Google Celebrates Hubble
As Google helped proclaim with their banner we have another landmark day in physics with the Hubble Telescope turning 20 years old!
I know this isn’t exactly related to particle physics, but I find it simply amazing that an experiment that was “doomed” from the beginning with problems and failures has turned out to be such a overwhelming success and has lasted 20 years. Hubble’s scientific contributions are numerous and outstanding (see more about them here) including being able to distinguish elements present in the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars. That is to say something scientists weren’t even sure existed 30 years ago (Exo-planets) we now know their chemical makeup (and it is the same stuff we have here on earth)!!!
But Hubble has done more than just raised our scientific knowledge of the world. With its amazing images and profound ability to see deep into space Hubble has raised our collective conscience about the universe we live in and the science that brings us to it. We’ve all seen the awe-inspiring images of stars being born, giant clouds that stretch 100’s of light-years, and we have marveled at the science that created such beauty.
With the last repairs (that are to be the last servicing Hubble will receive) the space telescope is ready to run another 5 years and continue to bring us some of the most deep reaching and astounding images ever seen by humans.
So while I celebrate and congratulate the world of astronomy for inspiring a generation of would-be scientists to pursue the deep truths of the world, I would also set out a challenge to myself and my colleagues around the world. Let us find our Hubble, and raise the worlds awareness of the beauty and description of particle physics. Let us bring outstanding images that “tell the whole story” and set a new generation of people down the path of science and enlightenment.
