Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2

E46135

Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 was a key imaging instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope that captured many of its most iconic and scientifically important space photographs from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s.


Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Hubble Space Telescope instrument
astronomical imaging instrument
space telescope camera
abbreviation WFPC2
associatedWithProgram Hubble Space Telescope program
commissioningDate 1994
contains built-in corrective optics
correctsFor Hubble primary mirror spherical aberration
countryOfOrigin United States
currentLocation Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
deactivationDate 2009
deployedOn Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission 1
developedBy NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
displayedAt National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
fieldOfView approximately 2.5 by 2.5 arcminutes for wide field chips
hasChannel planetary camera channel
wide field channel
hasFilterWheel yes
height approximately 2 meters
installationDate 1993-12
installedDuringMission STS-61
launchVehicle Space Shuttle Endeavour
length approximately 2 meters
manufacturer Jet Propulsion Laboratory
mass approximately 280 kilograms
notableFor detailed imaging of planetary atmospheres
high-resolution imaging of distant galaxies
observations of star-forming regions
producing many of Hubble Space Telescope’s iconic images
numberOfCCDs 4
numberOfFilters approximately 48
operator NASA
partOf Hubble Space Telescope
pixelArray 800 by 800 pixels per CCD
primaryScienceRole imaging of astronomical objects
removalDate 2009-05
removedDuringMission STS-125
replaced Wide Field and Planetary Camera
replacedBy Wide Field Camera 3
spectralRange near-ultraviolet to near-infrared
status retired
usedFor cosmological distance scale measurements
galaxy morphology studies
planetary science
stellar population studies
supernova observations
usesDetector charge-coupled device
wavelengthCoverage approximately 115 to 1000 nanometers
width approximately 1 meter

Referenced by (7)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Wide Field Camera 3
Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 ("Wide Field and Planetary Camera")
replaced
Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 ("WFPC2")
abbreviation
Hubble Space Telescope
hasInstrument
STS-61 ("Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2)")
payload
Hubble Space Telescope ("Wide Field and Planetary Camera")
previousInstrument
Wide Field Camera 3
successorTo

Please wait…