M100

These three images show the central region of spiral galaxy M100, taken with three generations of cameras aboard Hubble, and document the improving capability of the observatory. The image on the left was taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 1 (WFPC1) in 1993. The photo is blurry due to a flaw (called spherical aberration) in Hubble's primary mirror. Celestial images could not be brought into a single focus. The middle image was taken in late 1993 with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), installed during the Dec. 2 – 13, 1993, space shuttle servicing mission (SM1, STS-61). The camera contained corrective optics to compensate for the mirror flaw, and so the galaxy snapped into sharp focus when photographed. The image on the right was taken with a newer instrument, the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), installed on Hubble during the space shuttle servicing mission in May 2009.