What did the Hubble Space Telescope see on these celebrity birthdays? - CBC.ca

We put Drake, Lizzo, Mendes and Eilish through the cosmic calculator

Happy birthday to the Hubble Space Telescope, which has spent the past 30 years peering into the far corners of the universe.

Scientists have used the contraption, which was launched on April 24, 1990, to take a closer look at everything from the planets in our own solar system to stars in distant galaxies.

NASA, which is the name for the U.S. government agency responsible for space science, decided to mark Hubble’s birthday by launching a cosmic calculator of sorts.

A new feature on the NASA website allows you to input the day and month of your birth in order to see which space image Hubble captured on your birthday.

Here’s what happened when we searched the birthdays of some of the biggest names in music:

Drake

On Drake’s 25th birthday, on Oct. 24, 2011, Hubble captured this image of a galaxy with a golden loop of sun-like stars inside what looks like a ring of smoke. (NASA, Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for TNT)

Lizzo

When Lizzo turned 11 on April 27, 1999, Hubble caught this supernova on camera. A supernova is a large explosion that happens at the end of a star’s life cycle. (NASA, Joe Maher/Getty Images for Bauer Media)

Shawn Mendes

Shawn Mendes was only five years old when Hubble captured this image on Aug. 8, 2003, of a neutron star, which is created when a giant star dies in a supernova, causing its core to collapse. (NASA, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Of course the images aren’t always that dramatic, but the stories behind them are still pretty awe-inspiring.

Take this one, for example:

Billie Eilish

Six years before Billie Eilish was born, on Dec. 18, 1995, Hubble returned this image of hundreds of galaxies that had never been seen before. According to NASA, their colours and shapes provided clues to help explain how the universe evolved. (NASA, Jean-Baptiste Lacroix/AFP via Getty Images)

Amazing facts

The Hubble Space Telescope has had a “profound” impact on our understanding of space and the universe as a whole, said Bob McDonald, host of CBC Radio’s science program Quirks & Quarks.

The telescope, which is the length of a school bus and weighs about the same as two elephants, is powered by solar panels.

How does it work? It uses four mirrors to collect and focus light from distant objects.

What's next?

The Hubble Space Telescope has provided amazing images of the universe for the past 30 years, but it’s soon to be replaced. (NASA via Getty Images)

Although the Hubble telescope looks a bit old-fashioned, “it was designed to be upgraded,” McDonald said.

Astronauts have visited it a number of times to do repairs, he said, which means it’s “actually far better now than when it was launched.”

Still, NASA has plans to put a new telescope in space in 2021.

Scientists are busy performing a bunch of tests on the James Webb Telescope, including folding and unfolding its giant mirrors, so that it’ll be ready to launch in 2021. (Chris Gunn/NASA)

Bigger and maybe better, too

The James Webb Space Telescope will be much larger than Hubble, McDonald said.

“In fact, its mirror is so large it had to be made in sections that fold up so it can fit into a rocket,” he said.

“In space, it will unfold like a flower and be able to see even further into space.”

It’s possible the James Webb will manage to find another Earth-like planet out there, McDonald said.

The big picture

What’s the point of all this space exploration, according to McDonald? Perspective.

Telescopes like Hubble show us that “our planet is but a tiny speck in an unimaginably huge universe,” he said.

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNiYy5jYS9raWRzbmV3cy9wb3N0L2h1YmJsZS1zcGFjZS10ZWxlc2NvcGUtY2VsZWJyaXR5LWJpcnRoZGF5cy1EcmFrZS1MaXp6by1NZW5kZXMtRWlsaXNo0gEA?oc=5

2020-04-24 21:05:16Z
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