What image capture technology does the Hubble Telescope use? The telescope was launched in 1990 so I am curious to know whether it captures images on film or digital (in light of it's age). If film, what sort? Just curious.
Digital.
No analog sensing has been done since the mid 80s IIRC. Kodak made BIMAT film for use in space at that time. It was either processed and scanned in space digitally and transmitted, or returned to earth.
PE
PE,
Just out of curiosity, how does one go about developing film in space? The mind boggles...
Richard Wasserman
What image capture technology does the Hubble Telescope use? The telescope was launched in 1990 so I am curious to know whether it captures images on film or digital (in light of it's age). If film, what sort? Just curious.
The other interesting aspect was retrieving film canisters. Basically, they were ejected by the satellite and an airplane literally caught them during descent.
PE,
Just out of curiosity, how does one go about developing film in space? The mind boggles...
Richard Wasserman
What was that cheesy Cold War movie with Rock Hudson, where there was some firefight up in the Arctic over an ejected film canister that each side wanted to possess?
Ice Station Zebra, that's it!!
The Hubble Space Telescope has two kinds of instruments: (1) imagers, which take pictures; and (2) spectrographs, which analyze light. Imagers are electronic detectors called charge -- coupled devices (CCD's). The CCD's convert light into electronic signals, which an on -- board computer records and sends to the ground.
Last time I was at George Eastman House, they had the entire BIMAT system on display. Basically, the film part was dry and there was a second thin film that was wetted with an activator/fixer. These were laminated just after exposure, and developed to completion.
The images were scanned and transmitted back to earth.
Grant Haist was one of the researchers on the project, IIRC.
PE
CCDs are analog...
Richard, this device had everything needed to do the job in total vacuum and at orbital temperatures!
It is pretty big, about 3 ft on a side, and about 2 ft high.
PE
There's a diagram and explanation of the BIMAT system here: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_orbiter/book/introduction.shtml
Interesting stuff.
Found this;
Quote:
The Hubble Space Telescope has two kinds of instruments: (1) imagers, which take pictures; and (2) spectrographs, which analyze light. Imagers are electronic detectors called charge -- coupled devices (CCD's). The CCD's convert light into electronic signals, which an on -- board computer records and sends to the ground.
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