Observing the Earliest Galaxies: Looking for the Sources of Reionization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Illingworth, Garth

2015-04-01

Systematic searches for the earliest galaxies in the reionization epoch finally became possible in 2009 when the Hubble Space Telescope was updated with a powerful new infrared camera during the final Shuttle servicing mission SM4 to Hubble. The reionization epoch represents the last major phase transition of the universe and was a major event in cosmic history. The intense ultraviolet radiation from young star-forming galaxies is increasingly considered to be the source of the photons that reionized intergalactic hydrogen in the period between the ``dark ages'' (the time before the first stars and galaxies at about 100-200 million years after the Big Bang) and the end of reionization around 800-900 million years. Yet finding and measuring the earliest galaxies in this era of cosmic dawn has proven to a challenging task, even with Hubble's new infrared camera. I will discuss the deep imaging undertaken by Hubble and the remarkable insights that have accrued from the imaging datasets taken over the last decade on the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field (HUDF, HUDF09/12) and other regions. The HUDF datasets are central to the story and have been assembled into the eXtreme Deep Field (XDF), the deepest image ever from Hubble data. The XDF, when combined with results from shallower wide-area imaging surveys (e.g., GOODS, CANDELS) and with detections of galaxies from the Frontier Fields, has provided significant insights into the role of galaxies in reionization. Yet many questions remain. The puzzle is far from being fully solved and, while much will done over the next few years, the solution likely awaits the launch of JWST. NASA/STScI Grant HST-GO-11563.

Hubble Finds a Lenticular Galaxy Standing Out in the Crowd

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

A lone source shines out brightly from the dark expanse of deep space, glowing softly against a picturesque backdrop of distant stars and colorful galaxies. Captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), this scene shows PGC 83677, a lenticular galaxy — a galaxy type that sits between the more familiar elliptical and spiral varieties. It reveals both the relatively calm outskirts and intriguing core of PGC 83677. Here, studies have uncovered signs of a monstrous black hole that is spewing out high-energy X-rays and ultraviolet light. Credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble; acknowledgements: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla) NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Town Hall Meeting Presentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mather, John C.

2002-01-01

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), formerly known as the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), will be the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. It will carry 3 instruments to a deep space orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2, and will cover the wavelength range from 0.6 to 28 microns. The design concepts and current status of the project will be summarized, including the telescope and observatory contract proposed by the new prime contractor, TRW.

FRONTIER FIELDS: HIGH-REDSHIFT PREDICTIONS AND EARLY RESULTS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Coe, Dan; Bradley, Larry; Zitrin, Adi, E-mail: DCoe@STScI.edu

2015-02-20

The Frontier Fields program is obtaining deep Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescope images of new ''blank'' fields and nearby fields gravitationally lensed by massive galaxy clusters. The Hubble images of the lensed fields are revealing nJy sources (AB mag > 31), the faintest galaxies yet observed. The full program will transform our understanding of galaxy evolution in the first 600 million years (z > 9). Previous programs have yielded a dozen or so z > 9 candidates, including perhaps fewer than expected in the Ultra Deep Field and more than expected in shallower Hubble images. In this paper, we present high-redshift (z >more » 6) number count predictions for the Frontier Fields and candidates in three of the first Hubble images. We show the full Frontier Fields program may yield up to ∼70 z > 9 candidates (∼6 per field). We base this estimate on an extrapolation of luminosity functions observed between 4 < z < 8 and gravitational lensing models submitted by the community. However, in the first two deep infrared Hubble images obtained to date, we find z ∼ 8 candidates but no strong candidates at z > 9. We defer quantitative analysis of the z > 9 deficit (including detection completeness estimates) to future work including additional data. At these redshifts, cosmic variance (field-to-field variation) is expected to be significant (greater than ±50%) and include clustering of early galaxies formed in overdensities. The full Frontier Fields program will significantly mitigate this uncertainty by observing six independent sightlines each with a lensing cluster and nearby blank field.« less

Far-Ultraviolet Number Counts of Field Galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Voyer, Elysse N.; Gardner, Jonathan P.; Teplitz, Harry I.; Siana, Brian D.; deMello, Duilia F.

2010-01-01

The Number counts of far-ultraviolet (FUV) galaxies as a function of magnitude provide a direct statistical measure of the density and evolution of star-forming galaxies. We report on the results of measurements of the rest-frame FUV number counts computed from data of several fields including the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, the Hubble Deep Field North, and the GOODS-North and -South fields. These data were obtained from the Hubble Space Telescope Solar Blind Channel of the Advance Camera for Surveys. The number counts cover an AB magnitude range from 20-29 magnitudes, covering a total area of 15.9 arcmin'. We show that the number counts are lower than those in previous studies using smaller areas. The differences in the counts are likely the result of cosmic variance; our new data cover more area and more lines of sight than the previous studies. The slope of our number counts connects well with local FUV counts and they show good agreement with recent semi-analytical models based on dark matter "merger trees".

Deepest X-Rays Ever Reveal universe Teeming With Black Holes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2001-03-01

For the first time, astronomers believe they have proof black holes of all sizes once ruled the universe. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory provided the deepest X-ray images ever recorded, and those pictures deliver a novel look at the past 12 billion years of black holes. Two independent teams of astronomers today presented images that contain the faintest X-ray sources ever detected, which include an abundance of active super massive black holes. "The Chandra data show us that giant black holes were much more active in the past than at present," said Riccardo Giacconi, of Johns Hopkins University and Associated Universities, Inc., Washington, DC. The exposure is known as "Chandra Deep Field South" since it is located in the Southern Hemisphere constellation of Fornax. "In this million-second image, we also detect relatively faint X-ray emission from galaxies, groups, and clusters of galaxies". The images, known as Chandra Deep Fields, were obtained during many long exposures over the course of more than a year. Data from the Chandra Deep Field South will be placed in a public archive for scientists beginning today. "For the first time, we are able to use X-rays to look back to a time when normal galaxies were several billion years younger," said Ann Hornschemeier, Pennsylvania State University, University Park. The group’s 500,000-second exposure included the Hubble Deep Field North, allowing scientists the opportunity to combine the power of Chandra and the Hubble Space Telescope, two of NASA's Great Observatories. The Penn State team recently acquired an additional 500,000 seconds of data, creating another one-million-second Chandra Deep Field, located in the constellation of Ursa Major. Chandra Deep Field North/Hubble Deep Field North Press Image and Caption The images are called Chandra Deep Fields because they are comparable to the famous Hubble Deep Field in being able to see further and fainter objects than any image of the universe taken at X-ray wavelengths. Both Chandra Deep Fields are comparable in observation time to the Hubble Deep Fields, but cover a much larger area of the sky. "In essence, it is like seeing galaxies similar to our own Milky Way at much earlier times in their lives," Hornschemeier added. "These data will help scientists better understand star formation and how stellar-sized black holes evolve." Combining infrared and X-ray observations, the Penn State team also found veils of dust and gas are common around young black holes. Another discovery to emerge from the Chandra Deep Field South is the detection of an extremely distant X-ray quasar, shrouded in gas and dust. "The discovery of this object, some 12 billion light years away, is key to understanding how dense clouds of gas form galaxies, with massive black holes at their centers," said Colin Norman of Johns Hopkins University. The Chandra Deep Field South results were complemented by the extensive use of deep optical observations supplied by the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory in Garching, Germany. The Penn State team obtained optical spectroscopy and imaging using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in Ft. Davis, TX, and the Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea, HI. Chandra's Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer was developed for NASA by Penn State and Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the leadership of Penn State Professor Gordon Garmire. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, manages the Chandra program for the Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, California, is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, MA. More information is available on the Internet at: http://chandra.harvard.edu AND http://chandra.nasa.gov

A Magnified View of the Epoch of Reionization with the Hubble Frontier Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Livermore, Rachael C.; Finkelstein, Steven L.; Lotz, Jennifer M.

2017-06-01

The Hubble Frontier Fields program has obtained deep optical and near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope imaging of six galaxy clusters and associated parallel fields. The depth of the imaging (m_AB ~ 29) means we can identify faint galaxies at z >6, and those in the cluster fields also benefit from magnification due to strong gravitational lensing. Using wavelet decomposition to subtract the foreground cluster galaxies, we can reach intrinsic absolute magnitudes of M_UV ~ -12.5 at z ~ 6. Here, we present the UV luminosity functions at 6

The UV Luminosity Function at 6 < z < 10 from the Hubble Frontier Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Livermore, Rachael C.; Finkelstein, Steven L.; Lotz, Jennifer M.

2017-01-01

The Hubble Frontier Fields program has obtained deep optical and near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope imaging of six galaxy clusters and associated parallel fields. The depth of the imaging (m_AB ~ 29) means we can identify faint galaxies at z > 6, and those in the cluster fields also benefit from magnification due to strong gravitational lensing that allows us to reach intrinsic absolute magnitudes of M_UV ~ -12.5 at z ~ 6. Here, we present the UV luminosity functions at 6 < z < 10 from the complete Hubble Frontier Fields data, revealing a steep faint-end slope that extends to the limits of the data. The lack of any apparent turnover in the luminosity functions means that faint galaxies in the early Universe may have provided sufficient ionizing radiation to sustain reionization.

Hubble Captures Detailed Image of Uranus' Atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

Hubble Space Telescope has peered deep into Uranus' atmosphere to see clear and hazy layers created by a mixture of gases. Using infrared filters, Hubble captured detailed features of three layers of Uranus' atmosphere.

Hubble's images are different from the ones taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, which flew by Uranus 10 years ago. Those images - not taken in infrared light - showed a greenish-blue disk with very little detail.

The infrared image allows astronomers to probe the structure of Uranus' atmosphere, which consists of mostly hydrogen with traces of methane. The red around the planet's edge represents a very thin haze at a high altitude. The haze is so thin that it can only be seen by looking at the edges of the disk, and is similar to looking at the edge of a soap bubble. The yellow near the bottom of Uranus is another hazy layer. The deepest layer, the blue near the top of Uranus, shows a clearer atmosphere.

Image processing has been used to brighten the rings around Uranus so that astronomers can study their structure. In reality, the rings are as dark as black lava or charcoal.

This false color picture was assembled from several exposures taken July 3, 1995 by the Wide Field Planetary Camera-2.

The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Spaced Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.

This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/

Hubble Takes Mars Portrait Near Close Approach

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Mars is looking mighty fine in this portrait nabbed by the Hubble Space Telescope on a near close approach! Read more: go.nasa.gov/1rWYiBT The Hubble Space Telescope is more well known for its picturesque views of nebulae and galaxies, but it's also useful for studying our own planets, including Mars. Hubble imaged Mars on May 12, 2016 - ten days before Mars would be on the exact opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. Bright, frosty polar caps, and clouds above a vivid, rust-colored landscape reveal Mars as a dynamic seasonal planet in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope view taken on May 12, 2016, when Mars was 50 million miles from Earth. The Hubble image reveals details as small as 20 to 30 miles across. The large, dark region at far right is Syrtis Major Planitia, one of the first features identified on the surface of the planet by seventeenth-century observers. Christiaan Huygens used this feature to measure the rotation rate of Mars. (A Martian day is about 24 hours and 37 minutes.) Today we know that Syrtis Major is an ancient, inactive shield volcano. Late-afternoon clouds surround its summit in this view. A large oval feature to the south of Syrtis Major is the bright Hellas Planitia basin. About 1,100 miles across and nearly five miles deep, it was formed about 3.5 billion years ago by an asteroid impact. The orange area in the center of the image is Arabia Terra, a vast upland region in northern Mars that covers about 2,800 miles. The landscape is densely cratered and heavily eroded, indicating that it could be among the oldest terrains on the planet. Dried river canyons (too small to be seen here) wind through the region and empty into the large northern lowlands. Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), J. Bell (ASU), and M. Wolff (Space Science Institute) #nasagoddard #mars #hubble #space NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Space Shuttle Projects

NASA Image and Video Library

1993-10-01

Designed by the mission crew members, the STS-61 crew insignia depicts the astronaut symbol superimposed against the sky with the Earth underneath. Also seen are two circles representing the optical configuration of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Light is focused by reflections from a large primary mirror and a smaller secondary mirror. The light is analyzed by various instruments and, according to the crew members, brings to us on Earth knowledge about planets, stars, galaxies and other celestial objects, allowing us to better understand the complex physical processes at work in the universe. The Space Shuttle Endeavour is also represented as the fundamental tool that allows the crew to perform the first servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope so its scientific deep space mission may be extended for several years to come. The overall design of the emblem, with lines converging to a high point, is also a symbolic representation of the large-scale Earth-based effort which involves space agencies, industry, and the universities to reach goals of knowledge and perfection.

Science Highlights from the First Year of Advanced Camera for Surveys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clampin, M.; Ford, H. C.; Illingworth, G. D.; Hartig, G.; Ardila, D. R.; Blakeslee, J. P.; Bouwens, R. J.; Cross, N. J. G.; Feldman, P. D.; Golimowski, D. A.

2003-01-01

The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) is a deep imaging camera installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during the fourth HST servicing mission. ACS recently entered its second year of science operations and continues to perform beyond pre-launch expectations. We present science highlights from the ACS Science Team's GTO program. These highlights include the evolution of Z approx. 6 galaxies from deep imaging observations; deep imaging of strongly lensed clusters which have been used to determine cluster mass, and independently constraint the geometry of the Universe; and coronagraphic observations of debris disks.

Deep space target location with Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Hipparcos data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Null, George W.

1988-01-01

Interplanetary spacecraft navigation requires accurate a priori knowledge of target positions. A concept is presented for attaining improved target ephemeris accuracy using two future Earth-orbiting optical observatories, the European Space Agency (ESA) Hipparcos observatory and the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Assuming nominal observatory performance, the Hipparcos data reduction will provide an accurate global star catalog, and HST will provide a capability for accurate angular measurements of stars and solar system bodies. The target location concept employs HST to observe solar system bodies relative to Hipparcos catalog stars and to determine the orientation (frame tie) of these stars to compact extragalactic radio sources. The target location process is described, the major error sources discussed, the potential target ephemeris error predicted, and mission applications identified. Preliminary results indicate that ephemeris accuracy comparable to the errors in individual Hipparcos catalog stars may be possible with a more extensive HST observing program. Possible future ground and spacebased replacements for Hipparcos and HST astrometric capabilities are also discussed.

Young Galaxy Candidates in the Hubble Frontier Fields. IV. MACS J1149.5+2223

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Wei; Zitrin, Adi; Infante, Leopoldo; Laporte, Nicolas; Huang, Xingxing; Moustakas, John; Ford, Holland C.; Shu, Xinwen; Wang, Junxian; Diego, Jose M.; Bauer, Franz E.; Troncoso Iribarren, Paulina; Broadhurst, Tom; Molino, Alberto

2017-02-01

We search for high-redshift dropout galaxies behind the Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+2223, a powerful cosmic lens that has revealed a number of unique objects in its field. Using the deep images from the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, we find 11 galaxies at z > 7 in the MACS J1149.5+2223 cluster field, and 11 in its parallel field. The high-redshift nature of the bright z ≃ 9.6 galaxy MACS1149-JD, previously reported by Zheng et al., is further supported by non-detection in the extremely deep optical images from the HFF campaign. With the new photometry, the best photometric redshift solution for MACS1149-JD reduces slightly to z = 9.44 ± 0.12. The young galaxy has an estimated stellar mass of (7+/- 2)× {10}8 {M}⊙ , and was formed at z={13.2}-1.6+1.9 when the universe was ≈300 Myr old. Data available for the first four HFF clusters have already enabled us to find faint galaxies to an intrinsic magnitude of {M}{UV}≃ -15.5, approximately a factor of 10 deeper than the parallel fields.

Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

The Hubble Space Telescope in a picture snapped by a Servicing Mission 4 crewmember just after the Space Shuttle Atlantis captured Hubble with its robotic arm on May 13, 2009, beginning the mission to upgrade and repair the telescope. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute conducts Hubble science operations. Goddard is responsible for HST project management, including mission and science operations, servicing missions, and all associated development activities. To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

Hubble Probes Comet 103P/Hartley 2 in Preparation for DIXI flyby

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA image release October 5, 2010 Hubble Space Telescope observations of comet 103P/Hartley 2, taken on September 25, are helping in the planning for a November 4 flyby of the comet by NASA's Deep Impact eXtended Investigation (DIXI) spacecraft. Analysis of the new Hubble data shows that the nucleus has a diameter of approximately 0.93 miles (1.5 km), which is consistent with previous estimates. The comet is in a highly active state, as it approaches the Sun. The Hubble data show that the coma is remarkably uniform, with no evidence for the types of outgassing jets seen from most "Jupiter Family" comets, of which Hartley 2 is a member. Jets can be produced when the dust emanates from a few specific icy regions, while most of the surface is covered with relatively inert, meteoritic-like material. In stark contrast, the activity from Hartley 2's nucleus appears to be more uniformly distributed over its entire surface, perhaps indicating a relatively "young" surface that hasn't yet been crusted over. Hubble's spectrographs - the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) -- are expected to provide unique information about the comet's chemical composition that might not be obtainable any other way, including measurements by DIXI. The Hubble team is specifically searching for emissions from carbon monoxide (CO) and diatomic sulfur (S2). These molecules have been seen in other comets but have not yet been detected in 103P/Hartley 2. 103P/Hartley has an orbital period of 6.46 years. It was discovered by Malcolm Hartley in 1986 at the Schmidt Telescope Unit in Siding Spring, Australia. The comet will pass within 11 million miles of Earth (about 45 times the distance to the Moon) on October 20. During that time the comet may be visible to the naked eye as a 5th magnitude "fuzzy star" in the constellation Auriga. Credit: NASA, ESA, and H. Weaver (The Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Lab) The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington, D.C. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

Hubble Sees 'Island Universe' in the Coma Cluster

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA image release August 10, 2010 A long-exposure Hubble Space Telescope image shows a majestic face-on spiral galaxy located deep within the Coma Cluster of galaxies, which lies 320 million light-years away in the northern constellation Coma Berenices. The galaxy, known as NGC 4911, contains rich lanes of dust and gas near its center. These are silhouetted against glowing newborn star clusters and iridescent pink clouds of hydrogen, the existence of which indicates ongoing star formation. Hubble has also captured the outer spiral arms of NGC 4911, along with thousands of other galaxies of varying sizes. The high resolution of Hubble's cameras, paired with considerably long exposures, made it possible to observe these faint details. NGC 4911 and other spirals near the center of the cluster are being transformed by the gravitational tug of their neighbors. In the case of NGC 4911, wispy arcs of the galaxy's outer spiral arms are being pulled and distorted by forces from a companion galaxy (NGC 4911A), to the upper right. The resultant stripped material will eventually be dispersed throughout the core of the Coma Cluster, where it will fuel the intergalactic populations of stars and star clusters. The Coma Cluster is home to almost 1,000 galaxies, making it one of the densest collections of galaxies in the nearby universe. It continues to transform galaxies at the present epoch, due to the interactions of close-proximity galaxy systems within the dense cluster. Vigorous star formation is triggered in such collisions. Galaxies in this cluster are so densely packed that they undergo frequent interactions and collisions. When galaxies of nearly equal masses merge, they form elliptical galaxies. Merging is more likely to occur in the center of the cluster where the density of galaxies is higher, giving rise to more elliptical galaxies. This natural-color Hubble image, which combines data obtained in 2006, 2007, and 2009 from the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys, required 28 hours of exposure time. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. in Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgment: K. Cook (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) To learn more about Hubble go to: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

Near-UV Sources in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field: The Catalog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Jonathan P.; Voyrer, Elysse; de Mello, Duilia F.; Siana, Brian; Quirk, Cori; Teplitz, Harry I.

2009-01-01

The catalog from the first high resolution U-band image of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, taken with Hubble s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 through the F300W filter, is presented. We detect 96 U-band objects and compare and combine this catalog with a Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) B-selected catalog that provides B, V, i, and z photometry, spectral types, and photometric redshifts. We have also obtained Far-Ultraviolet (FUV, 1614 Angstroms) data with Hubble s Advanced Camera for Surveys Solar Blind Channel (ACS/SBC) and with Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX). We detected 31 sources with ACS/SBC, 28 with GALEX/FUV, and 45 with GALEX/NUV. The methods of observations, image processing, object identification, catalog preparation, and catalog matching are presented.

NASA Astrophysics E/PO: The Impact of the Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Denise A.; Jirdeh, Hussein; Eisenhamer, Bonnie; Villard, Ray

2015-01-01

As the science operations center for Hubble and Webb, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is uniquely positioned to captivate the imagination and inspire learners of all ages in humanity's quest to understand fundamental questions about our universe and our place in it. With the 25th anniversary of Hubble's launch and deployment approaching in April 2015, this presentation will provide an overview of the impact of the STScI's Office of Public Outreach's programs to engage students, educators, and the public in exploring the universe through audience-based news, education, and outreach programs. At the heart of our programs lies a tight coupling of scientific, education, and communications expertise. By partnering scientists and educators, we assure current, accurate science content and education products and programs that are classroom-ready and held to the highest pedagogical standards. Likewise, news and outreach programs accurately convey cutting-edge science and technology in a way that is attuned to audience needs. The combination of Hubble's scientific capabilities and majestic imagery, together with a deep commitment to creating effective programs to share Hubble science with the education community and the public, has enabled the STScI Office of Public Outreach programs to engage 6 million students and ½ million educators per year, and 24 million online viewers per year. Hubble press releases generate approximately 5,000 online news articles per year with an average circulation of 125 million potential readers per press release news story. We will also share how best practices and lessons learned from this long-lived program are already being applied to engage a new generation of explorers in the science and technology of the James Webb Space Telescope.

The Carnegie–Chicago Hubble Program. III. The Distance to NGC 1365 via the Tip of the Red Giant Branch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jang, In Sung; Hatt, Dylan; Beaton, Rachael L.; Lee, Myung Gyoon; Freedman, Wendy L.; Madore, Barry F.; Hoyt, Taylor J.; Monson, Andrew J.; Rich, Jeffrey A.; Scowcroft, Victoria; Seibert, Mark

2018-01-01

The Carnegie–Chicago Hubble Program (CCHP) seeks to anchor the distance scale of Type Ia supernovae via the Tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB) method. Based on deep Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC imaging, we present an analysis of the TRGB for the metal-poor halo of NGC 1365, a giant spiral galaxy in the Fornax cluster that was host to the Type Ia supernova SN 2012fr. We have measured the extinction-corrected TRGB magnitude of NGC 1365 to be F814W = 27.34 ± 0.03stat ± 0.04sys mag. In advance of future direct calibration by Gaia, we adopt a provisional I-band TRGB luminosity set at the Large Magellanic Cloud and find a true distance modulus μ 0 = 31.29 ± 0.04stat ± 0.06sys mag or D = 18.1 ± 0.3stat ± 0.5sys Mpc. This measurement is in excellent agreement with recent Cepheid-based distances to NGC 1365 and reveals no significant difference in the distances derived from stars of Populations I and II for this galaxy. We revisit the error budget for the CCHP path to the Hubble constant based on the analysis presented here, i.e., that for one of the most distant Type Ia supernova hosts within our Program, and find that a 2.5% measurement is feasible with the current sample of galaxies and TRGB absolute calibration. Based in part on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with program #13691.

Building the Case for SNAP: Creation of Multi-Band, Simulated Images With Shapelets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferry, Matthew A.

2005-01-01

Dark energy has simultaneously been the most elusive and most important phenomenon in the shaping of the universe. A case for a proposed space-telescope called SNAP (SuperNova Acceleration Probe) is being built, a crucial component of which is image simulations. One method for this is "Shapelets," developed at Caltech. Shapelets form an orthonormal basis and are uniquely able to represent realistic space images and create new images based on real ones. Previously, simulations were created using the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) as a basis Set in one band. In this project, image simulations are created.using the 4 bands of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF) as a basis set. This provides a better basis for simulations because (1) the survey is deeper, (2) they have a higher resolution, and (3) this is a step closer to simulating the 9 bands of SNAP. Image simulations are achieved by detecting sources in the UDF, decomposing them into shapelets, tweaking their parameters in realistic ways, and recomposing them into new images. Morphological tests were also run to verify the realism of the simulations. They have a wide variety of uses, including the ability to create weak gravitational lensing simulations.

The Top 10 List of Gravitational Lens Candidates from the HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE Medium Deep Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratnatunga, Kavan U.; Griffiths, Richard E.; Ostrander, Eric J.

1999-05-01

A total of 10 good candidates for gravitational lensing have been discovered in the WFPC2 images from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Medium Deep Survey (MDS) and archival primary observations. These candidate lenses are unique HST discoveries, i.e., they are faint systems with subarcsecond separations between the lensing objects and the lensed source images. Most of them are difficult objects for ground-based spectroscopic confirmation or for measurement of the lens and source redshifts. Seven are ``strong lens'' candidates that appear to have multiple images of the source. Three are cases in which the single image of the source galaxy has been significantly distorted into an arc. The first two quadruply lensed candidates were reported by Ratnatunga et al. We report on the subsequent eight candidates and describe them with simple models based on the assumption of singular isothermal potentials. Residuals from the simple models for some of the candidates indicate that a more complex model for the potential will probably be required to explain the full structural detail of the observations once they are confirmed to be lenses. We also discuss the effective survey area that was searched for these candidate lens objects.

Astronauts Greg Harbaugh and Joe Tanner suit up for training in WETF

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-06-11

S96-12829 (10 June 1996) --- Awaiting his helmet, astronaut Joseph R. Tanner, STS-82 mission specialist assigned to extravehicular activity (EVA) involved with the servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), is about to be submerged in a 25-ft. deep pool at the Johnson Space Center's weightless environment training facility (WET-F). Obscured in this frame, astronaut Gregory J. Harbaugh was on the other side of the platform, waiting to join Tanner in the spacewalk rehearsal.

NASA's Hubble Universe in 3-D

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

This image depicts a vast canyon of dust and gas in the Orion Nebula from a 3-D computer model based on observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and created by science visualization specialists at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md. A 3-D visualization of this model takes viewers on an amazing four-minute voyage through the 15-light-year-wide canyon. Credit: NASA, G. Bacon, L. Frattare, Z. Levay, and F. Summers (STScI/AURA) Go here to learn more about Hubble 3D: www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/hubble_imax_premier... or www.imax.com/hubble/ Take an exhilarating ride through the Orion Nebula, a vast star-making factory 1,500 light-years away. Swoop through Orion's giant canyon of gas and dust. Fly past behemoth stars whose brilliant light illuminates and energizes the entire cloudy region. Zoom by dusty tadpole-shaped objects that are fledgling solar systems. This virtual space journey isn't the latest video game but one of several groundbreaking astronomy visualizations created by specialists at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, the science operations center for NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The cinematic space odysseys are part of the new Imax film "Hubble 3D," which opens today at select Imax theaters worldwide. The 43-minute movie chronicles the 20-year life of Hubble and includes highlights from the May 2009 servicing mission to the Earth-orbiting observatory, with footage taken by the astronauts. The giant-screen film showcases some of Hubble's breathtaking iconic pictures, such as the Eagle Nebula's "Pillars of Creation," as well as stunning views taken by the newly installed Wide Field Camera 3. While Hubble pictures of celestial objects are awe-inspiring, they are flat 2-D photographs. For this film, those 2-D images have been converted into 3-D environments, giving the audience the impression they are space travelers taking a tour of Hubble's most popular targets. "A large-format movie is a truly immersive experience," says Frank Summers, an STScI astronomer and science visualization specialist who led the team that developed the movie visualizations. The team labored for nine months, working on four visualization sequences that comprise about 12 minutes of the movie. "Seeing these Hubble images in 3-D, you feel like you are flying through space and not just looking at picture postcards," Summers continued. "The spacescapes are all based on Hubble images and data, though some artistic license is necessary to produce the full depth of field needed for 3-D." The most ambitious sequence is a four-minute voyage through the Orion Nebula's gas-and-dust canyon, about 15 light-years across. During the ride, viewers will see bright and dark, gaseous clouds; thousands of stars, including a grouping of bright, hefty stars called the Trapezium; and embryonic planetary systems. The tour ends with a detailed look at a young circumstellar disk, which is much like the structure from which our solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago. Based on a Hubble image of Orion released in 2006, the visualization was a collaborative effort between science visualization specialists at STScI, including Greg Bacon, who sculpted the Orion Nebula digital model, with input from STScI astronomer Massimo Roberto; the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. For some of the sequences, STScI imaging specialists developed new techniques for transforming the 2-D Hubble images into 3-D. STScI image processing specialists Lisa Frattare and Zolt Levay, for example, created methods of splitting a giant gaseous pillar in the Carina Nebula into multiple layers to produce a 3-D effect, giving the structure depth. The Carina Nebula is a nursery for baby stars. Frattare painstakingly removed the thousands of stars in the image so that Levay could separate the gaseous layers on the isolated Carina pillar. Frattare then replaced the stars into both foreground and background layers to complete the 3-D model. For added effect, the same separation was done for both visible and infrared Hubble images, allowing the film to cross-fade between wavelength views in 3-D. In another sequence viewers fly into a field of 170,000 stars in the giant star cluster Omega Centauri. STScI astronomer Jay Anderson used his stellar database to create a synthetic star field in 3-D that matches recent razor-sharp Hubble photos. The film's final four-minute sequence takes viewers on a voyage from our Milky Way Galaxy past many of Hubble's best galaxy shots and deep into space. Some 15,000 galaxies from Hubble's deepest surveys stretch billions of light-years across the universe in a 3-D sequence created by STScI astronomers and visualizers. The view dissolves into a cobweb that traces the universe's large-scale structure, the backbone from which galaxies were born. In addition to creating visualizations, STScI's education group also provided guidance on the "Hubble 3D" Educator Guide, which includes standards-based lesson plans and activities about Hubble and its mission. Students will use the guide before or after seeing the movie. "The guide will enhance the movie experience for students and extend the movie into classrooms," says Bonnie Eisenhamer, STScI's Hubble Formal Education manager. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) and is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Md. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. The institute is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., Washington, D.C.

Space Science

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-04-01

This picture of the galaxy UGC 10214 was was taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), which was installed aboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in March 2002 during HST Servicing Mission 3B (STS-109 mission). Dubbed the "Tadpole," this spiral galaxy is unlike the textbook images of stately galaxies. Its distorted shape was caused by a small interloper, a very blue, compact galaxy visible in the upper left corner of the more massive Tadpole. The Tadpole resides about 420 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. Seen shining through the Tadpole's disk, the tiny intruder is likely a hit-and-run galaxy that is now leaving the scene of the accident. Strong gravitational forces from the interaction created the long tail of debris, consisting of stars and gas that stretch our more than 280,000 light-years. The galactic carnage and torrent of star birth are playing out against a spectacular backdrop: a "wallpaper pattern" of 6,000 galaxies. These galaxies represent twice the number of those discovered in the legendary Hubble Deep Field, the orbiting observatory's "deepest" view of the heavens, taken in 1995 by the Wide Field and planetary camera 2. The ACS picture, however, was taken in one-twelfth of the time it took to observe the original HST Deep Field. In blue light, ACS sees even fainter objects than were seen in the "deep field." The galaxies in the ACS picture, like those in the deep field, stretch back to nearly the begirning of time. Credit: NASA, H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (USCS/LO), M. Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), the ACS Science Team, and ESA.

A MULTIWAVELENGTH STUDY OF TADPOLE GALAXIES IN THE HUBBLE ULTRA DEEP FIELD

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Straughn, Amber N.; Eufrasio, Rafael T.; Gardner, Jonathan P.

