Its namesake edwin hubble calculated back in the 1920 s. That the cosmos was expanding but his calculations were very inexact the Hubble Space Telescope was to change that nearly 50 years after the astronomers initial discovery work on the telescope began and in 1990 it was launched the Hubble Space Telescope has since revolutionized our understanding of the universe this year its celebrated 30 years in space and its still one of the most important instruments in the strand of. The tarantella nebula in the large Magellanic Cloud its a vast region of gas a stellar nursery giving birth to new stars. And this is the corrina nebula ever 6 and a half 1000 light years from earth. Space telescope captured these beautiful images of far reaches of the universe. Astrophysicist route fuel has used hubble since it went into service he says it revolutionized astronomy. Its a High Resolution to proof that our universe is expanding and it makes other even pace its an old theory that had been gathering dust for 50 years. But once confirmed it completely up ended our entire understanding of cosmology of the creation and development of the universe of often a. Very formal discovery. On the 24th of april 1990 a Space Shuttle discovery delivered hubble into orbit after decades of planning and construction the size of a tour bus hubble orbits the earth at an altitude of 550 kilometers way above the atmosphere and free of the distortions it causes. At 1st the one and a half 1000000000. 00 telescope center only blurred snapshots back to base its primary mirror was 2007 millimeter out of shape and no one had noticed before the launch. So in 1903 another Space Shuttle set off the hubble crew took a long lens attachment to correct the floor much like spectacles that correct our eyesight. Over 3 years after its launch hubble could finally see clearly. Also doors all the green of rings true only became possible with the newly adjusted instruments it was a huge advantage of that hubble was designed with maintenance in mind. That we would keep updating it to the latest standards it meant we could keep adding new instruments and thats why were still using it 30 years. Dr a hoarder prizes are spread out on the go. In all 5 missions were sent to hubble the last one in 2009 sensors were replaced cameras retrofitted and new solar panels installed. Those efforts have kept hubble operational to this day constantly peering into the distance. Has measured the movement of gas clouds and stars in other galaxies and discovered planets orbiting distant stars and thanks to its help in determining that the universe is expanding at an ever faster rate we now know that it is 13700000000 years old. Couple successor is the James Webb Space Telescope one of the most complex scientific instruments ever made and costing about 10000000000. 00 so far its also one of the most expensive well hubble mostly operates in the visible light spectrum the james Webb Telescope will work almost entirely with infrared light. The Max Planck Institute for astronomy and heidelberg is involved in developing the new telescope astrophysicist klaus yeager says there are good reasons for working in the infrared range. Im all in stellar nurseries dust absorbs visible life with infrared you can stare right into the system with its longer wavelengths it passes through the clouds the other reason is that the universe is expanding so the light from distant galaxies undergoes a red shift with an infrared telescope you can observe these objects much more clearly. The telescope picks cameras and instruments have to be kept very cold if faint heat signals to be detected. And that requires a lot of extra equipment including a sun shield the size of a tennis course of course that wont fit into any spacecraft so engineered to come up with a complicated structure which will only unfold once its up in space. The entire program represents and a ray of huge challenges. Is a conference this complex equipment all has to function in space i think thats why everyone is being much more careful were hoping well be able to launch from 2021 on swanseas booklet on the stock. For example while hubble has a one piece primary mera the one on James Webb Space Telescope is made up of 18 parts which will only be put together once in orbit together theyll form a single reflector 3 times the size of hubbles every part has to sit perfectly theyll be no 2nd chance like with hubble and its correct invention. Its going to monitor the song some might retort that we managed to repair hubble after its initial problems with james webb we have to avoid anything like that from the very outset because it will be stationed very far away and we wont be able to do any repairs out there. The james Webb Telescope will be positioned one and a half 1000000 kilometers from us its easier to protect it there from the suns radiation than in the earths orbit. And that will be a great spot to do infrared astronomy. But for now hubble remains what is probably the most important instrument in astronomy as long as its still in orbit. 