Image: Hubble will get galactic déjà vu

This jewel-bright picture taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope options the spiral galaxy NGC 2903.

Hubble captured this picture utilizing the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), put in in 2002 and 2009 respectively. Interestingly, Hubble noticed this specific galaxy in 2001, earlier than the ACS and the WFC3 have been put in. The 2021 picture boasts greater decision, which suggests NGC 2903 is extra finely detailed than within the 2001 picture. The ACS and WFC3 collectively cowl a variety of ultraviolet, optical, and infrared wavelengths, so the 2021 picture additionally has improved wavelength protection to that of its 20-year-old predecessor. Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) took the 2001 picture. The WFPC2 was Hubble’s workhorse instrument from 1993 till 2009 when the WFC3 changed it.

One of Hubble’s most exceptional options is its unimaginable longevity, made potential by its profitable servicing missions that corrected imperfections within the observatory’s mirror, up to date its technical programs, and eliminated previous devices and put in new ones. The juxtaposition of the 2001 and 2021 photos of NGC 2903 – each exceptional photos for his or her time – highlights the worth of a steady, accessible platform in space that may reliably acquire information, not solely yr after yr, however decade after decade.