Phil Plait: This is a bummer. A coronagraph blocks the light from a bright object like a star to see fainter stuff (like material it's forming from) around it. STIS was the last camera on Hubble that could do this, and I helped calibrate that coronagraph.

This is a bummer. A coronagraph blocks the light from a bright object like a star to see fainter stuff (like material it's forming from) around it. STIS was the last camera on Hubble that could do this, and I helped calibrate that coronagraph.

Followup: looks like I was wrong and coronagraphy is ok. bsky.app/profile/john...

Original post is deleted but we can still do coronagraphy with STIS with just one gyro. Scheduling gets a bit tougher but it’s premature to say coronagraphy might be dead now…

I mean you calibrated an instrument that ran past its expected lifespan, that's not nothing!

Yeah, I so think about that. Heck, it once blew a circuit board and was repaired in space! Amazing!

A few more details on the impact...

The Hubble Space Telescope has lost a majority of its gyroscopesarstechnica.com "We do not see Hubble as being on its last legs."

Phil—we’re still good! We can do high contrast imaging with a single gyro! 🔭🪐

Time to launch a replacement mission then? Or, repair?

JWST is her replacement. Repair of Hubble is not possible.

JWST was not a replacement for Hubble but meant to overlap and supplement it, and technically repairing Hubble is possible just not set up yet for private spacecraft.

For those who don't remember, the space shuttle was used to service Hubble. The telescope itself is capable of being fixed. science.nasa.gov/mission/hubb...

Servicing Mission 1 (SM1) - NASA Sciencescience.nasa.gov Overview Shortly after its 1990 deployment, NASA discovered a flaw in the observatory’s primary mirror that affected the clarity of the telescope’s early images. Fortunately, Hubble’s design allowed a...

I've read there's a billionaire benefactor ready to pick up the tab for a private trip to repair; but it's not as simple as just going and doing it.

Different slice of the EM spectrum. Anything is possible given enough resources, but I agree the repair costs or risks may be too high.

I imagine in the case of this, you could presumably just use something ala an MEV/MRV to be used for matter of both gyro control (and also reboost), and not a uh, crewed repair?

Aww, Dammit, Phil! I know that Hubble was (partially) your baby (or at least the data from it)! That's gotta be tough!

Shame Coronagraphs are one of these things that on first glance seem like they Can't Possibly Work™️. Obviously they do and the maths checks out, but Nah 🤣

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