Hubble is getting better with age

Launched over 24 years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope is now using a new technique called spatial scanning to measure up to ten times farther than before. The technique works with the same parallax trigonometry the scope uses to calculate cosmic distances, where Earth's orbit and the star under scrutiny serve as points in an imaginary triangle. Spatial scanning improves the accuracy when working with smaller angles, enabling it to study stars as 10,000 light years away.