How far does Hubble see?
Date: 25 January 2011
Satellite: Hubble Space Telescope
Copyright: NASA, ESA
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This diagram shows how Hubble has revolutionised the study of the distant, early Universe. Before Hubble was launched, ground-based telescopes were able to observe up to a redshift of around 1, about half way back through cosmic history. Hubble's latest instrument, Wide Field Camera 3 has identified a candidate galaxy at a redshift of 10 - around 96 per cent of the way back to the Big Bang. The forthcoming NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope will see further still.
Last Update: 1 September 2019