Invisible Universe Revealed

Gr 4–8—This 25th-anniversary tribute to the Hubble Space Telescope combines jaw-dropping deep space photographs with an unusually detailed account of how the defective mirror that nearly derailed the entire project was fixed. The story begins with the discoveries of early 20th-century astronomer Edwin Hubble. Veteran scientists—notably NASA's chief astronomer Nancy Roman, now in her nineties and known as the "Mother of Hubble"—describe how the telescope was designed, manufactured, launched, and subsequently underwent finicky repairs and upgrades by astronauts in a series of Space Shuttle missions. The color enhanced views of galaxies and nebulas that the telescope has provided are probably the main draw here, but the account of the Hubble's history and the lucid descriptions of its role in major discoveries about the age of the universe, dark energy, and the supermassive black holes kick this program into a higher orbit than National Geographic's Hubble's Amazing Universe, (2010) and will leave readers appreciating the telescope's enduring significance. That being said, the entire show is currently available free online at only a slightly lower resolution.