Years old and is continuing to expand and we know this from the Hubble Space Telescope 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 990 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 astronomy. 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 over 6 and a half 1000 light years. From. The Hubble Space Telescope captured these beautiful images of far reaches of the universe. Astrophysicist route fewer than has used hubble since it went into service he says it revolutionized astronomy. Its a High Resolution just a proof that our universe is expanding and it makes other even pace its an all 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 thousands of often a. Great deal of the fabric. On the universe on the 24th of april 1990 a Space Shuttle discovery delivered hubble into orbit after decades of planning and construction the size of a tall 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 sent 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 for 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. After also doors all the green 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 are. Hard to spread out on. In all 5 missions was sent to hubble the last one in 2009 sensors were replaced cameras retrofitted and new solar panels installed. Those efforts have kept operational to this day constantly peering into the distance large puddle 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. Couples excess there 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 astra physicist klaus yeager says there are good reasons for working in the infrared range. Im all in stellar nurseries dust absorbs visible light with infrared you can stare right into the system with its longer wavelengths it passes through the crowd the other reason is that the universe is expanding so the light from distant galaxies undergoes a redshift with an infrared telescope you can observe these objects much more clearly. Than the telescopes cameras and instruments have to be kept very cold if he signals to be detected. And that requires a lot of extra equipment i think losing a sunshield the size of a tennis court 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 im ray of huge challenges. Is a conference is 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 sponsored to a place and then stopped 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 tested it perfectly theyll be no 2nd chance like with hubble and its corrected vision. 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 through this because it will be stationed very far away and we wont be able to do any repairs out there are 2 of. 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 him from read 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 time and its not what we expected at the beginning its been a great time but it is also with little 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 d over the past 3 decades it has revealed distant realms never before seen. If all 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 ways to learn to star cluster it contains some of the hottest and brightest stars in our galaxy. And here we dive into the large metal any cloud incidentally hubble doesnt produce color images the colors have to be reconstructed on a computer afterwards. 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 fetter synthesizing filling the atmosphere with oxygen around 2000000000 years ago the 1st multicellular organisms developed 400000000 years ago vertebrates then began was. The earth and 300000 years ago modern humans appeared so complex life forms have any existed for a tiny fraction of its history but theyve said if you recall it in that time uphill from gun assented a question about that. Whats the biggest animal ever to have existed. Thats easy the blue whale. Blue 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 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 188. 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 expansion their belief was used to make whale bone corsets and umbrella frames. Their fat was boiled down to obtain oil from 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 countless. 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 shelves. We eat more soft cooked food instead but we also populating more and more land thereby affecting the development of other animals in our environment. Biologist frederickson tool is studying catfish in the river town in the talents of the 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. 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 be even drink. If youre a catfish only notices the presence of a pigeon when its barbells those whisker like things register its movement then theres a tax. P. Gins 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 lots of people and lots of other animals. Shiism 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 forest 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 and genetic footprints for the mice of central park there is no escape. Are these strange from their rule kin. One of the other populations under study lives 40 kilometers north of the city on the grounds of the Calder CenterFordham UniversityField Research station. There is one. The 1st white foot in mouth of the day. What they are after is the mouses d. N. A. We take a generic 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 i 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 make up 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 a here and one out here so central park seems to be our most distinct population today so if you take a mouse from central park some of its genes will be different from outside in the countryside in a big part those genes are associated with digestion and metabolism would seem central park my subjected 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. So these why for my so eating things and they have to digest them in some way the nutrients and we know its evolution because a heritable change and d. N. A. Sequences of olution. Central park mice even lot of junk food and that changing their d. N. A. It raises several like broader questions about what we are doing as a species as we modify the earths habitat 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 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 sleeves and. Take common sage salvia as its developed a clever pollination mechanism. Underlip. The sage pedros or 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 the plan to whatever has been modified in stamens so they function like a lever and block access to the nectar. So next. Only bumble bees and honey bees are Strong Enough to operate the lever. As a bee depresses it in a male stage flower a 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. More rigid is also known as the fly catcher push. To get sticky hairs it traps insects it cant however digest them and depends on the help of others. These are funston leaving funston. Gets an easier tom on ds a fun little bugs were originally specialists who live on the plant and eat the insects trapped by the host on the ridge of the lip of the bugs excrement its full of nitrogen and thats the substance the plant craves the most funding dashed off to the flanks on mice and. Heres another amazing plant it too has a staff of little helpers. Members of the genus mema code you have large 2 birds. And inside them is a maze of chambers and passages. A delightful home for a colony of ants. 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 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 quick. And is then evidently absorbed by the little protrusions that make the walls rough and deal with all funding income one foot on off to me im. Moving right along to another greenhouse we meet another crafty plant. The our own 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 ringback the more follows get gas known to its friends as giant food lily can grow to 6 metres in height. In only flowers one day a year. So beetles and carrion flies have to get their timing just right. They enter a narrow gap to get close to the reproductive organs. Isnt often youve used 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 one of the english 21st century as it evidently works are on the tracks insects with us is an overwhelmingly foul 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. And an enthusiasm in v. Z. Plants play tricks used deception dressed up as trees and pretend to be carrying lies they have evidently been misleading insects for. Of years the more one studies these phenomena the more impressive their achievements but im talking about us lets lift eli stone. But after the. Competition is said to spur inventiveness in business as in nature its considered a driver of evolution does not apply to botanists as well what more Amazing Things about except to discover. A problem is read write up a lot of them even if you. Do you have a science question that youve always wanted ellen said were happy to help out send it to us as a video text ovoid smell if we also read on the show well send you a little surprise as a thank you come on just ask. And for most stories about the world of science visit us on our website on twitter and facebook. And. Thats all for this week next time 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 by finance. It. A defector from germany who was caught and arrested. Booked garion border guard who did his duty. 30 years later the to meet again. Defectors and the Border Guards are 21. Coming up. Form a dining in a glass house. With 19 restrictions or prompted people to get creative. The restaurant in amsterdam now serves guests and many greenhouses buyers kloof and set up our euro match reporter megan played the places. In 30 minutes on d w. In the right of Climate Change. For a cause most of. Whats in store. For the future. Comes pretty megacities to the multimedia inside. The turner. Slick. Listen carefully to. The soup. Again you 2 did. Discover who. Subscribe to the documentary. Beethoven is for me. Is for you. Right over this for. Is for the. Beethoven is for this. Is for. Beethoven 202250th anniversary here on. This is e w news and these are our top stories brazils official coronavirus death toll has now overtaken the u. K. To become the 2nd highest in the world the Brazilian HealthMinistry Says almost 42000 people are now known to have died a number surpassed only in the u. S. The. Statues of figures including Winston Churchill have been boarded up ahead of more protests expected in london antiracism demonstrators marched peacefully out