2015-12-01

Multiwavelength data are essential in order to provide a complete picture of galaxy evolution and to inform studies of galaxies’ morphological properties across cosmic time. Here we present the results of a multiwavelength investigation of the morphologies of “tadpole” galaxies at intermediate redshift (0.314 < z < 3.175) in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. These galaxies were previously selected from deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) F775W data based on their distinct asymmetric knot-plus-tail morphologies. Here we use deep Wide Field Camera 3 near-infrared imaging in addition to the HST optical data in order to study the rest-frame UV/optical morphologies ofmore » these galaxies across the redshift range 0.3 < z < 3.2. This study reveals that the majority of these galaxies do retain their general asymmetric morphology in the rest-frame optical over this redshift range, if not the distinct “tadpole” shape. The average stellar mass of tadpole galaxies is lower than that of field galaxies, with the effect being slightly greater at higher redshift within the errors. Estimated from spectral energy distribution fits, the average age of tadpole galaxies is younger than that of field galaxies in the lower-redshift bin, and the average metallicity is lower (whereas the specific star formation rate for tadpoles is roughly the same as field galaxies across the redshift range probed here). These average effects combined support the conclusion that this subset of galaxies is in an active phase of assembly, either late-stage merging or cold gas accretion causing localized clumpy star formation.« less

A Guided Inquiry on Hubble Plots and the Big Bang

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forringer, Ted

2014-04-01

In our science for non-science majors course "21st Century Physics," we investigate modern "Hubble plots" (plots of velocity versus distance for deep space objects) in order to discuss the Big Bang, dark matter, and dark energy. There are two potential challenges that our students face when encountering these topics for the first time. The first challenge is in understanding and interpreting Hubble plots. The second is that some of our students have religious or cultural objections to the concept of a "Big Bang" or a universe that is billions of years old. This paper presents a guided inquiry exercise that was created with the goal of introducing students to Hubble plots and giving them the opportunity to discover for themselves why we believe our universe started with an explosion billions of years ago. The exercise is designed to be completed before the topics are discussed in the classroom. We did the exercise during a one hour and 45 minute "lab" time and it was done in groups of three or four students, but it would also work as an individual take-home assignment.

NASA Space Observatories Glimpse Faint Afterglow of Nearby Stellar Explosion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2005-10-01

Intricate wisps of glowing gas float amid a myriad of stars in this image created by combining data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory. The gas is a supernova remnant, cataloged as N132D, ejected from the explosion of a massive star that occurred some 3,000 years ago. This titanic explosion took place in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby neighbor galaxy of our own Milky Way. The complex structure of N132D is due to the expanding supersonic shock wave from the explosion impacting the interstellar gas of the LMC. Deep within the remnant, the Hubble visible light image reveals a crescent-shaped cloud of pink emission from hydrogen gas, and soft purple wisps that correspond to regions of glowing oxygen emission. A dense background of colorful stars in the LMC is also shown in the Hubble image. The large horseshoe-shaped gas cloud on the left-hand side of the remnant is glowing in X-rays, as imaged by Chandra. In order to emit X-rays, the gas must have been heated to a temperature of about 18 million degrees Fahrenheit (10 million degrees Celsius). A supernova-generated shock wave traveling at a velocity of more than four million miles per hour (2,000 kilometers per second) is continuing to propagate through the low-density medium today. The shock front where the material from the supernova collides with ambient interstellar material in the LMC is responsible for these high temperatures. Chandra image of N132D Chandra image of N132D, 2002 It is estimated that the star that exploded as a supernova to produce the N132D remnant was 10 to 15 times more massive than our own Sun. As fast-moving ejecta from the explosion slam into the cool, dense interstellar clouds in the LMC, complex shock fronts are created. A supernova remnant like N132D provides a rare opportunity for direct observation of stellar material, because it is made of gas that was recently hidden deep inside a star. Thus it provides information on stellar evolution and the creation of chemical elements such as oxygen through nuclear reactions in their cores. Such observations also help reveal how the interstellar medium (the gas that occupies the vast spaces between the stars) is enriched with chemical elements because of supernova explosions. Later on, these elements are incorporated into new generations of stars and their accompanying planets. Visible only from Earth's southern hemisphere, the LMC is an irregular galaxy lying about 160,000 light-years from the Milky Way. The supernova remnant appears to be about 3,000 years old, but since its light took 160,000 years to reach us, the explosion actually occurred some 163,000 years ago. This composite image of N132D was created by the Hubble Heritage team from visible-light data taken in January 2004 with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys, and X-ray images obtained in July 2000 by Chandra's Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer. This marks the first Hubble Heritage image that combines pictures taken by two separate space observatories. The Hubble data include color filters that sample starlight in the blue, green, and red portions of the spectrum, as well as the pink emission from glowing hydrogen gas. The Chandra data are assigned blue in the color composite, in accordance with the much higher energy of the X-rays, emitted from extremely hot gas. This gas does not emit a significant amount of optical light, and was only detected by Chandra. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgment: J.C. Green (Univ. of Colorado) and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) GTO team; NASA/CXO/SAO Electronic image files, video, illustrations and additional information are available at: http://hubblesite.org/news/2005/30 http://heritage.stsci.edu/2005/30 The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA), for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Astronauts Greg Harbaugh and Joe Tanner suit up for training in WETF

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-06-11

S96-12830 (10 June 1996) --- Astronaut Joseph R. Tanner, STS-82 mission specialist assigned to extravehicular activity (EVA) involved with the servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), dons the gloves for his extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) space suit. He is about to be submerged in a 25-ft. deep pool at the Johnson Space Center's weightless environment training facility (WET-F) to participate in simulations for some of the EVA work. Out of frame, astronaut Gregory J. Harbaugh was on the other side of the platform, waiting to join Tanner in the spacewalk rehearsal.

Barred Spiral Galaxy

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1300 Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgment: P. Knezek (WIYN) The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute conducts Hubble science operations. Goddard is responsible for HST project management, including mission and science operations, servicing missions, and all associated development activities. To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

hs-2007-16-e-full_jpg

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-03-01

Carina Nebula Details: The Caterpillar Credit for Hubble Image: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Credit for CTIO Image: N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley) and NOAO/AURA/NSF The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute conducts Hubble science operations. Goddard is responsible for HST project management, including mission and science operations, servicing missions, and all associated development activities. To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

Astronomy Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

Software Bisque's TheSky, SkyPro and Remote Astronomy Software incorporate technology developed for the Hubble Space Telescope. TheSky and SkyPro work together to orchestrate locating, identifying and acquiring images of deep sky objects. With all three systems, the user can directly control computer-driven telescopes and charge coupled device (CCD) cameras through serial ports. Through the systems, astronomers and students can remotely operate a telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory Institute.

The BUFFALO HST Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steinhardt, Charles; Jauzac, Mathilde; Capak, Peter; Koekemoer, Anton; Oesch, Pascal; Richard, Johan; Sharon, Keren q.; BUFFALO

2018-01-01

Beyond Ultra-deep Frontier Fields And Legacy Observations (BUFFALO) is an astronomical survey built around the six Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Frontier Fields clusters designed to learn about early galactic assembly and clustering and prepare targets for observations with the James Webb Space Telescope. BUFFALO will place significant new constraints on how and when the most massive and luminous galaxies in the universe formed and how early galaxy formation is linked to dark matter assembly. The same data will also probe the temperature and cross section of dark matter in the massive Frontier Fields galaxy clusters, and tell us how the dark matter, cluster gas, and dynamics of the clusters influence the galaxies in and around them. These studies are possible because the Spitzer Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, XMM-Newton, and ground based telescopes have already invested heavily in deep observations around the Frontier Fields, so that the addition of HST observations can yield significant new results.

Hubble Against Earth Horizon 1997

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-10-10

The Hubble Space Telescope hovers at the boundary of Earth and space in this picture, taken after Hubble second servicing mission in 1997. Hubble drifts 353 miles (569 km) above the Earth's surface, where it can avoid the atmosphere and clearly see objects in space. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18165

Selections from 2017: Hubble Survey Explores Distant Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, Susanna

2017-12-01

Editors note:In these last two weeks of 2017, well be looking at a few selections that we havent yet discussed on AAS Nova from among the most-downloaded paperspublished in AAS journals this year. The usual posting schedule will resume in January.CANDELS Multi-Wavelength Catalogs: Source Identification and Photometry in the CANDELS COSMOSSurvey FieldPublished January2017Main takeaway:A publication led byHooshang Nayyeri(UC Irvine and UC Riverside) early this year details acatalog of sources built using the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey(CANDELS), a survey carried out by cameras on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The catalogliststhe properties of 38,000 distant galaxies visiblewithin the COSMOS field, a two-square-degree equatorial field explored in depthto answer cosmological questions.Why its interesting:Illustration showing the three-dimensional map of the dark matter distribution in theCOSMOS field. [Adapted from NASA/ESA/R. Massey(California Institute of Technology)]The depth and resolution of the CANDELS observations areuseful for addressingseveral major science goals, including the following:Studying the most distant objects in the universe at the epoch of reionization in the cosmic dawn.Understanding galaxy formation and evolution during the peak epoch of star formation in the cosmic high noon.Studying star formation from deep ultravioletobservations and studying cosmology from supernova observations.Why CANDELS is a major endeavor:CANDELS isthe largest multi-cycle treasury program ever approved on the Hubble Space Telescope using over 900 orbits between 2010 and 2013 withtwo cameras on board the spacecraftto study galaxy formation and evolution throughout cosmic time. The CANDELS images are all publicly available, and the new catalogrepresents an enormous source of information about distant objectsin our universe.CitationH. Nayyeri et al 2017 ApJS 228 7. doi:10.3847/1538-4365/228/1/7

Hubble Sees Spiral in Serpens

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows a beautiful spiral galaxy known as PGC 54493, located in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent). This galaxy is part of a galaxy cluster that has been studied by astronomers exploring an intriguing phenomenon known as weak gravitational lensing. This effect, caused by the uneven distribution of matter (including dark matter) throughout the Universe, has been explored via surveys such as the Hubble Medium Deep Survey. Dark matter is one of the great mysteries in cosmology. It behaves very differently from ordinary matter as it does not emit or absorb light or other forms of electromagnetic energy — hence the term "dark." Even though we cannot observe dark matter directly, we know it exists. One prominent piece of evidence for the existence of this mysterious matter is known as the "galaxy rotation problem." Galaxies rotate at such speeds and in such a way that ordinary matter alone — the stuff we see — would not be able to hold them together. The amount of mass that is "missing" visibly is dark matter, which is thought to make up some 27 percent of the total contents of the Universe, with dark energy and normal matter making up the rest. PGC 55493 has been studied in connection with an effect known as cosmic shearing. This is a weak gravitational lensing effect that creates tiny distortions in images of distant galaxies. European Space Agency ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

SPECTROSCOPIC CONFIRMATION OF FAINT LYMAN BREAK GALAXIES NEAR REDSHIFT FIVE IN THE HUBBLE ULTRA DEEP FIELD

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rhoads, James E.; Malhotra, Sangeeta; Cohen, Seth

We present the faintest spectroscopically confirmed sample of z {approx} 5 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) to date. The sample is based on slitless grism spectra of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field region from the Grism ACS Program for Extragalactic Science (GRAPES) and Probing Evolution and Reionization Spectroscopically (PEARS) projects, using the G800L grism on the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys. We report here confirmations of 39 galaxies, preselected as candidate LBGs using photometric selection criteria. We compare a 'traditional' V-dropout selection, based on the work of Giavalisco et al., to a more liberal one (with V - imore » > 0.9), and find that the traditional criteria are about 64% complete and 81% reliable. We also study the Ly{alpha} emission properties of our sample. We find that Ly{alpha} emission is detected in {approx}1/4 of the sample, and that the liberal V-dropout color selection includes {approx}55% of previously published line-selected Ly{alpha} sources. Finally, we examine our stacked two-dimensional spectra. We demonstrate that strong, spatially extended ({approx}1'') Ly{alpha} emission is not a generic property of these LBGs, but that a modest extension of the Ly{alpha} photosphere (compared to the starlight) may be present in those galaxies with prominent Ly{alpha} emission.« less

Exploring for Galaxies in the First Billion Years with Hubble and Spitzer - Pathfinding for JWST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Illingworth, Garth D.

2017-01-01

Hubble has revolutionized the field of distant galaxies through its deep imaging surveys, starting with the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) in 1995. That first deep survey revealed galaxies at redshift z~1-3 that provided insights into the development of the Hubble sequence. Each new HST instrument has explored new regimes, through the peak of star formation at z~2-3, just 2-3 billion years after the Big Bang, to our first datasets at a billion years at z~6, and then earlier to z~11. HST's survey capabilities were enhanced by 40X with ACS, and then similarly with the WFC3/IR, which opened up the first billion years to an unforeseen degree. I will discuss what we have learned from the remarkable HST and Spitzer imaging surveys (HUDF, GOODS, HUDF09/12 and CANDELS), as well as surveys of clusters like the Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF). Lensing clusters provide extraordinary opportunities for characterizing the faintest earliest galaxies, but also present extraordinary challenges. Together these surveys have resulted in the measurement of the volume density of galaxies in the first billion years down to astonishingly faint levels. The role of faint galaxies in reionizing the universe is still much-discussed, but there is no doubt that such galaxies contribute greatly to the UV ionizing flux, as shown by deep luminosity function studies. Together Hubble and Spitzer have also established the stellar-mass buildup over 97% of cosmic history. Yet some of the greatest surprises have come from the discovery of very luminous galaxies at z~8-11, around 400-650 million years after the Big Bang. Spectroscopic followup by Keck of some of these very rare, bright galaxies has confirmed redshifts from z~7 to z~9, and revealed, surprisingly, strong Lyα emission near the peak of reionization when the HI fraction in the IGM is high. The recent confirmation of a z=11.1 galaxy, just 400 million years after the Big Bang, by a combination of Hubble and Spitzer data, moved Hubble into JWST territory, far beyond what we ever expected Hubble could do. Twenty years of astonishing progress with Hubble and Spitzer leave me looking to JWST to provide even more remarkable exploration of the realm of the first galaxies.

Hubble Space Telescope Metallized Teflon(registered trademark) FEP Thermal Control Materials: On-Orbit Degradation and Post-Retrieval Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Townsend, Jacqueline A.; Hansen, Patricia A.; Dever, J. A.; deGroh, K. K.; Banks, B.; Wang, L.; He, C.

1988-01-01

During the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Second Servicing Mission (SM2), degradation of unsupported Teflon(Registered Trademark) FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene), used as the outer layer of the multilayer insulation (MLI) blankets, was evident as large cracks on the telescope light shield. A sample of the degraded outer layer was retrieved during the mission and returned to Earth for ground testing and evaluation. The results of the Teflon(Registered Trademark) FEP sample evaluation and additional testing of pristine Teflon(Registered Trademark) FEP led the investigative team to theorize that the HST damage was caused by thermal cycling with deep-layer damage from electron and proton radiation which allowed the propagation of cracks along stress concentrations , and that the damage increased with the combined total dose of electrons, protons, UV and x-rays along with thermal cycling. This paper discusses the testing and evaluation of the retrieved Teflon(Registered Trademark) FEP.

Analysis of Retrieved Hubble Space Telescope Thermal Control Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Townsend, Jacqueline A.; Hansen, Patricia A.; Dever, Joyce A.; Triolo, Jack J.

1998-01-01

The mechanical and optical properties of the thermal control materials on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have degraded over the nearly seven years the telescope has been in orbit. Astronaut observations and photographs from the Second Servicing Mission (SM2) revealed large cracks in the metallized Teflon FEP, the outer-layer of the multi-layer insulation (MLI), in many locations around the telescope. Also, the emissivity of the bonded metallized Teflon FEP radiator surfaces of the telescope has increased over time. Samples of the top layer of the MLI and radiator material were retrieved during SM2, and a thorough investigation into the de-radiation followed in order to determine the primary cause of the damage. Mapping of the cracks on HST and the ground testing showed that thermal cycling with deep-layer damage from electron and proton radiation are necessary to cause the observed embrittlement. Further, strong, evidence was found indicating that chain scission (reduced molecular weight) is the dominant form of damage to the metallized Teflon FEP.

Astronomers Set a New Galaxy Distance Record

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-05-06

This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the farthest spectroscopically confirmed galaxy observed to date (inset). It was identified in this Hubble image of a field of galaxies in the CANDELS survey (Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey). NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope also observed the unique galaxy. The W. M. Keck Observatory was used to obtain a spectroscopic redshift (z=7.7), extending the previous redshift record. Measurements of the stretching of light, or redshift, give the most reliable distances to other galaxies. This source is thus currently the most distant confirmed galaxy known, and it appears to also be one of the brightest and most massive sources at that time. The galaxy existed over 13 billion years ago. The near-infrared light image of the galaxy (inset) has been colored blue as suggestive of its young, and hence very blue, stars. The CANDELS field is a combination of visible-light and near-infrared exposures. Credits: NASA, ESA, P. Oesch (Yale U.)

