Introduction to the Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space-based observatory orbiting Earth. Hubble observes the universe in multiple wavelengths of light, from ultraviolet to visible to near-infrared.
The Hubble Space Telescope’s launch in 1990 marked the beginning of a new era in humanity’s exploration of the universe. From above Earth’s obscuring atmosphere, Hubble can obtain extremely high-resolution images and detailed spectroscopic data of the cosmos, from our solar system to the distant, early universe. Scientists submit proposals to use Hubble through an open, peer-reviewed, anonymous competition.
Through the middle of the next decade, HST will remain the only space-based telescope providing spectroscopy and high-resolution imaging at ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths. Since the James Webb Space Telescope launched in 2021, the two observatories have been working in tandem to push astronomy forward and pursue the boldest scientific questions of our time.
Using the Hubble Space Telescope
Observatory News
Resources
Press Releases
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Upcoming STScI Events
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Understanding Dwarf Galaxies to Understand Dark Matter
The large-scale structure of our Universe is well described by a model in which matter is predominantly Cold Dark Matter (CDM). While CDM was initially thought to have trouble reproducing...
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Webb Office Hours
The JWST User Community is invited to call into Webb Office Hours to ask questions and directly interact with a team of STScI JWST experts via WebEx. We welcome questions about the...
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Trustworthy Machine Learning for Astrophysical Discovery
Modern machine learning techniques open doors to powerful data analysis strategies that were not feasible even a few years ago — approaches that could enable transformative discoveries...
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HST Help Desk
Please contact the HST Help Desk with any questions.