Hubble has orbited the Earth since 1990, a little under 500 km up, about once every 95 minutes. Above the atmosphere, which blurs and absorbs light, it has taken some of the sharpest pictures of planets, nebulae and distant galaxies, and helped measure the age and expansion of the universe. Astronauts visited it five times to repair and upgrade it; the last visit was in 2009. Its orbit is tilted only 28.5° to the equator, so it passes over the tropics and mid-latitudes. The thin air at its altitude slowly brakes it, and it drifts a little lower every year.
Where is the Hubble Space Telescope now?
Computing…
Ground track
Where Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is now (marker), its next orbit (solid line) and its last half orbit (faded); the shaded area is in night.
Your location
Give your location to see where you are on the map and in the 3D view, and when Hubble Space Telescope (HST) passes over you.
Used only in your browser, never sent. Rounded to about 1 km and kept in this browser until you forget it.
About Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
- Agency
- NASA / ESA
- Launched
- 1990-04-24
Goals
Hubble was built to see the Universe above the blurring of Earth's atmosphere, with sharp images in visible, ultraviolet and near-infrared light. One of its founding goals was to measure how fast the Universe is expanding; it also studies how galaxies, stars and planets form and evolve, black holes, and the atmospheres of planets around other stars, and its observations contributed to the discovery of dark energy.
Today
Launched by Space Shuttle Discovery and serviced five times by astronauts. Since June 2024 it observes in one-gyro mode to save its remaining gyroscopes, which limits some targets but keeps science going.
Questions and answers
Can I see Hubble from the ground?
Yes, from latitudes below about 40° north or south, as a moving point about as bright as a fairly bright star.
Is Hubble the same as the James Webb telescope?
No. Hubble orbits the Earth and sees mostly visible and ultraviolet light; Webb is much farther away, 1.5 million km from the Earth, and sees infrared light.
Where the numbers come from
Values refresh every second in your browser; the published data are checked every 10 minutes and updated several times a day.