Hubble's Quarter Century

Controversy swirls around a bold proposal for a bigger, better—and expensive—replacement for NASA’s premier space telescope

Twenty-five years ago, on April 24, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope soared into orbit. Since then, its great discoveries have been legion, and the story of how it became the most successful and productive astronomical observatory in human history is destined to become legendary.

Scientists and astronauts recall the telescope’s finest hours as well as threats to its 25-year existence
 

Mariette DiChristina, Scientific American's Editor in Chief, has a special place in her heart for the Hubble Space Telescope

The much-hyped James Webb Space Telescope promises to revolutionize exoplanet science, but only if astronomers can agree on how to use it.

When a new generation of giant ground-based telescopes comes online in the next decade, human eyes will see what no one has seen before

Distant supernovae are revealing the crucial time when the expansion of the universe changed from decelerating to accelerating

Dark energy is pushing the universe apart at an ever faster rate. Astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter recounts the experimental approaches he took to make that discovery