30 years is really a record ton and its not what we expected at the beginning its been a great time but it was also was that was sad to see a drawing to a close. On the other hand hubble successor is the future we needed to do more science the public has observed just about everything we could think of asking it to do. On the other hand hubble may yet have a few surprises in store for us over the past 3 decades it has revealed distant realms never before seen. Before goes well it can keep going for several more years and who knows what it might come up with. And heres a few more images sent back by hubble this is the west to learn to start it contains some of the hottest and brightest stars in our galaxy. And here we dive into the large metal any cloud incidentally doesnt produce color images the colors have to be reconstructed on a computer of 2 a. Couple can look at the universe almost as far back as the big bang earth came into existence about 10000000000 years later gathered around the earth the 1st single celled organisms appeared in the water in another 1000000000 years after that some of them eventually began photosynthesizing filling the atmosphere with oxygen around 2000000000 years ago the 1st multicellular organisms developed 400000000 years ago vertebrates then began to walk. The earth and 300000 years ago modern humans appeared so complex life forms have any system for a tiny fraction of its history but they set a few records in that time up till from gun a scientific question about that. Whats the biggest animal ever to have existed. Thats easy the blue whale. Whales can grow to more than 30 meters in length thats almost as long as an airbus a 320. The biggest blue whales can weigh up to around 190. 00 metric tons the weight of about 30 elephants. A blue whales heart is the size of a small car. Even as babies blue whales are huge a calf can weigh in at 2 tons when born. And the milk from its mother is so rich in fact it gains another 90 kilos a day. The adults primarily e. Krill tiny shrimp like creatures. They live in swarms and the whales filter them out of the water with their bristle like pulling. An adult blue whale can tuck away over 4 tons of krill a day. Blue whales are not only big but also loud. Their calls can reach a volume of 180. 00 decibels thats louder than thunder. Sound carries much farther through water than air. That allows these whales to communicate with each other across distances of up to one and a half 1000 kilometers. The. Only known natural threat to blue whales comes from killer whales. Humans are the greatest source of danger. The giant mammals were hunted for centuries almost to extension their billing was used to make whale bone corsets and umbrella frames. Their fat was boiled down to obtain oil for lamps. Its thought that by 960 only 3000 blue whales were left. Most countries have banned whaling and populations of blue whales have recovered slightly. However the noise from ships engines Climate Change and ocean pollution still cold serious hardships and the blue whale is still classified as an endangered species. Of whales most probably developed from hooved animals that lived on land thats why they closest relatives today still hippos and cows. But if aleutian hasnt stopped not even in the case of us humans our jaws have become more narrow over the course of time as we no longer use our teeth to crack open nuts bones or shells. We eat more soft cooked food instead but were also population more and more learned thereby affecting the development of other animals in our environment. Biologist frederickson tool is studying catfish in the river town in the town and southern french. The catfish are from Eastern Europe and shouldnt really be here. But in 1903 anglers released some specimens into the town. They had offspring and their descent. Continue to procreate a few years ago these catfish found a new source of food. Living in town brought the catfish into contact with pigeons. And pigeons never had aquatic predators and theyre always scanning the skies for birds of prey coming from above. Pigeons come down to the river to bathe and drink. But if youre a catfish you only notice is the presence of a pigeon when its barbells those was going like things register its movement then is a tax i thought. Pigeons live dangerously here. The killer fish have developed a taste for an entirely new kind of prairie and have learned how and where to catch them. The diet of some catfish here includes 40 percent of pigeon. The scene is now set for a spot of high speed evolution only those pigeons will survive that learn to deal with this relatively new source of danger. Another example of how urban living influences evolution. New york city is home to advance of people and lots of other animals gees and munchie sound is an evolutionary biologist hes off to find some specimens in central park. The park opened in 873. 