Hubble space image

Hubble Space Telescope Celebrates Its 29th Year

Happy anniversary Hubble! The world’s first large space telescope was launched April 24, 1990. Here are a few cool findings from UC Davis researchers who use the Hubble Space Telescope.

Astronomers made a new measurement of the Hubble constant, the rate at which the universe is expanding, and it doesn’t quite line up with a different estimate of the same number. The team used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and other space- and Earth-based telescopes, including the Keck telescopes in Hawaii, to observe three galaxies and arrive at an independent measurement of the Hubble constant.

Through a lucky quirk of nature, astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to view a single star halfway across the universe. Nine billion light years from Earth, the giant blue-white star, nicknamed “Icarus” by the team, is by far the most distant individual star ever seen. Marusa Bradac, a physics professor and astronomer at UC Davis, and graduate student Austin Hoag are part of the team.

Primary Category

Tags