Hubble’s 25th Anniversary: A Quarter-Century of Discovery and Inspiration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Straughn, Amber; Jirdeh, Hussein

2015-01-01

April 24, 2015 marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. In its quarter-century in orbit, the Hubble Space Telescope has transformed the way we understand the Universe, helped us find our place among the stars, and paved the way to incredible advancements in science and technology. NASA and ESA, including STScI and partners, will use the 25th anniversary of Hubble's launch as a unique opportunity to communicate to the widest possible audience the significance of the past quarter-century of discovery with the Hubble Space Telescope and to highlight that Hubble will continue to produce groundbreaking science results. We will enhance public understanding of Hubble's many contributions to the scientific world, and will capitalize on Hubble's cultural popularity by emphasizing its' successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. This poster highlights many of the upcoming opportunities to join in the anniversary activities, both in-person and online. Find out more at hubble25th.org and follow #Hubble25 on social media.

NASA Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Research Project Capstone Even

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-05-05

John Grunsfeld, NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, speaks to students from Mapletown Jr/Sr High School and Margaret Bell Middle School about his experiences on the final space shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope during the NASA Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Research Project Capstone Event in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters on Monday, May 5, 2014. Grunsfeld flew on three of the five servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Saturn's Rings in Ultraviolet Light

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Saturn's Rings in Ultraviolet Light Credit: NASA and E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona) The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute conducts Hubble science operations. Goddard is responsible for HST project management, including mission and science operations, servicing missions, and all associated development activities. To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

White Dwarf Stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

Peering deep inside a cluster of several hundred thousand stars, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered the oldest burned-out stars in our Milky Way Galaxy, giving astronomers a fresh reading on the age of the universe.

Located in the globular cluster M4, these small, burned-out stars -- called white dwarfs -- are about 12 to 13 billion years old. By adding the one billion years it took the cluster to form after the Big Bang, astronomers found that the age of the white dwarfs agrees with previous estimates that the universe is 13 to 14 billion years old.

The images, including some taken by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, are available online at

http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/2002/10/ or

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/wfpc .

The camera was designed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

In the top panel, a ground-based observatory snapped a panoramic view of the entire cluster, which contains several hundred thousand stars within a volume of 10 to 30 light-years across. The Kitt Peak National Observatory's .9-meter telescope took this picture in March 1995. The box at left indicates the region observed by the Hubble telescope.

The Hubble telescope studied a small region of the cluster. A section of that region is seen in the picture at bottom left. A sampling of an even smaller region is shown at bottom right. This region is only about one light-year across. In this smaller region, Hubble pinpointed a number of faint white dwarfs. The blue circles indicate the dwarfs. It took nearly eight days of exposure time over a 67-day period to find these extremely faint stars.

Globular clusters are among the oldest clusters of stars in the universe. The faintest and coolest white dwarfs within globular clusters can yield a globular cluster's age. Earlier Hubble observations showed that the first stars formed less than 1 billion years after the universe's birth in the big bang. So, finding the oldest stars puts astronomers within arm's reach of the universe's age.

Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 made the observations from January through April 2001. These optical observations were combined to create the above images. Spectral data were also taken. M4 is 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.

The full press release on the latest findings is online at

http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/2002/10/pr.html .

The Space Telescope Science Institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between the European Space Agency and NASA. The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA.

Carina Nebula Detail

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Carina Nebula Details: Great Clouds Credit for Hubble Image: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Credit for CTIO Image: N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley) and NOAO/AURA/NSF The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute conducts Hubble science operations. Goddard is responsible for HST project management, including mission and science operations, servicing missions, and all associated development activities. To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

HFF-DeepSpace Photometric Catalogs of the 12 Hubble Frontier Fields, Clusters, and Parallels: Photometry, Photometric Redshifts, and Stellar Masses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shipley, Heath V.; Lange-Vagle, Daniel; Marchesini, Danilo; Brammer, Gabriel B.; Ferrarese, Laura; Stefanon, Mauro; Kado-Fong, Erin; Whitaker, Katherine E.; Oesch, Pascal A.; Feinstein, Adina D.; Labbé, Ivo; Lundgren, Britt; Martis, Nicholas; Muzzin, Adam; Nedkova, Kalina; Skelton, Rosalind; van der Wel, Arjen

2018-03-01

We present Hubble multi-wavelength photometric catalogs, including (up to) 17 filters with the Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 from the ultra-violet to near-infrared for the Hubble Frontier Fields and associated parallels. We have constructed homogeneous photometric catalogs for all six clusters and their parallels. To further expand these data catalogs, we have added ultra-deep K S -band imaging at 2.2 μm from the Very Large Telescope HAWK-I and Keck-I MOSFIRE instruments. We also add post-cryogenic Spitzer imaging at 3.6 and 4.5 μm with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), as well as archival IRAC 5.8 and 8.0 μm imaging when available. We introduce the public release of the multi-wavelength (0.2–8 μm) photometric catalogs, and we describe the unique steps applied for the construction of these catalogs. Particular emphasis is given to the source detection band, the contamination of light from the bright cluster galaxies (bCGs), and intra-cluster light (ICL). In addition to the photometric catalogs, we provide catalogs of photometric redshifts and stellar population properties. Furthermore, this includes all the images used in the construction of the catalogs, including the combined models of bCGs and ICL, the residual images, segmentation maps, and more. These catalogs are a robust data set of the Hubble Frontier Fields and will be an important aid in designing future surveys, as well as planning follow-up programs with current and future observatories to answer key questions remaining about first light, reionization, the assembly of galaxies, and many more topics, most notably by identifying high-redshift sources to target.

NASA Astrophysics Education and Public Outreach: The Impact of the Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Denise Anne; Jirdeh, Hussein; Eisenhamer, Bonnie; Villard, Ray; Green, Joel David

2015-08-01

As the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is uniquely positioned to captivate the imagination and inspire learners of all ages in humanity’s quest to understand fundamental questions about our universe and our place in it. This presentation will provide an overview of the impact of the STScI’s Office of Public Outreach’s efforts to engage students, educators, and the public in exploring the universe through audience-based news, education, and outreach programs.At the heart of our programs lies a tight coupling of scientific, education, and communications expertise. By partnering scientists and educators, we assure current, accurate science content and education products and programs that are classroom-ready and held to the highest pedagogical standards. Likewise, news and outreach programs accurately convey cutting-edge science and technology in a way that is attuned to audience needs. The combination of Hubble’s scientific capabilities, majestic imagery, and our deep commitment to create effective programs to share Hubble science with the education community and the public, has enabled the STScI Office of Public Outreach programs to engage 6 million students and ½ million educators per year, and 24 million online viewers per year. Hubble press releases generate approximately 5,000 online news articles per year with an average circulation of 125 million potential readers per press release news story. We will also share how best practices and lessons learned from this long-lived program are already being applied to engage a new generation of explorers in the science and technology of the James Webb Space Telescope.

Near Infrared Observations of a Redshift 5.34 Galaxy: Further Evidence for Significant Dust Absorption in the Early Universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Armus, L.; Matthews, K.; Neugebauer, G.; Soifer, B. T.

1998-01-01

In the last several years, the combination of new wavelength dropout discovery techniques coupled with the incredible power of deep imaging of the Hubble Space Telescope and the spectroscopic capabilities of a new generation of large ground-based telescopes, has lead to an astonishing blossoming of the study of galaxies at redshifts of z=2-4, when the Universe was less than 10-20% of its current age.

CHEERS Results from NGC 3393. II. Investigating the Extended Narrow-line Region Using Deep Chandra Observations and Hubble Space Telescope Narrow-line Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maksym, W. Peter; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Elvis, Martin; Karovska, Margarita; Paggi, Alessandro; Raymond, John; Wang, Junfeng; Storchi-Bergmann, Thaisa

2017-07-01

The CHandra Extended Emission Line Region Survey (CHEERS) is an X-ray study of nearby active galactic nuclei (AGNs) designed to take full advantage of Chandra's unique angular resolution by spatially resolving feedback signatures and effects. In the second paper of a series on CHEERS target NGC 3393, we examine deep high-resolution Chandra images and compare them with Hubble Space Telescope narrow-line images of [O III], [S II], and Hα, as well as previously unpublished mid-ultraviolet (MUV) images. The X-rays provide unprecedented evidence that the S-shaped arms that envelope the nuclear radio outflows extend only ≲0.″2 (≲50 pc) across. The high-resolution multiwavelength data suggest that the extended narrow-line region is a complex multiphase structure in the circumnuclear interstellar medium (ISM). Its ionization structure is highly stratified with respect to outflow-driven bubbles in the bicone and varies dramatically on scales of ˜10 pc. Multiple findings show likely contributions from shocks to the feedback in regions where radio outflows from the AGN most directly influence the ISM. These findings include Hα evidence for gas compression and extended MUV emission and are in agreement with existing STIS kinematics. Extended filamentary structure in the X-rays and optical suggests the presence of an undetected plasma component, whose existence could be tested with deeper radio observations.

KSC-08pd2456

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a technicians clean the radiator on the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3,that will be installed on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The radiator is the "outside" of WFC3 that will be exposed to space. It will expel heat out of Hubble and into space through black body radiation. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

HUBBLE'S TOP TEN GRAVITATIONAL LENSES

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

The NASA Hubble Space Telescope serendipitous survey of the sky has uncovered exotic patterns, rings, arcs and crosses that are all optical mirages produced by a gravitational lens, nature's equivalent of having giant magnifying glass in space. Shown are the top 10 lens candidates uncovered in the deepest 100 Hubble fields. Hubble's sensitivity and high resolution allow it to see faint and distant lenses that cannot be detected with ground-based telescopes whose images are blurred by Earth's atmosphere. [Top Left] - HST 01248+0351 is a lensed pair on either side of the edge-on disk lensing galaxy. [Top Center] - HST 01247+0352 is another pair of bluer lensed source images around the red spherical elliptical lensing galaxy. Two much fainter images can be seen near the detection limit which might make this a quadruple system. [Top Right] - HST 15433+5352 is a very good lens candidate with a bluer lensed source in the form of an extended arc about the redder elliptical lensing galaxy. [Middle Far Left] - HST 16302+8230 could be an 'Einstein ring' and the most intriguing lens candidate. It has been nicknamed the 'the London Underground' since it resembles that logo. [Middle Near Left] - HST 14176+5226 is the first, and brightest lens system discovered in 1995 with the Hubble telescope. This lens candidate has now been confirmed spectroscopically using large ground-based telescopes. The elliptical lensing galaxy is located 7 billion light-years away, and the lensed quasar is about 11 billion light-years distant. [Middle Near Right] - HST 12531-2914 is the second quadruple lens candidate discovered with Hubble. It is similar to the first, but appears smaller and fainter. [Middle Far Right] - HST 14164+5215 is a pair of bluish lensed images symmetrically placed around a brighter, redder galaxy. [Bottom Left] - HST 16309+8230 is an edge-on disk-like galaxy (blue arc) which has been significantly distorted by the redder lensing elliptical galaxy. [Bottom Center] - HST 12368+6212 is a blue arc in the Hubble Deep Field (HDF). [Bottom Right] - HST 18078+4600 is a blue arc caused by the gravitational potential of a small group of 4 galaxies. Credit: Kavan Ratnatunga (Carnegie Mellon Univ.) and NASA

A Scientific Revolution: the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Jonathan P.

2011-01-01

Astronomy is going through a scientific revolution, responding to a flood of data from the Hubble Space Telescope, other space missions, and large telescopes on the ground. In this talk, I will discuss some of the most important astronomical discoveries of the last 10 years, and the role that space telescopes have played in those discoveries. The next decade looks equally bright with the newly refurbished Hubble and the promise of its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. I will describe how Hubble was upgraded and how and why we are building Webb.

A Scientific Revolution: The Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Jonathan

2011-01-01

Astronomy is going through a scientific revolution, responding to a flood of data from the Hubble Space Telescope, other space missions, and large telescopes on the ground. In this talk, I will discuss some of the most important astronomical discoveries of the last 10 years, and the role that space telescopes have played in those discoveries. The next decade looks equally bright with the newly refurbished Hubble and the promise of its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. I will describe how Hubble was upgraded and how and why we are building Webb.

A Scientific Revolution: The Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Jonathan P.

2009-01-01

Astronomy is going through a scientific revolution, responding to a flood of data from the Hubble Space Telescope, other space missions, and large telescopes on the ground. In this talk, I will discuss the top 10 astronomical discoveries of the last 10 years, and the role that space telescopes have played in those discoveries. The next decade looks equally bright with the newly refurbished Hubble and the promise of its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. I will describe how Hubble was upgraded and how and why we are building Webb.

A Scientific Revolution: the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Jonathan P.

2012-01-01

Astronomy is going through a scientific revolution, responding to a flood of data from the Hubble Space Telescope, other space missions, and large telescopes on the ground. In this talk, I will discuss some of the most important astronomical discoveries of the last IO years, and the role that space telescopes have played in those discoveries. The next decade looks equally bright with the newly refurbished Hubble and the promise of its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. I will describe how Hubble was upgraded and how and why we are building Webb.

FAR-FLUNG GALAXY CLUSTERS MAY REVEAL FATE OF UNIVERSE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

A selection of NASA Hubble Space Telescope snapshots of huge galaxy clusters that lie far away and far back in time. These are selected from a catalog of 92 new clusters uncovered during a six-year Hubble observing program known as the Medium Deep Survey. If the distances and masses of the clusters are confirmed by ground based telescopes, the survey may hold clues to how galaxies quickly formed into massive large-scale structures after the big bang, and what that may mean for the eventual fate of the expanding universe. The images are each a combination of two exposures in yellow and deep red taken with Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. Each cluster's distance is inferred from the reddening of the starlight, which is due to the expansion of space. Astronomers assume these clusters all formed early in the history of the universe. HST133617-00529 (left) This collection of spiral and elliptical galaxies lies an estimated 4 to 6 billion light-years away. It is in the constellation of Virgo not far from the 3rd magnitude star Zeta Virginis. The brighter galaxies in this cluster have red magnitudes between 20 and 22 near the limit of the Palomar Sky Survey. The bright blue galaxy (upper left) is probably a foreground galaxy, and not a cluster member. The larger of the galaxies in the cluster are probably about the size of our Milky Way Galaxy. The diagonal line at lower right is an artificial satellite trail. HST002013+28366 (upper right) This cluster of galaxies lies in the constellation of Andromeda a few degrees from the star Alpheratz in the northeast corner of the constellation Pegasus. It is at an estimated distance of 4 billion light-years, which means the light we are seeing from the cluster is as it appeared when the universe was roughly 2/3 of its present age. HST035528+09435 (lower right) At an estimated distance of about 7 to 10 billion light-years (z=1), this is one of the farthest clusters in the Hubble sample. The cluster lies in the constellation of Taurus. Credit: K. Ratnatunga, R. Griffiths (Carnegie Mellon University); and NASA

Light Echo

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

"Light Echo" Illuminates Dust Around Supergiant Star V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon) Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI) The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute conducts Hubble science operations. Goddard is responsible for HST project management, including mission and science operations, servicing missions, and all associated development activities. To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

Making Data Mobile: The Hubble Deep Field Academy iPad app

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eisenhamer, Bonnie; Cordes, K.; Davis, S.; Eisenhamer, J.

2013-01-01

Many school districts are purchasing iPads for educators and students to use as learning tools in the classroom. Educators often prefer these devices to desktop and laptop computers because they offer portability and an intuitive design, while having a larger screen size when compared to smart phones. As a result, we began investigating the potential of adapting online activities for use on Apple’s iPad to enhance the dissemination and usage of these activities in instructional settings while continuing to meet educators’ needs. As a pilot effort, we are developing an iPad app for the “Hubble Deep Field Academy” - an activity that is currently available online and commonly used by middle school educators. The Hubble Deep Field Academy app features the HDF-North image while centering on the theme of how scientists use light to explore and study the universe. It also includes features such as embedded links to vocabulary, images and videos, teacher background materials, and readings about Hubble’s other deep field surveys. It is our goal is to impact students’ engagement in STEM-related activities, while enhancing educators’ usage of NASA data via new and innovative mediums. We also hope to develop and share lessons learned with the E/PO community that can be used to support similar projects. We plan to test the Hubble Deep Field Academy app during the school year to determine if this new activity format is beneficial to the education community.