00 and house a species that were already there at that time. Its no surrounded on all sides by streets and buildings right now where in the middle of central park were going to be traveling to the north end of the park where theres a very nice forest called the north woods and there will be setting out traps hopefully to capture whitefoot of mice. You also see that they are almost like a chain of islands that are scattered in this sea of concrete and roads and buildings and you know 8 and a half 1000000 people so in a sense if its a species like a mouse that cant leave the forests across you know neighborhoods and buildings and roads and make it to the other patch it is essentially the same biologically as if they were on an island in terms of them not being able to move and spread their genes with the other patches and these urban patches once they become sufficiently isolated operate like a mini galapagos. And may be driving the evolution of many species that are you know stuck there now. Munchie south is studying the white footed mouse you. Investigating whether different populations have developed different ways of life in genetic footprints for the mice of central park there is no escape. Are these strange from their roots in. One of the other populations understudy lives 40 kilometers north of the city on the grounds of the Calder CenterFordham UniversityField Research station. Theres one. First wait for them out of the day. What they are after is the mouses d. N. A. We take a jag sample in this case we will be using this small tool like a paper punch for tissue and we store that for genetic analysis and we want to be able to tie that tissue sample to a location because thats important for understanding how they vary when theyre in a more urban or less urban population. The trapped miners are relieved of a small tissue sample and then set free. There we go it turns out that the genetic makeup of big city mice really does differ from their wild cousins so. Were starting to fill in our gradient really nicely. So here the mice we have today from the color center and you can see its right in between highly urbanised new york city and then all these sites we have here and one out here so central park seems to be our most distinct population today so if you took a mouse from central park some of its genes will be different from miles outside in the countryside in a big part those genes are associated with digestion and metabolism would seem central park my suggested to a new urban diet but couldnt pass their genes to their real relatives once you get so what weve learned so far is that one set of genes that are changing. I have to do with what i was on so these white sort of mice are eating things and they have to digest them in a some way the nutrients and we know its evolution because a heritable change in the in a sequence of evolution. Central park mice even lot of junk food and thats changing their d. N. A. It raises several broader questions about what we are doing as a species as we modify the earth for our needs how are we changing the future of other species not only are affecting them but were changing what they will become in the future. As the global population grows it also makes it easier for pathogens and disease to spread like the Novel Coronavirus sassed c. O. V. 2. And as the areas that we inhabit expand the natural habitat of many plants and animals this reduced forcing them to adapt. In addition large Scale Factory farming makes it easier for pathogens including viruses to develop and spread an evolutionary trend that could pose a threat to our own lives. In the earths Evolutionary Development plants appeared on the land before animals one important step in that process was that they enrich the atmosphere with oxygen new niece has developed in the ecosystem the 1st land based plants appear to have been masses. Ferns and horse tails followed around 100000000 years later seed bearing and flowering plants followed after that and they began using animals and insects to pollinate their flowers and spread their seeds even today insects still fall for the clever tricks adopted by flowers. Charming scene of peace and harmony. Except it isnt flowers are forever competing for attention. To each want the right pollinators to come visit and entice them with sweet nectar. Flowering plants of a whole set of tricks up their sleeve. Take common sage salvia. Its developed a clever pollination mechanism. And until it blew the sage pedals are fused into upper and lower lips the big lower one is where pollinators can land and continue the nectar is deep inside and thats what the pollinators are after they dont actually care about. They just want nectar he flung the plan to wherever he has modified its daemons so they function like a lever and block access to the nectar. Getting through gunk so next. Only bumble bees and honey bees are Strong Enough to operate the lever. As a bee depresses it and the male stage flower the stamen is lowered and deposits pollen on its back. When it then visits a female stage flower a similar mechanism lowers the stigma which scoops up the pollen. There are plenty of other smart plants at the Botanical Garden of Hamburg University botanists are also studying some tropical plants with even wilder strategies to get what they want. Is also known as the fly catcher bush. With its sticky hairs it traps insects it cant however digest them and depends on the help of others. Leaving funston. On ds of our little bugs