Hmm, CNN just put up an article on the latest Hubble Space Telescope press release:

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/0...axy/index.html

And I quote:

"A galaxy captured in the lens of the Hubble Space Telescope seems to be rotating in the direction opposite of what it should..."

Ahem, what's the objective on the Hubble? One more time, kids, say it with me: "mirror", not lens, "MIRROR".

D'oh! Well, I emailed the author about it. He and I have talked before, and he wants me to simply send him a note when things like that happen. Hopefully he'll get it fixed soon.

That's two in one day (the other is the Japanese tea thread in this forum). Amazing work, Bad People.

Well, technically, the Hubble has a lens, doesn't it? Didn't they install a small lens to correct the distortion caused by the primary not quite being the correct shape?

Okay, I still wouldn't say the image was captured by the lens!

Gee, maybe someone who knows about the Hubble could answere that question...wonder if there is anyone on the board who has worked on the Hubble before [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Rob

Actually, either way, the image was captured by the DETECTOR that receives the light after passing through the lens and reflecting off the mirror.

CJSF

__________________
Two years ago moved from my town
I was looking up past the city lights
But the city lights got in my way

See the constellation ride across the sky
No cigar, no lady on his arm
Just a guy made of dots and lines

-from "See The Constellation"
by They Might Be Giants

There is no lens in the primary light path in Hubble. It's all mirrors. I think that one of the instruments (the Fine Guidance Sensors which help point the 'scope) do have lenses, but I have never confirmed that. Either way, the HST+WFPC has no lens in the path.

OK, agreed. But the DETECTOR - in this case the CCDs on the WFPC2 - still "captures" the light that will eventually become an image.

_________________
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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Christopher Ferro on 2002-02-08 13:48 ]</font>

Actually, COSTAR isn't a lens but a set of small mirrors.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

It was cleverly fixed, avoiding all the lens vs. mirror stuff written here:

A galaxy captured by the camera of the
Hubble Space Telescope...

Harald

Thanks...I didn't know exactly how COSTAR corrected the vision (and I forgot its name [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Rob

A quick web search shows that CN has been referring to Hubble lenses for over a decade. The BA's messages seem to be having little effect. A 1990 CNN article even referred to the HST first opening its "lens cover."