Hubble wasn't designed to look at objects in our solar system, but after it was launched, astronomers realized that with just a little bit of modification to the software, it could look at solar system objects.
Because Hubble's been up so many years now, it's actually given us a window to things like... how planets' atmospheres actually change, evolve... over time.
We don't use Hubble to stare at Jupiter unless there's a special event or some special reason.
Hubble made my career.
The Hubble images far surpassed anything taken by any telescope on Earth.
I have a little piece of Hubble that someone brought back from one of the repair missions. It's on my desk, where I work. I do feel a personal connection to it. It's been part of my life for 20 years.
Hubble orbits high, outside Earth's atmosphere so it can see a wide spectrum of light our atmosphere blocks.
The thing about telescopes is that the mirror is the main component. Once that's built, you don't need to build new ones; you just need to swap out the instruments. There's nothing wrong with Hubble's mirror.
The whole Hubble program has just been a fabulous testament to the NASA science community and the NASA astronaut community.
The Hubble program has been so fantastically successful. It's more than what anyone expected.