The morphology of faint galaxies in Medium Deep Survey images using WFPC2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Griffiths, R. E.; Casertano, S.; Ratnatunga, K. U.; Neuschaefer, L. W.; Ellis, R. S.; Gilmore, G. F.; Glazebrook, K.; Santiago, B.; Huchra, J. P.; Windhorst, R. A.

1994-01-01

First results from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Medium Deep Survey images taken with Wide Field/Planetary Camera-2 (WFPC2) demonstrate that galaxy classifications can be reliably performed to magnitudes I814 approximately less than 22.0 in the F815W band. Published spectroscopic surveys to this depth indicate a mean redshift of bar-z approximately 0.5. We have classified over 200 galaxies in nine WFPC2 fields according to a basic morphological scheme. The majority of these faint galaxies appear to be similar to regular Hubble-sequence examples observed at low redshift. To the precision of our classification scheme, the relative proportion of spheroidal and disk systems of normal appearance is as expected from nearby samples, indicating that the bulk of the local galaxy population was in place at half the Hubble time. However, the most intriguing result is the relatively high proportion (approximately 40%) of objects which are in some way anomalous, and which may be of relevance in understanding the origin of the familiar excess population of faint galaxies established by others. These diverse objects include apparently interacting pairs whose multiple structure is only revealed with HST's angular resolution, galaxies with superluminous star-forming regions, diffuse low surface brightness galaxies of various forms, and compact galaxies. These anomalous galaxies contribute a substantial fraction of the excess counts at our limiting magnitude, and may provide insights into the 'faint blue galaxy' problem.

HUBBLE CAPTURES DETAILED IMAGE OF URANUS' ATMOSPHERE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Hubble Space Telescope has peered deep into Uranus' atmosphere to see clear and hazy layers created by a mixture of gases. Using infrared filters, Hubble captured detailed features of three layers of Uranus' atmosphere. Hubble's images are different from the ones taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, which flew by Uranus 10 years ago. Those images - not taken in infrared light - showed a greenish-blue disk with very little detail. The infrared image allows astronomers to probe the structure of Uranus' atmosphere, which consists of mostly hydrogen with traces of methane. The red around the planet's edge represents a very thin haze at a high altitude. The haze is so thin that it can only be seen by looking at the edges of the disk, and is similar to looking at the edge of a soap bubble. The yellow near the bottom of Uranus is another hazy layer. The deepest layer, the blue near the top of Uranus, shows a clearer atmosphere. Image processing has been used to brighten the rings around Uranus so that astronomers can study their structure. In reality, the rings are as dark as black lava or charcoal. This false color picture was assembled from several exposures taken July 3, 1995 by the Wide Field Planetary Camera-2. CREDIT: Erich Karkoschka (University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Lab) and NASA

A Sneak Peek at the JWST Era: Observing Galaxies Below the Hubble Limit with Gravitational Lensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Livermore, Rachael C.

2016-01-01

The installation of WFC3 on the Hubble Space Telescope pushed the frontier of high-redshift galaxy studies to only 500 Myr after the Big Bang. However, observations in this epoch remain challenging and are limited to the brightest galaxies; the fainter sources believed to be responsible for reionizing the Universe remain beyond the grasp of Hubble. With gravitational lensing, however, we can benefit from the magnification of faint sources, which brings them within reach of today's telescopes. The Hubble Frontier Fields program is a deep survey of strongly lensing clusters observed in the optical and near-infrared. Unfortunately, detecting highly magnified, intrinsically faint galaxies in these fields has proved challenging due to the bright foregound cluster galaxies and intracluster light. We have developed a technique using wavelet decomposition to overcome these difficulties and detect galaxies at z~7 with intrinsic UV magnitudes as faint as MUV = -13. We present this method and the resulting luminosity functions, which support a steep faint-end slope extending out to the observational limits. Our method has uncovered hundreds of galaxies at z > 6 fainter than any that have been seen before, providing our first insight into the small galaxy population during the epoch of reionization and a preview of the capabilities of JWST.

KSC-08pd2455

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a technician cleans the edge of the radiator on the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3,that will be installed on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The radiator is the "outside" of WFC3 that will be exposed to space. It will expel heat out of Hubble and into space through black body radiation. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

Near Infrared Imaging of the Hubble Deep Field with Keck Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hogg, David W.; Neugebauer, G.; Armus, Lee; Matthews, K.; Pahre, Michael A.; Soifer, B. T.; Weinberger, A. J.

1997-01-01

Two deep K-band (2.2 micrometer) images, with point-source detection limits of K=25.2 mag (one sigma), taken with the Keck Telescope in subfields of the Hubble Deep Field, are presented and analyzed. A sample of objects to K=24 mag is constructed and V(sub 606)- I(sub 814) and I(sub 814)-K colors are measured. By stacking visually selected objects, mean I(sub 814)-K colors can be measured to very faint levels, the mean I(sub 814)-K color is constant with apparent magnitude down to V(sub 606)=28 mag.

Upgraded Hubble Space Telescope Images

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-09-08

David Leckrone, senior project scientist for Hubble at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. discusses newly released images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The images were from four of the telescopes' six operating science instruments. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Repairing Hubble Exhibit Reception

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-23

Individuals in attendance who had a hand in the development or servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope pose for a group photo at an event unveiling a new exhibit featuring Hubble's Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) and the WFPC2 on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. COSTAR and WFPC2 were installed in Hubble during the first space shuttle servicing mission in 1993 and returned to Earth on the fifth and final servicing mission in 2009. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Interferometry from Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carpenter, Kenneth

2007-01-01

Space-based interferometric observatories will be challenging projects, equal at least to that of building the Great Observatories (the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Spitzer Space Telescope (SST), Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Gamma Ray Observatory), if not the Pyramids of Eygpt - but they represent the next logical step in examining our Universe at substantially higher angular resolution. Increasing our resolving power by factors of 100 or more (as is needed to make meaningful improvements in this observational arena) over existing facilities such as HST and SST requires mirror diameters (100's to 1000's of meters) much larger than can be supported by single or segmented mirrors - and thus the design and construction of sparse aperture, inteferometric arrays such as those described herein will be required. But just imagine the rewards of being able to see, for the first time, the surfaces of other stars, the location and type of extrasolar planets and even pictures of those same planets, the inner workings of Active Galactic Nuclei, the close-in details of supernovae explosions, black hole event horizons, and the infrared universe at the same resolution of the UV-optical Hubble Deep Fields. As a slight variation on the "Star Trek: Enterprise" theme song might say, it'll be a "long road, getting from here to there", but it will one well-worth taking.

Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Straughn, Amber

2011-01-01

Over the past 20 years the Hubble Space Telescope has revolutionized our understanding of the Universe. Most recently, the complete refurbishment of Hubble in 2009 has given new life to the telescope and the new science instruments have already produced ground breaking science results, revealing some of the most distant galaxy candidates ever discovered. Despite the remarkable advances in astrophysics that Hubble has provided, the new questions that have arisen demand a new space telescope with new technologies and capabilities. I will present the exciting new technology development and science goals of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which is currently being built and tested and will be launched this decade.

A Unique test for Hubble's new Solar Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2000-10-01

In mid-October, a team from the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA will perform a difficult, never-before-done test on one of the Hubble Space Telescope's new solar array panels. Two of these panels, or arrays, will be installed by astronauts in November 2001, when the Space Shuttle Columbia visits Hubble on a routine service mission. The test will ensure that the new arrays are solid and vibration free before they are installed on orbit. The test will be conducted at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. Because of the array's size, the facility's special features, and ESA's longstanding experience with Hubble's solar arrays, ESTEC is the only place in the world the test can be performed. This test is the latest chapter in a longstanding partnership between ESA and NASA on the Hubble Space Telescope. The Large Space Simulator at ESTEC, ESA's world-class test facility, features a huge vacuum chamber containing a bank of extremely bright lights that simulate the Sun's intensity - including sunrise and sunset. By exposing the solar wing to the light and temperature extremes of Hubble's orbit, engineers can verify how the new set of arrays will act in space. Hubble orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes. During each orbit, the telescope experiences 45 minutes of searing sunlight and 45 minutes of frigid darkness. This test will detect any tiny vibrations, or jitters, caused by these dramatic, repeated changes. Even a small amount of jitter can affect Hubble's sensitive instruments and interfere with observations. Hubble's first set of solar arrays experienced mild jitter and was replaced in 1993 with a much more stable pair. Since that time, advances in solar cell technology have led to the development of even more efficient arrays. In 2001, NASA will take advantage of these improvements, by fitting Hubble with a third-generation set of arrays. Though smaller, this new set generates more power than the previous pairs. The arrays use high efficiency solar cells and an advanced structural system to support the solar panels. Unlike the earlier sets, which roll up like window shades, the new arrays are rigid. ESA provided Hubble's first two sets of solar arrays, and built and tested the motors and electronics of the new set provided by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Now, this NASA/ESA test has benefits that extend beyond Hubble to the world-wide aerospace community. It will greatly expand basic knowledge of the jitter phenomenon. Engineers across the globe can apply these findings to other spacecraft that are subjected to regular, dramatic changes in sunlight and temperature. Note to editors The Hubble Project The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international co-operation between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). The partnership agreement between ESA and NASA was signed on 7 October 1977. ESA has provided two pairs of solar panels and one of Hubble's scientific instruments (the Faint Object Camera), as well as a number of other components and supports NASA during routine Servicing Missions to the telescope. In addition, 15 European scientists are working at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore (STScI), which is responsible for the scientific operation of the Hubble Observatory and is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) for NASA. In return, European astronomers have guaranteed access to 15% of Hubble's observing time. The Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF) hosted at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Garching bei München, Germany, supports European Hubble users. ESA and ESO jointly operate the ST-ECF.

Challenges with Electrical, Electronics, and Electromechanical Parts for James Webb Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jah, Muzar A.; Jeffers, Basil S.

2016-01-01

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the space-based observatory that will extend the knowledge gained by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Hubble focuses on optical and ultraviolet wavelengths while JWST focuses on the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, to see the earliest stars and galaxies that formed in the Universe and to look deep into nearby dust clouds to study the formation of stars and planets. JWST, which commenced creation in 1996, is scheduled to launch in 2018. It includes a suite of four instruments, the spacecraft bus, optical telescope element, Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM, the platform to hold the instruments), and a sunshield. The mass of JWST is approximately 6200 kg, including observatory, on-orbit consumables and launch vehicle adaptor. Many challenges were overcome while providing the electrical and electronic components for the Goddard Space Flight Center hardware builds. Other difficulties encountered included developing components to work at cryogenic temperatures, failures of electronic components during development and flight builds, Integration and Test electronic parts problems, and managing technical issues with international partners. This paper will present the context of JWST from a EEE (electrical, electronic, and electromechanical) perspective with examples of challenges and lessons learned throughout the design, development, and fabrication of JWST in cooperation with our associated partners including the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the European Space Agency (ESA), Lockheed Martin and their respective associated partners. Technical challenges and lessons learned will be discussed.

Hubble Sees the Remains of a Star Gone Supernova

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

These delicate wisps of gas make up an object known as SNR B0519-69.0, or SNR 0519 for short. The thin, blood-red shells are actually the remnants from when an unstable progenitor star exploded violently as a supernova around 600 years ago. There are several types of supernovae, but for SNR 0519 the star that exploded is known to have been a white dwarf star — a Sun-like star in the final stages of its life. SNR 0519 is located over 150 000 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Dorado (The Dolphinfish), a constellation that also contains most of our neighboring galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Because of this, this region of the sky is full of intriguing and beautiful deep sky objects. The LMC orbits the Milky Way galaxy as a satellite and is the fourth largest in our group of galaxies, the Local Group. SNR 0519 is not alone in the LMC; the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope also came across a similar bauble a few years ago in SNR B0509-67.5, a supernova of the same type as SNR 0519 with a strikingly similar appearance. European Space Agency/NASA Hubble NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

CHEERS Results from NGC 3393. II. Investigating the Extended Narrow-line Region Using Deep Chandra Observations and Hubble Space Telescope Narrow-line Imaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maksym, W. Peter; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Elvis, Martin

The CHandra Extended Emission Line Region Survey (CHEERS) is an X-ray study of nearby active galactic nuclei (AGNs) designed to take full advantage of Chandra 's unique angular resolution by spatially resolving feedback signatures and effects. In the second paper of a series on CHEERS target NGC 3393, we examine deep high-resolution Chandra images and compare them with Hubble Space Telescope narrow-line images of [O iii], [S ii], and H α , as well as previously unpublished mid-ultraviolet (MUV) images. The X-rays provide unprecedented evidence that the S-shaped arms that envelope the nuclear radio outflows extend only ≲0.″2 (≲50 pc)more » across. The high-resolution multiwavelength data suggest that the extended narrow-line region is a complex multiphase structure in the circumnuclear interstellar medium (ISM). Its ionization structure is highly stratified with respect to outflow-driven bubbles in the bicone and varies dramatically on scales of ∼10 pc. Multiple findings show likely contributions from shocks to the feedback in regions where radio outflows from the AGN most directly influence the ISM. These findings include H α evidence for gas compression and extended MUV emission and are in agreement with existing STIS kinematics. Extended filamentary structure in the X-rays and optical suggests the presence of an undetected plasma component, whose existence could be tested with deeper radio observations.« less

Hubble's Slice of Sagittarius

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

This stunning image, captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), shows part of the sky in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer). The region is rendered in exquisite detail — deep red and bright blue stars are scattered across the frame, set against a background of thousands of more distant stars and galaxies. Two features are particularly striking: the colors of the stars, and the dramatic crosses that burst from the centers of the brightest bodies. While some of the colors in this frame have been enhanced and tweaked during the process of creating the image from the observational data, different stars do indeed glow in different colors. Stars differ in color according to their surface temperature: very hot stars are blue or white, while cooler stars are redder. They may be cooler because they are smaller, or because they are very old and have entered the red giant phase, when an old star expands and cools dramatically as its core collapses. The crosses are nothing to do with the stars themselves, and, because Hubble orbits above Earth’s atmosphere, nor are they due to any kind of atmospheric disturbance. They are actually known as diffraction spikes, and are caused by the structure of the telescope itself. Like all big modern telescopes, Hubble uses mirrors to capture light and form images. Its secondary mirror is supported by struts, called telescope spiders, arranged in a cross formation, and they diffract the incoming light. Diffraction is the slight bending of light as it passes near the edge of an object. Every cross in this image is due to a single set of struts within Hubble itself! Whilst the spikes are technically an inaccuracy, many astrophotographers choose to emphasize and celebrate them as a beautiful feature of their images. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Deep HST Photometry of NGC 6388: Age and Horizontal Branch Luminosity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stetson, Peter B.; Catelan, M.; Pritzl, Barton J.; Smith, Horace A.; Kinemuchi, Karen; Layden, Andrew C.; Sweigart, Allen V.; Rich, R. M.

2006-01-01

We present the first deep color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 6388, obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope, that is able to reach the main-sequence turnoff point of the cluster. From a detailed comparison between the cluster CMD and that of 47 Tucanae (NGC 104), we find that the bulk of the stars in these two clusters have nearly the same age and chemical composition. On the other hand, our results indicate that the blue horizontal branch and RR Lyrae components in NGC 6388 are intrinsically over-luminous, which must be due to one or more, still undetermined, non-canonical second parameter(s) affecting a relatively minor fraction of the stars in NGC 6388.

KSC-08pd2460

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, waits to be transferred to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The part shown here is the radiator, the "outside" of WFC3 that will be exposed to space and will expel heat out of Hubble and into space through black body radiation. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

A Scientific Revolution: The Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Jonathan P.

2011-01-01

Astronomy is going through a scientific revolution, responding to a Rood of data from the Hubble Space Telescope, other space missions, and large telescopes on the ground. In this talk, Dr. Gardner will discuss some of the most important astronomical discoveries of the last 10 years, and the role that space telescopes have played in those discoveries. The next decade looks equally bright with the newly refurbished Hubble and the promise of its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope.

