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Wide Field Camera 3

Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience

The Pillars of Creation are towering columns of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula where new stars are being born. This beautiful image was captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) is the Hubble Space Telescope's last and most advanced tool for capturing images of space. It sees light that our eyes can see and helps scientists study the universe.

The Wide Field Camera 3 being prepared for its launch aboard STS-125

It was put into place during a space mission called STS-125 on May 14, 2009. This mission replaced an older camera called the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2.

Since it was installed, WFC3 has helped scientists discover amazing things about stars, planets, and faraway galaxies. As of April 2023, it was still working and sending back important pictures from space.

Specifications

The Butterfly Nebula imaged by WFC3 in 2009

The Wide Field Camera 3 is a special camera used on the Hubble telescope. It can take pictures of stars and other objects in space using different kinds of light. It has two main parts: one that sees ultraviolet and visible light, and another that sees infrared light.

The camera can capture images over a wide area of the sky. Its visible light part can see colors from purple to green, while its infrared part can see even more hidden details. Both parts have special tools like filters and prisms that help scientists study space in many ways. This camera helps Hubble continue doing amazing work for many years to come.

History

The Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, was planned starting in spring 1998. Experts from many groups worked together to build it, with leaders at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. The camera was mostly made at Goddard and Ball Aerospace in Colorado.

NASA wanted to send WFC3 into space on October 14, 2008, but needed more repairs first. The mission finally launched on May 11, 2009, and astronauts John M. Grunsfeld and Andrew J. Feustel installed WFC3 on May 14.

To celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 25th anniversary, scientists used WFC3 to take a new, clearer picture of the Pillars of Creation in January 2015. This beautiful image used both near-infrared and visible light.

In January 2019, WFC3 had a small problem, but NASA fixed it and the camera was working again soon after.

Images

Colorful pillars of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula, where new stars are being born.
A stunning infrared view of the Horsehead Nebula taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, showing its ethereal shape against the backdrop of stars and galaxies.
A stunning view of the Carina Nebula showing colorful clouds of gas and dust where new stars are being born. Brilliant stars are shaping these cosmic pillars, and jets of gas from young stars can be seen shooting out into space!
A colorful view of Jupiter's atmosphere showing its white cloud layers and dark spots, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2010.
The Hubble Space Telescope floating in space, as seen from the Space Shuttle Atlantis during a servicing mission.

Related articles

Hubble Space Telescope
Camera
Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Wide Field Camera 3, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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