were originally specialists live on the plant. And the insects trapped by the host or the original live of the bugs excrement its full of nitrogen and thats the substance the plant craves the most finding dashed off the flanks on mice and. Heres another amazing plant it too has a staff of little helpers. Members of the genus a code you have large birds. And inside them is a maze of chambers and passages. A delightful home for a colony of ants move me cool. Under. Our epiphytes that means they grow on other plants usually trees they have no contact with the ground and cant directly access nutrients in the soil so theyre always at risk of malnutrition which they offset with the help of als that some of the chambers have rough walls and in those chambers all kinds of waste are deposited and excrement the remains of prey and dead ends come on under tropical conditions that all breaks down quickly and is then evidently absorbed by the little protrusions that make the walls rough and deal with all funding income on the stuff it on off today im. Moving right along to another greenhouse we need another crafty plant. Is a family of flowering plant that pretends to be a tree. This is not a tree trunk but a huge long stem. European members of the family are modestly sized about 40 centimeters tall but their tropical cousins belonging to the genus amorphophallus are huge. Ringback the more follows good gas known to its friends as giant food lily can grow to 6 metres in height. It only flowers one day a year. So beetles and carrion flies have to get their timing just right. They enter. Or a narrow gap to get close to the reproductive organs. Isnt often movies in the skin no one in the plant has to rely on a beatles arriving with a load of pollen on just the right day and setting off the following day with a fresh load to visit the next planting which is also ready to be pollinated its a very tricky strategy this is from the english 21st century as it evidently works are on the tracks insects with what to us is an overwhelmingly file smell than traps them for 24 hours beneath the ring of hairs. The upside for the insects is nectar and warmth. While theyre chilling in their insect hotel they get peppered with pollen. The next morning off they go its a win win situation. Just sometimes in some xen v. Z. Takes on toys plants play tricks used deception and dress up as trees and pretend to be carrying lies they have evidently been misleading insects for millions of years the more one studies these phenomena the more impressive their achievements but im talking about us lets listen. To the. Competition is said to spar inventiveness in business as in nature its considered a driver of evolution does not apply to botanists as well more Amazing Things of a set to discover. If outlet is right right im glad to meet you. So you have a science question that youve always wanted ellen said were happy to help out send it to us as a video text or force mail if we dont see it on the show well send you a little surprise as a thank you come on just. And full most stories about the world of science visit us on our website on twitter and facebook. Thats all for this week next time on tomorrow today well look at the miniscule world of nanotechnology scientists have developed nano robots designed to deliver drugs to specific parts of the human body more on that next time but i cannot. Believe. The north sea. Germanys only island on the open sea a day trip is nice but its just a 2 or 3 days on the island that makes a real difference its the ideal place to slow down and relax tricky im. Coming up on. A defector from mr sherman who was caught. Arrested. The carrion border guard who did his duty. 30 years later the to meet again. A defender and the border guard arcs 21. 30 minutes on d. W. Im going crazy thing in all the time. How to handle newlines in times of the corona endemic d. W. Reporter keep your job just like everyone else and shes looking for answers and thankfully with the help of jamie expect a few other. Thank you this is not life as we know it. In this together our new web series. Like. A mug or just fluff. Food for the russian soul. There runs deep. So many different banks of life. Some are. Probably. Going to come straight from the heart. Of the ocean and in turning from birth to death starts june 18th on g. W. Innovation. But can you come to the major issues of our society. The seizing of the cell. Phone could host this modern day heroes in a shot of inspirational people take all the challenges of the world with their unique ideas. As the. Basically you would think our minds you look at those 2 problems and make them one clinician the new season of sounders apparently. This week w. This is news these are our top stories people across germany have taken part in demonstrations against racism and social injustice in berlin protesters formed a human chain around the city trade unions and religious groups also took part. In. A vigil has been held in Atlanta Georgia where a 27 year old black man was shot and killed by police at a restaurant on friday night the premises were torched after the incident sparked renewed protests