NASA Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Research Project Capstone Even

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-05-05

Students and faculty from Mapletown Jr/Sr High School and Margaret Bell Middle School listen as John Grunsfeld, NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, speaks about his experiences on the final space shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope during the NASA Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Research Project Capstone Event in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters on Monday, May 5, 2014. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

STS-61 Crew Insignia

NASA Image and Video Library

1993-10-01

STS061-S-001 (1 Oct. 1993) --- Designed by the crew members, the STS-61 crew insignia depicts the astronaut symbol superimposed against the sky with the Earth underneath. Also seen are two circles representing the optical configuration of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Light is focused by reflections from a large primary mirror and a smaller secondary mirror. The light is analyzed by various instruments and, according to the crew members, "brings to us on Earth knowledge about planets, stars, galaxies and other celestial objects, allowing us to better understand the complex physical processes at work in the universe." The space shuttle Endeavour is also represented as the fundamental tool that allows the crew to perform the first servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope so its scientific deep space mission may be extended for several years to come. The overall design of the emblem, with lines converging to a high point, is also a symbolic representation of the large-scale Earth-based effort -- which involves space agencies, industry and the universities -- to reach goals of knowledge and perfection. The NASA insignia design for space shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the forms of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, the change will be publicly announced. Photo credit: NASA

HUBBLE IDENTIFIES SOURCE OF ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT IN AN OLD GALAXY

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Hubble Space Telescope's exquisite resolution has allowed astronomers to resolve, for the first time, hot blue stars deep inside an elliptical galaxy. The swarm of nearly 8,000 blue stars resembles a blizzard of snowflakes near the core (lower right) of the neighboring galaxy M32, located 2.5 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. Hubble confirms that the ultraviolet light comes from a population of extremely hot helium-burning stars at a late stage in their lives. Unlike the Sun, which burns hydrogen into helium, these old stars exhausted their central hydrogen long ago, and now burn helium into heavier elements. The observations, taken in October 1998, were made with the camera mode of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) in ultraviolet light. The STIS field of view is only a small portion of the entire galaxy, which is 20 times wider on the sky. For reference, the full moon is 70 times wider than the STIS field-of-view. The bright center of the galaxy was placed on the right side of the image, allowing fainter stars to be seen on the left side of the image. These results are to be published in the March 1, 2000 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. Thirty years ago, the first ultraviolet observations of elliptical galaxies showed that they were surprisingly bright when viewed in ultraviolet light. Before those pioneering UV observations, old groups of stars were assumed to be relatively cool and thus extremely faint in the ultraviolet. Over the years since the initial discovery of this unexpected ultraviolet light, indirect evidence has accumulated that it originates in a population of old, but hot, helium-burning stars. Now Hubble provides the first direct visual evidence. Nearby elliptical galaxies are thought to be relatively simple galaxies comprised of old stars. Because they are among the brightest objects in the Universe, this simplicity makes them useful for tracing the evolution of stars and galaxies. Credits: NASA and Thomas M. Brown, Charles W. Bowers, Randy A. Kimble, Allen V. Sweigart (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) and Henry C. Ferguson (Space Telescope Science Institute).

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Galaxy samples rest-frame ultraviolet structure (Bond+, 2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bond, N. A.; Gardner, J. P.; de Mello, D. F.; Teplitz, H. I.; Rafelski, M.; Koekemoer, A. M.; Coe, D.; Grogin, N.; Gawiser, E.; Ravindranath, S.; Scarlata, C.

2017-03-01

In this paper, we use data taken as part of a program (GO 11563, PI: Teplitz) to obtain UV imaging of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (hereafter UVUDF) and study intermediate-redshift galaxy structure in the F336W, F275W, and F225W filters, complementing existing optical and near-IR measurements from the 2012 Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF12; Ellis et al. 2013ApJ...763L...7E) survey. We use AB magnitudes throughout and assume a concordance cosmology with H0=71 km/s/Mpc, ωm=0.27, and ωλ=0.73 (Spergel et al. 2007ApJS..170..377S). The UVUDF data and the optical Hubble Ultradeep Field (UDF; Beckwith et al. 2006, J/AJ/132/1729) are both contained within a single deep field in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey South. The new UVUDF data include imaging in three filters (F336W, F275W, and F225W), obtained in 10 visits, for a total of 30 orbits per filter. In addition, from the UDF, we make use of deep drizzled images taken in the observed optical with the F435W, F606W, and F775W filters. (1 data file).

NASA's Hubble Celebrates 21st Anniversary with "Rose" of Galaxies

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA image release April 20, 2011 To see a video of this image go here: www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/5637796622 To celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope's deployment into space, astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., pointed Hubble's eye at an especially photogenic pair of interacting galaxies called Arp 273. The larger of the spiral galaxies, known as UGC 1810, has a disk that is distorted into a rose-like shape by the gravitational tidal pull of the companion galaxy below it, known as UGC 1813. This image is a composite of Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 data taken on December 17, 2010, with three separate filters that allow a broad range of wavelengths covering the ultraviolet, blue, and red portions of the spectrum. Hubble was launched April 24, 1990, aboard Discovery's STS-31 mission. Hubble discoveries revolutionized nearly all areas of current astronomical research from planetary science to cosmology. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) To read more about this image go here: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/hubble-rose.html NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

Lens models under the microscope: comparison of Hubble Frontier Field cluster magnification maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Priewe, Jett; Williams, Liliya L. R.; Liesenborgs, Jori; Coe, Dan; Rodney, Steven A.

2017-02-01

Using the power of gravitational lensing magnification by massive galaxy clusters, the Hubble Frontier Fields provide deep views of six patches of the high-redshift Universe. The combination of deep Hubble imaging and exceptional lensing strength has revealed the greatest numbers of multiply-imaged galaxies available to constrain models of cluster mass distributions. However, even with O(100) images per cluster, the uncertainties associated with the reconstructions are not negligible. The goal of this paper is to show the diversity of model magnification predictions. We examine seven and nine mass models of Abell 2744 and MACS J0416, respectively, submitted to the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes for public distribution in 2015 September. The dispersion between model predictions increases from 30 per cent at common low magnifications (μ ˜ 2) to 70 per cent at rare high magnifications (μ ˜ 40). MACS J0416 exhibits smaller dispersions than Abell 2744 for 2 < μ < 10. We show that magnification maps based on different lens inversion techniques typically differ from each other by more than their quoted statistical errors. This suggests that some models underestimate the true uncertainties, which are primarily due to various lensing degeneracies. Though the exact mass sheet degeneracy is broken, its generalized counterpart is not broken at least in Abell 2744. Other local degeneracies are also present in both clusters. Our comparison of models is complementary to the comparison of reconstructions of known synthetic mass distributions. By focusing on observed clusters, we can identify those that are best constrained, and therefore provide the clearest view of the distant Universe.

Eyes on the Universe: The Legacy of the Hubble Space Telescope and Looking to the Future with the James Webb Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Straughn, Amber

2011-01-01

Over the past 20 years the Hubble Space Telescope has revolutionized our understanding of the Universe. Most recently, the complete refurbishment of Hubble in 2009 has given new life to the telescope and the new science instruments have already produced groundbreaking science results, revealing some of the most distant galaxy candidates ever discovered. Despite the remarkable advances in astrophysics that Hubble has provided, the new questions that have arisen demand a new space telescope with new technologies and capabilities. I will present the exciting new technology development and science goals of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which is currently being built and tested and will be launched this decade.

Are Ultra-faint Galaxies at z = 6-8 Responsible for Cosmic Reionization? Combined Constraints from the Hubble Frontier Fields Clusters and Parallels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atek, Hakim; Richard, Johan; Jauzac, Mathilde; Kneib, Jean-Paul; Natarajan, Priyamvada; Limousin, Marceau; Schaerer, Daniel; Jullo, Eric; Ebeling, Harald; Egami, Eiichi; Clement, Benjamin

2015-11-01

We use deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the Frontier Fields to accurately measure the galaxy rest-frame ultraviolet luminosity function (UV LF) in the redshift range z ˜ 6-8. We combine observations in three lensing clusters, A2744, MACS 0416, and MACS 0717, and their associated parallel fields to select high-redshift dropout candidates. We use the latest lensing models to estimate the flux magnification and the effective survey volume in combination with completeness simulations performed in the source plane. We report the detection of 227 galaxy candidates at z = 6-7 and 25 candidates at z ˜ 8. While the total survey area is about 4 arcmin2 in each parallel field, it drops to about 0.6-1 arcmin2 in the cluster core fields because of the strong lensing. We compute the UV LF at z ˜ 7 using the combined galaxy sample and perform Monte Carlo simulations to determine the best-fit Schechter parameters. We are able to reliably constrain the LF down to an absolute magnitude of MUV = -15.25, which corresponds to 0.005 L⋆. More importantly, we find that the faint-end slope remains steep down to this magnitude limit with α =-{2.04}-0.17+0.13. We find a characteristic magnitude of {M}\\star =-{20.89}-0.72+0.60 and log(ϕ⋆) = -{3.54}-0.45+0.48. Our results confirm the most recent results in deep blank fields but extend the LF measurements more than two magnitudes deeper. The UV LF at z ˜ 8 is not very well constrained below MUV = -18 owing to the small number statistics and incompleteness uncertainties. To assess the contribution of galaxies to cosmic reionization, we derive the UV luminosity density at z ˜ 7 by integrating the UV LF down to an observational limit of MUV = -15. We show that our determination of log(ρUV) = 26.2 ± 0.13 (erg s-1 Hz-1 Mpc-3) can be sufficient to maintain reionization with an escape fraction of ionizing radiation of fesc = 10%-15%. Future Hubble Frontier Fields observations will certainly improve the constraints on the UV LF at the epoch of reionization, paving the way to more ambitious programs using cosmic telescopes with the next generation of large aperture telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope and the European Extremely Large Telescope. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with programs 13495, 11386, 13389, and 11689. STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. The Hubble Frontier Fields data and the lens models were obtained from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST). This work utilizes gravitational lensing models produced by PIs Ebeling, Merten, and Zitrin, funded as part of the HST Frontier Fields program conducted by STScI.

KSC-99pp1397

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-12-09

A spare four-inch diameter LH2 recirculation line (shown in photo) will be used to replace a damaged LH2 line in the orbiter Discovery. The line recirculates hydrogen from the Shuttle main engines back to the external tank during prelaunch engine conditioning. Workers noted a dent in the line during routine aft compartment inspections Tuesday, Dec. 7. The dent measures 12 inches long and about ½-inch deep. Managers expect the replacement work to take about 3 days, followed by system retests and final aft compartment close-outs. Preliminary assessments reflect a launch date of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-103 no earlier than Dec. 16. STS-103 is the third servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope

Space Balls Artist Concept

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-07-22

NASA Spitzer Space Telescope has at last found buckyballs resembling soccer balls in space shown in this artist concept using Hubble picture of the NGC 2440 nebula. Hubble image cred: NASA, ESA, STScI

ALMA Spectroscopic Survey in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field: Survey Description

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walter, Fabian; Decarli, Roberto; Aravena, Manuel; Carilli, Chris; Bouwens, Rychard; da Cunha, Elisabete; Daddi, Emanuele; Ivison, R. J.; Riechers, Dominik; Smail, Ian; Swinbank, Mark; Weiss, Axel; Anguita, Timo; Assef, Roberto; Bacon, Roland; Bauer, Franz; Bell, Eric F.; Bertoldi, Frank; Chapman, Scott; Colina, Luis; Cortes, Paulo C.; Cox, Pierre; Dickinson, Mark; Elbaz, David; Gónzalez-López, Jorge; Ibar, Edo; Inami, Hanae; Infante, Leopoldo; Hodge, Jacqueline; Karim, Alex; Le Fevre, Olivier; Magnelli, Benjamin; Neri, Roberto; Oesch, Pascal; Ota, Kazuaki; Popping, Gergö; Rix, Hans-Walter; Sargent, Mark; Sheth, Kartik; van der Wel, Arjen; van der Werf, Paul; Wagg, Jeff

2016-12-01

We present the rationale for and the observational description of ASPECS: the ALMA SPECtroscopic Survey in the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field (UDF), the cosmological deep field that has the deepest multi-wavelength data available. Our overarching goal is to obtain an unbiased census of molecular gas and dust continuum emission in high-redshift (z > 0.5) galaxies. The ˜1‧ region covered within the UDF was chosen to overlap with the deepest available imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope. Our ALMA observations consist of full frequency scans in band 3 (84-115 GHz) and band 6 (212-272 GHz) at approximately uniform line sensitivity ({L}{CO}\\prime ˜ 2 × 109 K km s-1 pc2), and continuum noise levels of 3.8 μJy beam-1 and 12.7 μJy beam-1, respectively. The molecular surveys cover the different rotational transitions of the CO molecule, leading to essentially full redshift coverage. The [C II] emission line is also covered at redshifts 6.0\\lt z\\lt 8.0. We present a customized algorithm to identify line candidates in the molecular line scans and quantify our ability to recover artificial sources from our data. Based on whether multiple CO lines are detected, and whether optical spectroscopic redshifts as well as optical counterparts exist, we constrain the most likely line identification. We report 10 (11) CO line candidates in the 3 mm (1 mm) band, and our statistical analysis shows that <4 of these (in each band) are likely spurious. Less than one-third of the total CO flux in the low-J CO line candidates are from sources that are not associated with an optical/NIR counterpart. We also present continuum maps of both the band 3 and band 6 observations. The data presented here form the basis of a number of dedicated studies that are presented in subsequent papers.

Ultra-deep K S-band Imaging of the Hubble Frontier Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brammer, Gabriel B.; Marchesini, Danilo; Labbé, Ivo; Spitler, Lee; Lange-Vagle, Daniel; Barker, Elizbeth A.; Tanaka, Masayuki; Fontana, Adriano; Galametz, Audrey; Ferré-Mateu, Anna; Kodama, Tadayuki; Lundgren, Britt; Martis, Nicholas; Muzzin, Adam; Stefanon, Mauro; Toft, Sune; van der Wel, Arjen; Vulcani, Benedetta; Whitaker, Katherine E.

2016-09-01

We present an overview of the “KIFF” project, which provides ultra-deep K s -band imaging of all six of the Hubble Frontier Fields clusters, Abell 2744, MACS-0416, Abell S1063, Abell 370, MACS-0717, and MACS-1149. All of these fields have recently been observed with large allocations of Directors’ Discretionary Time with the Hubble and Spitzer telescopes, covering 0.4\\lt λ \\lt 1.6 μ {{m}} and 3.6-4.5 μ {{m}}, respectively. VLT/HAWK-I integrations of the first four fields reach 5σ limiting depths of {K}s˜ 26.0 (AB, point sources) and have excellent image quality (FWHM ˜ 0.″4). The MACS-0717 and MACS-1149 fields are observable from the northern hemisphere, and shorter Keck/MOSFIRE integrations on those fields reach limiting depths of K s = 25.5 and 25.1, with a seeing FWHM of ˜ 0.″4 and 0\\buildrel{\\prime\\prime}\\over{.} 5. In all cases the K s -band mosaics cover the primary cluster and parallel HST/ACS+WFC3 fields. The total area of the K s -band coverage is 490 arcmin2. The K s -band at 2.2 μ {{m}} crucially fills the gap between the reddest HST filter (1.6 μ {{m}} ˜ H band) and the IRAC 3.6 μ {{m}} passband. While reaching the full depths of the space-based imaging is not currently feasible from the ground, the deep K s -band images provide important constraints on both the redshifts and the stellar population properties of galaxies extending well below the characteristic stellar mass across most of the age of the universe, down to and including the redshifts of the targeted galaxy clusters (z≲ 0.5). Reduced, aligned mosaics of all six survey fields are provided.

Identification of the Infrared Counterpart of SGR 1935+2154 with the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levan, Andrew; Kouveliotou, Chryssa; Fruchter, Andrew

2018-02-01

We present deep Hubble Space Telescope observations of a new magnetar source, the soft gamma-repeater SGR 1935+2154, discovered by Swift. We obtained three epochs of observations: while the source was active in 2015 March, during a quiescent period in 2015 August, and during a further active phase in 2016 May. Close to the center of the X-ray error region identified by Chandra, we find a faint (F140W(AB) = 25.3) source, which fades by a factor of ∼2 over the course of 5 months between the first two epochs of observations, before rebrightening during the second active period. If this source is indeed the counterpart to SGR 1935+2154, then it is among the faintest yet located for a magnetar. Our observations are spaced over 1.3 years and enable us to place limits on the source velocity of μ = (60 ± 40) km s‑1 kpc‑1 observations on timescales of a decade can hence probe proper motion limits smaller than the velocities observed for the majority of pulsars. The comparison of the optical/IR and X-ray light curves of the source suggests that emission in the two regimes is associated but not directly correlated, offering support for a magnetospheric versus a fallback disk origin.

