The Wide Field and Planetary Camera 1 (WFPC1) was the original camera installed onboard Hubble during the launch in 1990 and worked flawlessly. Before launch work had begun on the construction of the second generation camera, WFPC2. Due to the improper curvature of the main mirror a modification was built into WFPC2 to compensate for this problem.
WFPC1 was exchanged with WFPC2 during the First Servicing Mission. WFPC1 made many remarkable results during its three years in space, although these were soon diminished by the stunning results pouring out of WFPC2 with the built-in optical correction.
WFPC1 Facts |
| Instrument type |
Camera |
| Field of view |
Wide Field (WF) f/12.9 - 2.6 x 2.6 arcminutes Planetary Camera (PC) f/30 - 66 x 66 arcseconds |
| Resolution |
0.043 arcsecond (pixel size Planetary Camera) |
| Wavelength range |
115 to 1000 nm |
|
WFPC1 back on the ground again.
A typical image taken with WFPC1. Note that the stars seem somewhat more fuzzy than seen in images taken with WFPC2. |
