What Discoveries Has the Hubble Telescope Helped Us See?

Dark Energy

• For years, astrophysicists believed that the expansion of the universe would slow in the millenia following the "Big Bang." As the galaxies moved further and further apart, it was believed, their gravitational pull would lessen and the expansion would eventually halt. Astronomers wishing to compare the rate of expansion over time discovered that instead of slowing down, the universe was actually expanding. Using photos of supernovas, the death of stars, obtained from Hubble, astrophysicists were able to confirm the existence of dark energy. Astronomers are unsure what Dark Energy actually is, but they are certain that it makes up the bulk of space and acts upon our universe.

Dating the Universe

• Before the clarity of images from Hubble were available, astronomers estimated that our universe was between 10 and 20 billion years old. By measuring the rate of expansion of the universe with high resolution photographs from Hubble, astrophysicists were able to date our universe more specifically as being between 13 and 14 billion years old.

Quasars

• Quasars are essentially black holes. They were originally discovered in the 1960s and exist in otherwise normal galaxies. Images from Hubble allowed NASA astrophysicists to determine that quasars live at the center of galaxies, a huge step forward in the quest to understand more about them.

Planetary Nebulas

• As a star dies, clouds of gases are released and create what is known as a nebulae. By analyzing photos from Hubble, astrophysicists were able to determine that each nebulae is unique.

Planet Formation

• Before Hubble, astronomers had a theory of planetary evolution, but were unsure if they were correct because they had no way to see how a planet forms, only that new planets were appearing. Using images from the Hubble Space Telescope, astrophysicists learned about how planets are created out of spinning disks of dust and debris located in the gas field around dying stars.

Other Planets

• Hubble has been instrumental in determining the make-up of planets that exist outside our solar system. Since 1990, more than 400 planets have been discovered in other systems. Using observations from Hubble, we learned that the building blocks of life such as water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen do exist on other planets. It shows that life may be possible on planets other than ours.