Tracing the growth of Milky Way-like galaxies

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-11-15

This composite image shows examples of galaxies similar to our Milky Way at various stages of construction over a time span of 11 billion years. The galaxies are arranged according to time. Those on the left reside nearby; those at far right existed when the cosmos was about 2 billion years old. The bluish glow from young stars dominates the color of the galaxies on the right. The galaxies at left are redder from the glow of older stellar populations. Astronomers found the distant galaxies in two Hubble Space Telescope surveys: 3D-HST and the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey, or CANDELS. The observations were made in visible and near-infrared light by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys. The nearby galaxies were taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This image traces Milky Way-like galaxies over most of cosmic history, revealing how they evolve over time. Hubble's sharp vision resolved the galaxies' shapes, showing that their bulges and disks grew simultaneously. Credit: NASA, ESA, P. van Dokkum (Yale University), S. Patel (Leiden University), and the 3D-HST Team NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

A TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA AT REDSHIFT 1.55 IN HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE INFRARED OBSERVATIONS FROM CANDELS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rodney, Steven A.; Riess, Adam G.; Jones, David O.

2012-02-10

We report the discovery of a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) at redshift z = 1.55 with the infrared detector of the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3-IR) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This object was discovered in CANDELS imaging data of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field and followed as part of the CANDELS+CLASH Supernova project, comprising the SN search components from those two HST multi-cycle treasury programs. This is the highest redshift SN Ia with direct spectroscopic evidence for classification. It is also the first SN Ia at z > 1 found and followed in the infrared, providing amore » full light curve in rest-frame optical bands. The classification and redshift are securely defined from a combination of multi-band and multi-epoch photometry of the SN, ground-based spectroscopy of the host galaxy, and WFC3-IR grism spectroscopy of both the SN and host. This object is the first of a projected sample at z > 1.5 that will be discovered by the CANDELS and CLASH programs. The full CANDELS+CLASH SN Ia sample will enable unique tests for evolutionary effects that could arise due to differences in SN Ia progenitor systems as a function of redshift. This high-z sample will also allow measurement of the SN Ia rate out to z Almost-Equal-To 2, providing a complementary constraint on SN Ia progenitor models.« less

Incorporating LWIR Data into Multi-Frame Blind Deconvolution of Visible Imagery

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-18

18.7% 10% 12% Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (GLAST) 19.7% 50% 19% Hubble Space Telescope (HST) (Night 1) 39.9% 20% 15% Iridium 82 14.4% 40% 9...LEO Satellite name Δ Δ ΔMM Delta 1 Rocket Body 12.8% 10% 7% Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (GLAST) 4.3% 10% 6% Hubble Space Telescope (HST) (Night...2) 21.4% 20% -4% Hubble Space Telescope (HST) (Night 3) 41.4% 30% 1% (a) (b) (c) Fig. 3. (a) LWIR image of HST, (b) LWIR image converted

A replacement LH2 recirculation line before installation in Discovery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

Gary Hamilton (left) and James Stickley, both with United Space Alliance, check out a spare four-inch diameter LH2 recirculation line that will be used to replace a damaged LH2 line in the orbiter Discovery. The line recirculates hydrogen from the Shuttle main engines back to the external tank during prelaunch engine conditioning. Workers noted a dent in the line during routine aft compartment inspections Tuesday, Dec. 7. The dent measures 12 inches long and about =-inch deep. Managers expect the replacement work to take about 3 days, followed by system retests and final aft compartment close-outs. Preliminary assessments reflect a launch date of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-103 no earlier than Dec. 16. STS-103 is the third servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope.

A replacement LH2 recirculation line before installation in Discovery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

James Stickley (left) and Derry Dilby (right), who are with United Space Alliance, check over a spare four-inch diameter LH2 recirculation line that will be used to replace a damaged LH2 line in the orbiter Discovery. The line recirculates hydrogen from the Shuttle main engines back to the external tank during prelaunch engine conditioning. Workers noted a dent in the line during routine aft compartment inspections Tuesday, Dec. 7. The dent measures 12 inches long and about =-inch deep. Managers expect the replacement work to take about 3 days, followed by system retests and final aft compartment close-outs. Preliminary assessments reflect a launch date of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-103 no earlier than Dec. 16. STS-103 is the third servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope.

KSC-99pp1398

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-12-06

James Stickley (left) and Derry Dilby (right), who are with United Space Alliance, check over a spare four-inch diameter LH2 recirculation line that will be used to replace a damaged LH2 line in the orbiter Discovery. The line recirculates hydrogen from the Shuttle main engines back to the external tank during prelaunch engine conditioning. Workers noted a dent in the line during routine aft compartment inspections Tuesday, Dec. 7. The dent measures 12 inches long and about ½-inch deep. Managers expect the replacement work to take about 3 days, followed by system retests and final aft compartment close-outs. Preliminary assessments reflect a launch date of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-103 no earlier than Dec. 16. STS-103 is the third servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope

KSC-99pp1396

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-12-09

Gary Hamilton (left) and James Stickley, both with United Space Alliance, check out a spare four-inch diameter LH2 recirculation line that will be used to replace a damaged LH2 line in the orbiter Discovery. The line recirculates hydrogen from the Shuttle main engines back to the external tank during prelaunch engine conditioning. Workers noted a dent in the line during routine aft compartment inspections Tuesday, Dec. 7. The dent measures 12 inches long and about ½-inch deep. Managers expect the replacement work to take about 3 days, followed by system retests and final aft compartment close-outs. Preliminary assessments reflect a launch date of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-103 no earlier than Dec. 16. STS-103 is the third servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope

Deep learning for studies of galaxy morphology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuccillo, D.; Huertas-Company, M.; Decencière, E.; Velasco-Forero, S.

2017-06-01

Establishing accurate morphological measurements of galaxies in a reasonable amount of time for future big-data surveys such as EUCLID, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope or the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope is a challenge. Because of its high level of abstraction with little human intervention, deep learning appears to be a promising approach. Deep learning is a rapidly growing discipline that models high-level patterns in data as complex multilayered networks. In this work we test the ability of deep convolutional networks to provide parametric properties of Hubble Space Telescope like galaxies (half-light radii, Sérsic indices, total flux etc..). We simulate a set of galaxies including point spread function and realistic noise from the CANDELS survey and try to recover the main galaxy parameters using deep-learning. We compare the results with the ones obtained with the commonly used profile fitting based software GALFIT. This way showing that with our method we obtain results at least equally good as the ones obtained with GALFIT but, once trained, with a factor 5 hundred time faster.

KSC-08pd2465

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians observe as the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, is rotated. The WFC3 will be transferred to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The curved edge shown at the back is the radiator, the "outside" of WFC3 that will be exposed to space and will expel heat out of Hubble and into space through black body radiation. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

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NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians observe as the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, is rotated to vertical. The WFC3 will be transferred to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The curved edge shown at top is the radiator, the "outside" of WFC3 that will be exposed to space and will expel heat out of Hubble and into space through black body radiation. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2467

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – After rotation of the Wide Field Camera 3 (background left), or WFC3, in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians check the data. The WFC3 will be transferred to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The curved edge shown at top is the radiator, the "outside" of WFC3 that will be exposed to space and will expel heat out of Hubble and into space through black body radiation. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2464

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, has been rotated. The WFC3 will be transferred to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The curved edge shown at top is the radiator, the "outside" of WFC3 that will be exposed to space and will expel heat out of Hubble and into space through black body radiation. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2461

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians wait for the rotation of the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, in order to attach a crane. The WFC3 will be transferred to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The part shown here is the radiator, the "outside" of WFC3 that will be exposed to space and will expel heat out of Hubble and into space through black body radiation. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2462

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians wait for the rotation of the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, in order to attach a crane. The WFC3 will be transferred to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The curved edge shown at left is the radiator, the "outside" of WFC3 that will be exposed to space and will expel heat out of Hubble and into space through black body radiation. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2463

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians stand by as the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, is rotated. The WFC3 will be transferred to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The curved edge shown at left is the radiator, the "outside" of WFC3 that will be exposed to space and will expel heat out of Hubble and into space through black body radiation. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2468

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a technician guides a crane for attachment to the radiator on the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3. The WFC3 will be transferred to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The radiator is the "outside" of WFC3 that will be exposed to space and will expel heat out of Hubble and into space through black body radiation. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-02pd0097

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-01-29

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in the Vertical Processing Facility check the position of the Hubble Space Telescope's replacement Reaction Wheel Actuator on the Large Orbital Protective Enclosure (LOPE), which is contained in the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment (MULE) for flight. Part of Hubble's Pointing Control System, the actuators receiving information from sensors and physically adjust Hubble's position and orientation so that Hubble can view the required celestial bodies. The reaction wheels work by rotating a large flywheel up to 3000 rpm or braking it to exchange momentum with the spacecraft which will make Hubble turn. The RWA is part of the payload on mission STS-109, the Hubble Servicing Mission, scheduled to launch Feb. 28, 2002

KSC-02pd0095

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-01-29

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in the Vertical Processing Facility maneuver the replacement Reaction Wheel Actuator for the Hubble Space Telescope into position on the Large Orbital Protective Enclosure (LOPE), which is contained in the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment (MULE) for flight. Part of Hubble's Pointing Control System, the actuators receiving information from sensors and physically adjust Hubble's position and orientation so that Hubble can view the required celestial bodies. The reaction wheels work by rotating a large flywheel up to 3000 rpm or braking it to exchange momentum with the spacecraft which will make Hubble turn. The RWA is part of the payload on mission STS-109, the Hubble Servicing Mission, scheduled to launch Feb. 28, 2002

KSC-02pd0098

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-01-29

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers in the Vertical Processing Facility check the attachment of the the Hubble Space Telescope's replacement Reaction Wheel Actuator on the Large Orbital Protective Enclosure (LOPE), which is contained in the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment (MULE) for flight. Part of Hubble's Pointing Control System, the actuators receiving information from sensors and physically adjust Hubble's position and orientation so that Hubble can view the required celestial bodies. The reaction wheels work by rotating a large flywheel up to 3000 rpm or braking it to exchange momentum with the spacecraft which will make Hubble turn. The RWA is part of the payload on mission STS-109, the Hubble Servicing Mission, scheduled to launch Feb. 28, 2002

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NASA Image and Video Library

2002-04-30

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the 2002 Space Congress, Cape Canaveral, Fla., a presentation on "Hubble Discoveries" by Dr. Mark Clampin (with microphone), Advanced Camera for Surveys team, included an image of an eye (seen on the screen) comprising hundreds of photos of all the people who worked on Hubble. On the right is Frank Ceppolina, project manager, Hubble Space Telescope Development Project. The Space Congress is held annually to highlight military and space initiatives, new technologies, and Florida's role in programs and research. This year's theme is Beginning a New Era - Initiatives in Space. NASA presented several paper sessions, including Advancements in Technology. Space Congress is sponsored by the Canaveral Council of Technical Societies

The Hubble Space Telescope at 25: Lessons Learned for Future Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiseman, Jennifer

2015-08-01

This year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope mission. Astronomy worldwide has been transformed by the discoveries made with Hubble. At this momentous milestone it is important to reflect on the unique successes of Hubble, and the components of that success, as the astronomical community develops facilities and a vision for future major international efforts in scientific space exploration. First, Hubble was envisioned by pioneering astronomers long before its launch, galvanizing support from astronomers, NASA, and governmental leaders for such an innovative and risky endeavor. Second, the interplay of the astronaut program with scientific exploration was paramount to the success of Hubble, not only with the initial dramatic repair mission, but also for the subsequent five servicing missions that kept the observatory perpetually refreshed. Cooperative missions involving astronauts, engineers, and scientists may be critical for constructing and operating large facilities in space in the future. Third, the scientific discoveries of Hubble involve both incredible successes that were planned from the outset as well as new discoveries and innovative uses of the observatory that could not have been planned in advance. Hubble has been used not only to gauge the expansion rate and age of the universe, but has also been a major player in the recent surprise detection of acceleration in that expansion. Hubble has also been key for studying star formation and now the atmospheres of exoplanets; even water has been detected in exoplanetary systems, something never envisioned for Hubble originally. And the incredible evolutionary picture of galaxies has been unveiled through Hubble observations, now enhanced by the revolutionary uses of gravitational lensing to study both dark matter in the lensing clusters, and extremely distant magnified galaxies. Finally, Hubble’s great success in public outreach has made the discoveries of astronomy easily accessible and treasured by people around the world. This talk will outline how these successes of the Hubble Space Telescope program can inform and prepare us for future large scale astronomical facilities and exploration endeavors.

History of Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-07-01

This is a color Hubble Space Telescope (HST) heritage image of supernova remnant N49, a neighboring galaxy, that was taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. Color filters were used to sample light emitted by sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen. The color image was superimposed on a black and white image of stars in the same field also taken with Hubble. Resembling a fireworks display, these delicate filaments are actually sheets of debris from a stellar explosion.

Around Marshall

NASA Image and Video Library

1972-01-01

This is a cutaway illustration of the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC ). The MSFC NBS provided an excellent environment for testing hardware to examine how it would operate in space and for evaluating techniques for space construction and spacecraft servicing. Here, engineers, designers, and astronauts performed various tests to develop basic concepts, preliminary designs, final designs, and crew procedures. The NBS was constructed of welded steel with polyester-resin coating. The water tank was 75-feet (22.9- meters) in diameter, 40-feet (12.2-meters) deep, and held 1.32 million gallons of water. Since it opened for operation in 1968, the NBS had supported a number of successful space missions, such as the Skylab, Solar Maximum Mission Satellite, Marned Maneuvering Unit, Experimental Assembly of Structures in Extravehicular Activity/Assembly Concept for Construction of Erectable Space Structures (EASE/ACCESS), the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Space Station. The function of the MSFC NBS was moved to the larger simulator at the Johnson Space Center and is no longer operational.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Ultradiffuse galaxies found in deep HST images of HFF (Lee+, 2017)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, M. G.; Kang, J.; Lee, J. H.; Jang in, S.

2018-03-01

Abell S1063 and Abell 2744 are located at redshift z=0.348 and z=0.308, respectively, so their HST fields cover a relatively large fraction of each cluster. They are part of the target galaxy clusters in the Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) Program, for which deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images are available (Lotz+ 2017ApJ...837...97L). We used ACS/F814W(I) and WFC3/F105W(Y) images for Abell S1063 and Abell 2744 in the HFF. The effective wavelengths of the F814W and F105W filters for the redshifts of Abell S1063 and Abell 2744 (6220 and 8030Å) correspond approximately to SDSS r' and Cousins I (or SDSS i') in the rest frame, respectively. Figure 1 display color images of the HST fields for Abell S1063 and Abell 2744. In this study we adopt the cosmological parameters H0=73km/s/Mpc, ΩM=0.27, and ΩΛ=0.73. For these parameters, luminosity distance moduli of Abell S1063 and Abell 2744 are (m-M)0=41.25 (d=1775Mpc) and 40.94 (d=1540Mpc), and angular diameter distances are 978 and 901Mpc, respectively. (5 data files).

Finding our Origins with the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Jonathan P.

2009-01-01

NASA is planning a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope designed to study the origins of galaxies, stars, planets and life in the universe. In this talk, Dr. Gardner will discuss the origin and evolution of galaxies, beginning with the Big Bang and tracing what we have learned with Hubble through to the present day. He will show that results from studies with Hubble have led to plans for its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. Webb is scheduled to launch in 2014, and is designed to find the first galaxies that formed in the distant past and to penetrate the dusty clouds of gas where stars are still forming today. He will compare Webb to Hubble, and discuss recent progress in the construction of the observatory.

Finding our Origins with the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Jonathan

2008-01-01

NASA is planning a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope designed to study the origins of galaxies, stars, planets and life in the universe. In this talk, Dr. Gardner will discuss the origin and evolution of galaxies, beginning with the Big Bang and tracing what we have learned with Hubble through to the present day. He will show that results from studies with Hubble have led to plans for its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. Webb is scheduled to launch in 2013, and is designed to find the first galaxies that formed in the distant past and to penetrate the dusty clouds of gas where stars are still forming today. He will compare Webb to Hubble, and discuss recent progress in the construction of the observatory.

