Space Telescopes

Ultraviolet · 1990

The Hubble Space Telescope is a 2.4-metre NASA–ESA observatory that has transformed astronomy from low Earth orbit since 1990.

Near Infrared · 2021

The James Webb Space Telescope is the largest space observatory, observing the infrared universe from the Sun–Earth L2 point.

Infrared · 2003

Spitzer was NASA's infrared Great Observatory (2003–2020), studying warm dust, exoplanets, and distant galaxies.

X Ray · 1999

Chandra is NASA's flagship X-ray observatory, imaging black holes, supernova remnants, and galaxy clusters with unmatched sharpness.

Visible Light · 2009

Kepler (2009–2018) discovered thousands of exoplanets by watching for the tiny dips in starlight caused by transiting planets.

Visible Light · 2018

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite surveys the brightest nearby stars for transiting planets across nearly the whole sky.

Visible Light · 2013

Gaia was ESA's astrometry mission, charting the positions, distances, and motions of nearly two billion stars in the Milky Way.

Near Infrared

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is a planned NASA wide-field infrared observatory for dark-energy and exoplanet surveys. It is not yet operational.

Gamma Ray · 1991

The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (1991–2000) was one of NASA's Great Observatories, mapping the gamma-ray sky and studying gamma-ray bursts.

Gamma Ray · 2008

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope surveys the entire gamma-ray sky every few hours, studying pulsars, blazars, and gamma-ray bursts.

Infrared · 2009

Herschel was ESA's far-infrared and submillimeter observatory (2009–2013), with the largest single mirror ever flown in space at the time.

Submillimeter · 2009

ESA's Planck mission (2009–2013) mapped the cosmic microwave background with unprecedented precision, refining the age and composition of the universe.

Infrared · 2009

WISE surveyed the entire sky in infrared light, cataloguing hundreds of millions of objects and, as NEOWISE, tracking near-Earth asteroids.

Visible Light · 2023

Euclid is ESA's mission to map the geometry of the dark universe, surveying billions of galaxies to study dark matter and dark energy.

Ultraviolet · 2010

The Solar Dynamics Observatory watches the Sun continuously in many wavelengths, capturing the dynamics of solar activity in extraordinary detail.

Ultraviolet · 1995

SOHO, a joint ESA–NASA mission, has studied the Sun from the L1 point since 1995 and is also the most prolific discoverer of comets.

X Ray · 2006

Hinode is a Japanese-led solar observatory studying the Sun's magnetic field and corona in visible, ultraviolet, and X-ray light.

Ultraviolet · 1998

TRACE (1998–2010) imaged the Sun's transition region and corona in ultraviolet light, revealing the fine structure of magnetic loops.