#hubble25

May 20, 2015

The Incredible Time Machine

Today’s guest post is by Mary Estacion. Mary is the News Video Producer at the Space Telescope Science Institute. She is also the host and producer of the “Behind the Webb” podcast series, which showcases the James Webb Space Telescope as it is being built as well as the engineers and scientists working on the observatory. The video in this post highlights a topic of particular interest to the Frontier Fields project — deep field astronomy.

The production of the “The Incredible Time Machine” video is part of a year-long celebration highlighting 25 years of the Hubble Space Telescope. Because of Hubble, we can see back to hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang. This particular segment includes more than a half a dozen scientists from all over the country who have used Hubble to look at the universe’s earliest days. It takes you through the history of the Deep Field Program and shows how the addition of new instruments on Hubble throughout the years has furthered our understanding of the universe’s evolution.

For the video, go here:  http://hubble25th.org/video/5

April 22, 2015

Taking Stock During this Hubble Anniversary Week

This is a big week for the Hubble Space Telescope. Twenty-five years ago, on April 25, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was released into orbit from the Space Shuttle Discovery. Astronomers from around the world are taking stock of the amazing achievements of Hubble over the past 25 years: observations that continually challenge our view of our own Solar System, discoveries of extrasolar planetary systems, a more complete view of star and planet formation, understanding how galaxies evolve from just after the Big Bang to the present day, putting constraints on the nature of the enigmatic dark matter, and even helping to discover that the majority of the mass-energy in the universe is in the form of a mysterious repulsive force known as dark energy. To top it all off, thanks in large part to five servicing missions, Hubble is a more powerful telescope today than at any point in its history.

Astronomers are not only celebrating Hubble’s iconic achievements of the past, they are looking forward to what Hubble can accomplish over the next five years. This anniversary week at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md, a symposium is being held called Hubble 2020: Building on 25 Years of Discovery. STScI is the science operations center of the Hubble Space Telescope, so it is a fitting location for astronomers to gather to discuss the past and the future of Hubble science. For the adventurous out there who would like to test and strengthen their astronomy acumen, watch the astronomy symposium online, where astronomers discuss science results with other astronomers.

For other events celebrating Hubble’s 25th anniversary, you can click here.

Hubble Frontier Fields Update

Part of the conversation happening around the past, present, and future science of Hubble focuses on Hubble’s exploration of the deep universe. As it so happens, April 2015 is also the month where the imaging and processing of the Hubble Frontier Fields data are half-way complete. Of course, astronomers will be pouring over the images for years to come — the science results from the Frontier Fields are just beginning.

Shown in the images below are the first three completely imaged Frontier Fields galaxy clusters (Abell 2744, MACS J0416, MACS J0717) and their respective neighboring parallel fields.

Shown here are the first three completed Frontier Fields galaxy clusters and their associated parallel fields. Labeled, from the top, are galaxy cluster Abell 2744, the neighboring Abell 2744 parallel field, galaxy cluster MACS J0416, the neighboring MACS J0416 parallel field, galaxy cluster MACS J0717, and the neighboring MACS J0717 parallel field. The MACS J0717 galaxy cluster image and its associated parallel field are still being processed, so we expect another version of these images shortly.

Shown here are the first three completed Frontier Fields galaxy clusters and their associated parallel fields. Labeled, from the top, are galaxy cluster Abell 2744, the neighboring Abell 2744 parallel field, galaxy cluster MACS J0416, the neighboring MACS J0416 parallel field, galaxy cluster MACS J0717, and the neighboring MACS J0717 parallel field. The MACS J0717 galaxy cluster image and its associated parallel field are still being processed, so we expect new versions of these images shortly.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz, M. Mountain, A. Koekemoer, and the HFF Team (STScI)

Astronomers are already looking forward to the future of deep-field science. While much of the discussion this week is about Hubble, astronomers generally acknowledge that to truly build off of Hubble’s discoveries, we need the next-generation Great Observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). JWST is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2018. I think it goes without saying that the participants of the Hubble 2020 symposium are incredibly excited at the prospect of these two behemoths of science — these machines of discovery —  exploring the universe at the same time.

February 17, 2015

Celebrating Hubble’s 25th Anniversary

In April, Hubble will celebrate a quarter-century in space. The telescope, launched into orbit in 1990, has become one of NASA’s most beloved and successful missions, its images changing our understanding of the universe and taking root in our cultural landscape. Hubble pictures have not only expanded our scientific knowledge, they have altered the way we imagine the cosmos to appear.

pillars 1

Hubble took its iconic “Pillars of Creation” image of these star-forming clouds of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula in 1995. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, J. Hester and P. Scowen (Arizona State University)

Hubble’s prolonged success has been a testament to its innovative design, which allowed it to be periodically updated by astronauts with new equipment and improved cameras. Hubble  has been able, to an extent, to keep up with technological changes over the past 25 years. The benefits are evident when comparing the images of the past and present.

pillars 2

This new image of the Eagle Nebula’s “Pillars of Creation” was taken in 2014 to launch Hubble’s year-long celebration of its 25th anniversary. The image was captured with Wide Field Camera 3, an instrument installed on the telescope in 2009. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Hubble’s new instruments — specifically, the near-infrared capabilities of Wide Field Camera 3 — are what makes the Frontier Fields project possible. The faint infrared light of the most distant, gravitationally lensed galaxies sought in the Frontier Fields project would be beyond the reach of Hubble’s earlier cameras. Frontier Fields highlights Hubble’s continuing quest to blaze new trails in astronomy — and pave the path for the upcoming Webb Space Telescope — so it makes sense that its imagery is included in a collection of 25 of Hubble’s significant images, specially selected for the anniversary year.

The immense gravity in this foreground galaxy cluster, Abell 2744, warps space to brighten and magnify images of far-more-distant background galaxies as they looked over 12 billion years ago, not long after the big bang. This is the first of the Frontier Fields to be imaged.

Abell 2744, the first of the Frontier Fields to be imaged, is part of Hubble’s 25th anniversary collection of top images. The immense gravity of the foreground galaxy cluster warps space to brighten and magnify images of far-more-distant background galaxies. Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz, M. Mountain, A. Koekemoer, and the HFF Team (STScI)

 

The 25th birthday is a significant milestone, so Hubble is throwing a year-long celebration, with events happening in communities and online throughout 2015. Last week, Tony Darnell hosted a discussion of the beauty and scientific relevance of the Hubble 25th anniversary images, one of the many anniversary-themed Hubble Hangouts he’ll be doing as the months go on. To keep an eye on upcoming events, see the images, and learn about the science, visit our special 25th anniversary website, Hubble25th.org.