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Picture Perfect: Hubble’s New Improved Optics Probe the Core of a Distant Galaxy

Pictures of Galaxy M100 with Hubble's Old and New Optics
This comparison image of the core of the galaxy M100 shows the dramatic improvement in Hubble Space Telescope's view of the universe. The new image was taken with the second generation Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WFPC-2) which was installed during the STS-61 Hubble...

This comparison image of the core of galaxy M100 shows the dramatic improvement in the Hubble telescope's view of the universe. The new image (right) was taken with the second generation Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WFPC2), which was installed during the STS-61 Hubble Servicing Mission.

The picture beautifully demonstrates that the corrective optics incorporated within WFPC2 compensate fully for Hubble's near-sightedness. The new camera will allow Hubble to probe the universe with unprecedented clarity and sensitivity. The picture clearly shows faint structure as small as 30 light-years across in a galaxy tens of millions of light-years away.

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Last Updated
Mar 14, 2025
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Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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