GETTY <\/p>\n
Telescope time is so expensive that astronomers usually know exactly what star or planet they are investigating. <\/p>\n
But as an experiment NASA pointed its Hubble Telescope at a void in space which changed and provided one of the most iconic images of the cosmos. <\/p>\n
At the time, NASA was struggling with the Hubble Telescope which was deemed a failure as it had only provided blurry images for its first five years due to a flaw in one of the mirrors the mirrors are used to take extremely long distance pictures. <\/p>\n
However, astronauts spent three days on the satellite orbiting Earth to rectify the problem, and when they did, NASA had something to prove. <\/p>\n
R. Williams (STScI), the HDF-S Team, and NASA\/ESA <\/p>\n
To test the new equipment, Robert Williams, former director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, decided to point the telescope at nothing. <\/p>\n
However, what came back was a stunning image which gave the world an unprecedented view into the entire history of the universe. <\/p>\n
In an interview with Vox, Mr Williams said: What we were doing was trying to find sort of an indiscriminate area of the sky where no observation had been made before. <\/p>\n
AFP\/Getty Images <\/p>\n
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Bubble Nebula, also known as NGC 7653, which is an emission nebula located 11 000 light-years away <\/p>\n
The image is now known as the Hubble Deep Field and is more than 12 billion lightyears deep. <\/p>\n
A lightyear is measured by how long it takes for light to travel in a year moving at 186,000 miles per second. <\/p>\n
So what the Hubble Deep Field image shows in the distance is how the universe looked 12 billion years ago. <\/p>\n
GETTY <\/p>\n
In the forefront of the image, minus a few stars which were in view, there are the galaxies which have formed over billions of years. <\/p>\n
But in the background are irregularly shaped infant galaxies which are just beginning to take shape, so close to the dawn of time 13.8 billion years ago. <\/p>\n
Mr Williams added: \"We didnt know what was there, and that was the whole purpose of the observation, basically to get a core sample of the universe. <\/p>\n
\"You do the same thing if you're trying to understand the geology of the Earth: Pick some typical spot to drill down to try to understand exactly what the various layers of the Earth are and what they mean in terms of its geologic history.\" <\/p>\n
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See the article here:<\/p>\n
NASA decided to take a snap of 'nothing' and THIS is what they saw... - Express.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" GETTY Telescope time is so expensive that astronomers usually know exactly what star or planet they are investigating. But as an experiment NASA pointed its Hubble Telescope at a void in space which changed and provided one of the most iconic images of the cosmos Continue reading