Galaxy M100 Before and After Servicing Mission 1

These comparison images of the core of the galaxy M100 shows the dramatic improvement in Hubble Space Telescope's view of the universe after the first servicing mission. The newer image (right) was taken with the second generation Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WFPC-2) which was installed during the STS-61 Hubble Servicing Mission. The picture beautifully demonstrates that the corrective optics incorporated within the WFPC-2 compensated fully for optical aberration in Hubble's primary mirror. The new camera allowed Hubble to probe the universe with unprecedented clarity and sensitivity, and to fulfill many of the most important scientific objectives for which the telescope was originally built.

[ Right ]

The core of the grand design spiral galaxy M100, as imaged by Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in its high resolution channel. The WFPC-2 contained modified optics that correct for Hubble's previously blurry vision, allowing the telescope for the first time to cleanly resolve faint structure as small as 30 light-years across in a galaxy which is tens of millions of light years away. The image was taken on December 31, 1993.

[ Left ]

For comparison, a picture taken with the WFPC-1 camera in wide field mode, on November 27, 1993, just a few days prior to the STS-61 servicing mission. The effects of optical aberration in HST's 2.4-meter primary mirror blur starlight, smeared out fine detail, and limited the telescope's ability to see faint structure. Both Hubble images are "raw;" they were not subjected to computer image reconstruction techniques commonly used in aberrated images made before the servicing mission.