Hubble's Staircase Effect: What Caused It and How Was It Fixed?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the "staircase effect" observed in older Hubble Space Telescope images, exploring the reasons behind this phenomenon and the changes made to address it. The scope includes technical explanations and historical context regarding Hubble's imaging systems.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation, Historical

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about the staircase effect in older Hubble images, seeking clarification on its cause.
  • Another participant suggests that the effect may be due to each quadrant of the image being taken with a separate camera.
  • A later reply indicates that the issue was resolved by replacing the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFPC3) in 2009.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present multiple viewpoints regarding the cause of the staircase effect and the changes made to the camera systems, but no consensus is reached on the specifics of the effect's origins.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about the imaging process and the technical specifications of the cameras are not fully explored, leaving certain details unresolved.

Shilly
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Hubble "Staircase" effect?

Hi, I was just wondering why some of the older Hubble pictures have a staircase effect on them? Any help would be appreciated! Example below

edit: refer to examples in post #3
 
Last edited:
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OHHH so each quadrant is taken with a separate camera? Why is it no longer like this?

592px-Bok_globules_in_IC2944.jpg


600px-STSci-PRC01-33_omega_centauri.jpg
 


Because they changed the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide_Field_and_Planetary_Camera_2" for the WFPC3 in 2009.
 
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