What specific optical flaw was present in Hubble's primary mirror?
Answer
Spherical aberration
The grinding error left the primary mirror shaped incorrectly, resulting in spherical aberration, where light rays hitting different parts of the mirror focus at different points.
Related Questions
In what month and year was the Hubble Space Telescope initially deployed?What was the immediate consequence of the Hubble's initial deployment regarding image quality?What specific optical flaw was present in Hubble's primary mirror?By approximately how much thinner than required were the edges of the primary mirror ground?What apparatus was essential for verifying the mirror's exact curvature during pre-launch construction?What was the specific assembly mistake made in the testing equipment that allowed the flawed mirror to pass inspection?What was the visual effect of the spherical aberration on bright objects like stars?What was the designation assigned to the first servicing mission sent to repair Hubble?What was the name of the corrective optics package installed during the December 1993 servicing mission?How many small, precisely shaped corrective mirrors did the COSTAR device consist of?