| Abstract |
Since its launch in 1990 the Hubble Space Telescope has made major contributions to all areas of astronomy and astrophysics. These range from the study of nearby planets, the processes of star and planet formation, the stellar and interstellar components of galaxies, the discovery that most, if not all, galactic nuclei harbor a massive black hole that profoundly affects their evolution, to the realisation that the universe as a whole is undergoing acceleration as a result of a yet unknown form of dark energy. |