite.org/. N/A N/A 2002? 12/10/13 December 2013 <http://hubblesite.org/the_telescope/hubble_essentials/>. . http://www.nasa.gov/. 29 April 2010. 11/23/13-12/10/13 November-December 2013 <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/story/index.html >. . http://www.nasa.gov/. 6 March 2012. 10 December 2013 <http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/629955main_RHoward_JWST_3_6_12.pdf>.