211 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
211 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sponsored
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motoring
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ford-future-sessions
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future-of-science
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8206698
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-----
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# The Hubble Space Telescope: the big picture
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## For 20 years the Hubble Space Telescope has shown us amazing images like
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these. Giles Sparrow, author of Hubble: Window on the Universe, explains why
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it's a modern marvel.
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![Light echoes from a red supergiant star, as captured by the Hubble Space
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Telescope. ][1]
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Light echoes from a red supergiant star, as captured by the Hubble Space
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Telescope.
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Giles Sparrow 5:37PM GMT 16 Dec 2010
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In the two decades since its launch in 1990, Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has
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gone from white elephant to scientific powerhouse.
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Although its 2.4m (8ft) light-gathering mirror is dwarfed by modern Earth-
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based telescopes, Hubble still gets the sharpest views of the cosmos thanks to
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its unique vantage point above the atmosphere.
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Shortcuts during construction saw it launched with an embarrassing flaw - a
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distorted mirror that initially left the telescope short-sighted. But in 1993
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astronauts fitted Hubble with "contact lenses", in the first of five daring
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servicing missions that have kept it on the cutting edge ever since.
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Hubble has become the world's best-known telescope thanks to its stunning
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images of celestial phenomena, ranging from cauldrons of starbirth and planets
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around other suns to dying stars and distant galaxies.
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But it has also carried a range of instruments for other types of research,
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such as measuring the chemistry of distant objects and tracking their movement
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through space.
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## Related Articles
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* [WIN! a new book about the Hubble Space Telescope's amazing
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discoveries][2]
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17 Dec 2010
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* [Images from the Hubble Space Telescope][3]
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16 Dec 2010
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Perhaps its greatest achievement, however, has been measuring the distance to
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galaxies many millions of light years away. These precise measurements have
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allowed astronomers to calculate the rate of cosmic expansion, and hence the
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size and age of the Universe.
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Improvements to ground-based instruments mean that Hubble will probably be
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both the first and last telescope of its kind, but it will leave a spectacular
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legacy.
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### Win a copy of the new Hubble book
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Hubble: Window on the Universe by Giles Sparrow (Quercus, £20), which
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showcases the telescope's astonishing contribution to science through a series
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of 200 spectacular images, is available now.
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[**Enter here for your chance to win a copy of Hubble: Window on the
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Universe**][4]
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[X][5] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][6]
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* Share: [Share][5] [ ][7] [ ][8]
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[Tweet][9]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions/future-of-
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science/8206698/The-Hubble-Space-Telescope-the-big-picture.html
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Telegraph
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## [Future of science][10]
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* ### [Sponsored »][11]
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* ### [Motoring »][12]
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* ### [Ford Future Sessions »][13]
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[X][5] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][6]
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Share:
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* [ ][5]
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* [ ][7]
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* [ ][8]
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* [Tweet][9]
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* ![][14]
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[The Hubble Telescope »][15]
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### [WIN! a new book about the Hubble Space Telescope's amazing
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discoveries][2]
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[![Light echoes from a red supergiant star, as captured by the Hubble Space
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Telescope. ][16] ][2]
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The Telegraph has five copies of Hubble: Window on the Universe by Giles
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Sparrow, worth £40 each, to give away.
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### [The Hubble Space Telescope: the big picture][17]
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For 20 years the Hubble Space Telescope has shown us amazing images like
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these. Giles Sparrow, author of Hubble: Window on the Universe, explains why
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it's a modern marvel.
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### [Images from the Hubble Space Telescope][3]
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[![Images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope from Giles Sparrow's Hubble:
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Window on the Universe. ][18]][3]
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Images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope from the book Hubble: Window on the
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Universe.
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[The new silicon? »][19]
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### [Graphene: our miracle material][20]
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[![Graphene is a planar sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal pattern.
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Stacked graphene sheets form graphite, used in pencils. ][21] ][20]
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Graphene is harder than diamond, just a single molecule thick and conducts
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electricity. Kat Hannaford talks to the two Nobel prize-winning scientists who
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discovered it about why it could revolutionise everything.
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[1]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01786/hubble1_1786847b.jpg
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[2]: /sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions/future-of-
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science/8206679/Win-a-copy-of-Hubble-Window-on-the-Universe.html
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[3]: /sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions/future-of-science/8207252
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/Images-from-the-Hubble-Space-Telescope.html
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[4]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/a/8206679
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[5]: #
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[6]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/4590190/Share-this-article-
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What-are-these.html
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[7]: mailto:?subject=A Telegraph reader thought you would be interested in
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this article&body=Depending on your email program, you may be able to click on
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the link in the email. Alternatively, you may have to open a web browser, such
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as Firefox or Internet Explorer, and copy the link over into the address bar.
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%0A%0Ahttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions
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/future-of-science/8206698/The-Hubble-Space-Telescope-the-big-picture.html
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%0A%0AFor the best content online, visit www.telegraph.co.uk
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[8]: javascript:print()
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[9]: http://twitter.com/share?via=Telegraph
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[10]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions
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/future-of-science/
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[11]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/
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[12]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/
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[13]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions/
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[14]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01766/Ford_in_asso_1766175a.jpg
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[15]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions
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/future-of-science/8206698/Celebrating-the-Hubble-Space-Telescope.html
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[16]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01786/hubble1_1786847e.jpg
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[17]: /sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions/future-of-science/8206698
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/The-Hubble-Space-Telescope-the-big-picture.html
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[18]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01787/hubble3_1787067e.jpg
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[19]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions
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/future-of-science/8207121/Graphene-our-miracle-material.html
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[20]: /sponsored/motoring/ford-future-sessions/future-of-science/8207121
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/Graphene-our-miracle-material.html
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[21]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01787/graphene_1787024e.jpg
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