NASA’s iconic Hubble Space Telescope has captured its first new image since successfully transitioning to a one-gyro operating mode. This marks a significant milestone for the spacecraft, ensuring its ability to resume groundbreaking observations of the cosmos.
The malfunction involved one of Hubble’s gyroscopes. By measuring the telescope’s rotation rate, they help the telescope precisely determine and maintain its orientation in space. Hubble’s triumphant return to science operations follows a period of several weeks offline due to the malfunction.
The specific problem was that the gyro had been giving increasingly inaccurate readings over the past six months. This caused issues with pointing the telescope accurately, forcing Hubble to suspend science operations multiple times. The good news is that Hubble can still perform most of its scientific observations by transitioning to a one-gyro mode. The team is hopeful that the malfunctioning gyro might stabilize in the future and become usable again.
The newly captured image showcases the nearby galaxy NGC 1546, offering a stunning view of its dust lanes and star formation regions.
Credits: NASA, ESA, STScI, David Thilker (JHU)
This observation represents a significant achievement for the Hubble team, demonstrating the effectiveness of the new operating mode “Hubble’s new image of a spectacular galaxy demonstrates the full success of our new, more stable pointing mode for the telescope,” said Dr. Jennifer Wiseman, senior project scientist for Hubble at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. We’re poised now for many years of discovery ahead, and we’ll be looking at everything from our solar system to exoplanets to distant galaxies. Hubble plays a powerful role in NASA’s astronomical toolkit.”
Launched in 1990, Hubble has revolutionized our understanding of the universe for over three decades. This latest accomplishment ensures its continued role as a vital asset in NASA’s astronomical arsenal. Hopefully, we’ll see plenty more breathtaking Hubble photos in years to come.