Finding our Origins with the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Jonathan P.

2007-01-01

NASA is planning a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope designed to study the origins of galaxies, stars, planets and life in the universe. In this talk, Dr. Gardner will discuss the origin and evolution of galaxies, beginning with the Big Bang and tracing what we have learned with Hubble through to the present day. He will show that results from studies with Hubble have led to plans for its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. Webb is scheduled to launch in 201 3, and is designed to find the first galaxies that formed in the distant past and to penetrate the dusty clouds of gas where stars are still forming today. He will compare Webb to Hubble, and discuss recent progress in the construction of the observatory.

Space Shuttle Projects

NASA Image and Video Library

1989-12-05

The mission insignia for NASA's STS-31 mission features the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in its observing configuration against a background of the universe it will study. The cosmos includes a stylistic depiction of galaxies in recognition of the contribution made by Sir Edwin Hubble to our understanding of the nature of galaxies and the expansion of the universe. The STS-31 crew points out that is it in honor of Hubble's work that this great observatory in space bears his name. The depicted Space Shuttle trails a spectrum symbolic of both the red shift observations that were so important to Hubble's work and new information which will be obtained with the HST. Encircling the art work, designed by the crew, are the names of its members.

Crab Nebula

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant, all that remains of a tremendous stellar explosion. Observers in China and Japan recorded the supernova nearly 1,000 years ago, in 1054. Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State University) The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute conducts Hubble science operations. Goddard is responsible for HST project management, including mission and science operations, servicing missions, and all associated development activities. To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

High-redshift galaxies and low-mass stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilkins, Stephen M.; Stanway, Elizabeth R.; Bremer, Malcolm N.

2014-03-01

The sensitivity available to near-infrared surveys has recently allowed us to probe the galaxy population at z ≈ 7 and beyond. The existing Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) Infrared Camera (VIRCam) instruments allow deep surveys to be undertaken well beyond 1 μm - a capability that will be further extended with the launch and commissioning of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). As new regions of parameter space in both colour and depth are probed, new challenges for distant galaxy surveys are identified. In this paper, we present an analysis of the colours of L- and T-dwarf stars in widely used photometric systems. We also consider the implications of the newly identified Y-dwarf population - stars that are still cooler and less massive than T-dwarfs for both the photometric selection and spectroscopic follow-up of faint and distant galaxies. We highlight the dangers of working in the low-signal-to-noise regime, and the potential contamination of existing and future samples. We find that Hubble/WFC3 and VISTA/VIRCam Y-drop selections targeting galaxies at z ˜ 7.5 are vulnerable to contamination from T- and Y-class stars. Future observations using JWST, targeting the z ˜ 7 galaxy population, are also likely to prove difficult without deep medium-band observations. We demonstrate that single emission line detections in typical low-signal-to-noise spectroscopic observations may also be suspect, due to the unusual spectral characteristics of the cool dwarf star population.

The Hubble Space Telescope Medium Deep Survey Cluster Sample: Methodology and Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ostrander, E. J.; Nichol, R. C.; Ratnatunga, K. U.; Griffiths, R. E.

1998-12-01

We present a new, objectively selected, sample of galaxy overdensities detected in the Hubble Space Telescope Medium Deep Survey (MDS). These clusters/groups were found using an automated procedure that involved searching for statistically significant galaxy overdensities. The contrast of the clusters against the field galaxy population is increased when morphological data are used to search around bulge-dominated galaxies. In total, we present 92 overdensities above a probability threshold of 99.5%. We show, via extensive Monte Carlo simulations, that at least 60% of these overdensities are likely to be real clusters and groups and not random line-of-sight superpositions of galaxies. For each overdensity in the MDS cluster sample, we provide a richness and the average of the bulge-to-total ratio of galaxies within each system. This MDS cluster sample potentially contains some of the most distant clusters/groups ever detected, with about 25% of the overdensities having estimated redshifts z > ~0.9. We have made this sample publicly available to facilitate spectroscopic confirmation of these clusters and help more detailed studies of cluster and galaxy evolution. We also report the serendipitous discovery of a new cluster close on the sky to the rich optical cluster Cl l0016+16 at z = 0.546. This new overdensity, HST 001831+16208, may be coincident with both an X-ray source and a radio source. HST 001831+16208 is the third cluster/group discovered near to Cl 0016+16 and appears to strengthen the claims of Connolly et al. of superclustering at high redshift.

Hubble Space Telescope/Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer Observations of the GLIMPSE9 Stellar Cluster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Messineo, Maria; Figer, Donald F.; Davies, Ben; Kudritzki, R. P.; Rich, R. Michael; MacKenty, John; Trombley, Christine

2010-01-01

We present Hubble Space Telescope/Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer photometry, and low-resolution K-band spectra of the GLIMPSE9 stellar cluster. The newly obtained color-magnitude diagram shows a cluster sequence with H - KS = ~1 mag, indicating an interstellar extinction A _K_s = 1.6 ± 0.2 mag. The spectra of the three brightest stars show deep CO band heads, which indicate red supergiants with spectral type M1-M2. Two 09-B2 supergiants are also identified, which yield a spectrophotometric distance of 4.2 ± 0.4 kpc. Presuming that the population is coeval, we derive an age between 15 and 27 Myr, and a total cluster mass of 1600 ± 400 M sun, integrated down to 1 M sun. In the vicinity of GLIMPSE9 are several H II regions and supernova remnants, all of which (including GLIMPSE9) are probably associated with a giant molecular cloud (GMC) in the inner galaxy. GLIMPSE9 probably represents one episode of massive star formation in this GMC. We have identified several other candidate stellar clusters of the same complex.

SELFI: an object-based, Bayesian method for faint emission line source detection in MUSE deep field data cubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meillier, Céline; Chatelain, Florent; Michel, Olivier; Bacon, Roland; Piqueras, Laure; Bacher, Raphael; Ayasso, Hacheme

2016-04-01

We present SELFI, the Source Emission Line FInder, a new Bayesian method optimized for detection of faint galaxies in Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) deep fields. MUSE is the new panoramic integral field spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) that has unique capabilities for spectroscopic investigation of the deep sky. It has provided data cubes with 324 million voxels over a single 1 arcmin2 field of view. To address the challenge of faint-galaxy detection in these large data cubes, we developed a new method that processes 3D data either for modeling or for estimation and extraction of source configurations. This object-based approach yields a natural sparse representation of the sources in massive data fields, such as MUSE data cubes. In the Bayesian framework, the parameters that describe the observed sources are considered random variables. The Bayesian model leads to a general and robust algorithm where the parameters are estimated in a fully data-driven way. This detection algorithm was applied to the MUSE observation of Hubble Deep Field-South. With 27 h total integration time, these observations provide a catalog of 189 sources of various categories and with secured redshift. The algorithm retrieved 91% of the galaxies with only 9% false detection. This method also allowed the discovery of three new Lyα emitters and one [OII] emitter, all without any Hubble Space Telescope counterpart. We analyzed the reasons for failure for some targets, and found that the most important limitation of the method is when faint sources are located in the vicinity of bright spatially resolved galaxies that cannot be approximated by the Sérsic elliptical profile. The software and its documentation are available on the MUSE science web service (muse-vlt.eu/science).

The Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) Spitzer Legacy Science Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dickinson, M.; GOODS Team

2004-12-01

The Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) is an anthology of observing programs that are creating a rich, public, multiwavelength data set for studying galaxy formation and evolution. GOODS is observing two fields, one in each hemisphere, with extremely deep imaging and spectroscopy using the most powerful telescopes in space and on the ground. The GOODS Spitzer Legacy Science Program completes the trio of observations from NASA's Great Observatories, joining already-completed GOODS data from Chandra and Hubble. Barring unforeseen difficulties, the GOODS Spitzer observing program will have been completed by the end of 2004, and the first data products will have been released to the astronomical community. In this Special Oral Session, and in an accompanying poster session, the GOODS team presents early scientific results from this Spitzer Legacy program, as well as new research based on other GOODS data sets. I will introduce the session with a brief description of the Legacy observations and data set. Support for this work, part of the Spitzer Space Telescope Legacy Science Program, was provided by NASA through Contract Number 1224666 issued by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under NASA contract 1407.

Ending Hubble's Troubles. A Product Service Job Succeeds 357 Miles in Space. Resources in Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deal, Walter E., III; And Others

1995-01-01

Provides information on the problems with the Hubble Space Telescope and how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is trying to fix it. Includes a student quiz and possible student outcomes. (JOW)

KSC-08pd2294

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-05

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The shipping container with the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment (MULE) carrier inside comes to rest in the airlock in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The cover will be removed in the airlock. The MULE is part of the payload for the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, STS-125. The MULE is part of the payload for the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, STS-125. The MULE is part of the payload for the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, STS-125. The MULE is part of the payload for the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, STS-125. The MULE is part of the payload for the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, STS-125. The MULE carrier will join the Flight Support System, the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier and the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility where the Hubble payload is being prepared for launch. The Relative Navigation Sensors and the New Outer Blanket Layers will be on the MULE. The payload is scheduled to go to Launch Pad 39A in mid-September to be installed into Atlantis' payload bay. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8 at 1:34 a.m. EDT. .Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility inspect the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) on its handling fixture. NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS also is HST's first cryogenic instrument — its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is targeted Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-01-18

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility inspect the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) on its handling fixture. NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS also is HST's first cryogenic instrument — its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is targeted Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility lift the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) prior to its installation in the Second Axial Carrier. NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS also is HST's first cryogenic instrument — its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is targeted Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-01-18

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility lift the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) prior to its installation in the Second Axial Carrier. NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS also is HST's first cryogenic instrument — its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is targeted Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility lower the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) into the Second Axial Carrier. NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS also is HST's first cryogenic instrument — its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is targeted Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-01-18

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility lower the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) into the Second Axial Carrier. NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS also is HST's first cryogenic instrument — its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is targeted Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility lower the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) into the Second Axial Carrier. NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS is HST's first cryogenic instrument -- its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 derees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is targeted Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-01-16

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility lower the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) into the Second Axial Carrier. NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS is HST's first cryogenic instrument -- its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 derees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is targeted Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

NASA Astrophysics E/PO: A Quarter Century of Discovery and Inspiration with the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jirdeh, Hussein; Straughn, Amber; Smith, Denise Anne; Eisenhamer, Bonnie

2015-08-01

April 24, 2015 marked the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. In its quarter-century in orbit, the Hubble Space Telescope has transformed the way we understand the Universe, helped us find our place among the stars, and paved the way to incredible advancements in science and technology.In this presentation, we explain how NASA and ESA, including the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and partners, is using the 25th anniversary of Hubble’s launch as a unique opportunity to communicate to students, educators, and the public the significance of the past quarter-century of discovery with the Hubble Space Telescope. We describe the various programs, resources, and experiences we are utilizing to enhancethe public understanding of Hubble’s many contributions to the scientific world. These include educator professional development opportunities, exhibits, events, traditional and social media, and resources for educators (formal k-12, informal, and higher education). We also highlight how we are capitalizing on Hubble’s cultural popularity to make the scientific connection to NASA’s next Great Observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope.This presentation highlights many of the opportunities by which students, educators, and the public are joining in the anniversary activities, both in-person and online. Find out more at hubble25th.org and follow #Hubble25 on social media.

KSC-08pd2457

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a technician checks the pick-off mirror on the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, that will be installed on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to Hubble. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

Emission-Line Galaxies from the PEARS Hubble Ultra Deep Field: A 2-D Detection Method and First Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, J. P.; Straughn, Amber N.; Meurer, Gerhardt R.; Pirzkal, Norbert; Cohen, Seth H.; Malhotra, Sangeeta; Rhoads, james; Windhorst, Rogier A.; Gardner, Jonathan P.; Hathi, Nimish P.;

Spectacles in Space: A Museum of the Hubble Telescope

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vermillion, Patricia

2004-01-01

When the space shuttle "Columbia" was "lost entering the Earth's atmosphere," third graders at the Lamplighter School in Texas became curious about space travel. Using topics of interest and brainstorming exercises based on a presentation by Elaine Scott, author of "Adventures in Space: The Flight to Fix the Hubble,"…

A replacement LH2 recirculation line before installation in Discovery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

A spare four-inch diameter LH2 recirculation line (shown in photo) will be used to replace a damaged LH2 line in the orbiter Discovery. The line recirculates hydrogen from the Shuttle main engines back to the external tank during prelaunch engine conditioning. Workers noted a dent in the line during routine aft compartment inspections Tuesday, Dec. 7. The dent measures 12 inches long and about =-inch deep. Managers expect the replacement work to take about 3 days, followed by system retests and final aft compartment close-outs. Preliminary assessments reflect a launch date of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-103 no earlier than Dec. 16. STS-103 is the third servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope.

Shuttle to Space Station. Heart Assist Implant. Hubble Update. X-30 Mock-Up

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

Shuttle to Space Station, Heart Assist Implant, Hubble Update, and X-30 Mockup are the four parts that are discussed in this video. The first part, Shuttle to Space Station, is focussed on the construction and function of the Space Station Freedom. While part two, Heart Assist Implant, discusses a newly developed electromechanical device that helps to reduce heart attack by using electric shocks. Interviews with the co-inventor and patients are also included. Brief introduction to Hubble Telescope, problem behind its poor image quality (mirror aberration), and the plan to correct this problem are the three issues that are discussed in part three, Hubble Update. The last part, part four, reviews the X-30 Mockup designed by the staff and students of Mississippi State University.

The Hubble Space Telescope Medium Deep Survey with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera. 1: Methodology and results on the field near 3C 273

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Griffiths, R. E.; Ratnatunga, K. U.; Neuschaefer, L. W.; Casertano, S.; Im, M.; Wyckoff, E. W.; Ellis, R. S.; Gilmore, G. F.; Elson, R. A. W.; Glazebrook, K.

1994-01-01

We present results from the Medium Deep Survey (MDS), a Key Project using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Wide Field Camera (WFC) images of random fields have been taken in 'parallel mode' with an effective resolution of 0.2 sec full width at half maximum (FWHM) in the V(F555W) and I(F785LP) filters. The exposures presented here were targeted on a field away from 3C 273, and resulted in approximately 5 hr integration time in each filter. Detailed morphological structure is seen in galaxy images with total integrated magnitudes down to V approximately = 22.5 and I approximately = 21.5. Parameters are estimated that best fit the observed galaxy images, and 143 objects are identified (including 23 stars) in the field to a fainter limiting magnitude of I approximately = 23.5. We outline the extragalactic goals of the HST Medium Deep Survey, summarize our basic data reduction procedures, and present number (magnitude) counts, a color-magnitude diagram for the field, surface brightness profiles for the brighter galaxies, and best-fit half-light radii for the fainter galaxies as a function of apparent magnitude. A median galaxy half-light radius of 0.4 sec is measured, and the distribution of galaxy sizes versus magnitude is presented. We observe an apparent deficit of galaxies with half-light radii between approximately 0.6 sec and 1.5 sec, with respect to standard no-evolution or mild evolution cosmological models. An apparent excess of compact objects (half-light radii approximately 0.1 sec) is also observed with respect to those models. Finally, we find a small excess in the number of faint galaxy pairs and groups with respect to a random low-redshift field sample.

NASA’s Hubble Telescope Finds Potential Kuiper Belt Targets for New Horizons Pluto Mission

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

This is an artist’s impression of a Kuiper Belt object (KBO), located on the outer rim of our solar system at a staggering distance of 4 billion miles from the Sun. A HST survey uncovered three KBOs that are potentially reachable by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft after it passes by Pluto in mid-2015. Credit: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI) --- Peering out to the dim, outer reaches of our solar system, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered three Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) the agency’s New Horizons spacecraft could potentially visit after it flies by Pluto in July 2015. The KBOs were detected through a dedicated Hubble observing program by a New Horizons search team that was awarded telescope time for this purpose. “This has been a very challenging search and it’s great that in the end Hubble could accomplish a detection – one NASA mission helping another,” said Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado, principal investigator of the New Horizons mission. The Kuiper Belt is a vast rim of primordial debris encircling our solar system. KBOs belong to a unique class of solar system objects that has never been visited by spacecraft and which contain clues to the origin of our solar system. The KBOs Hubble found are each about 10 times larger than typical comets, but only about 1-2 percent of the size of Pluto. Unlike asteroids, KBOs have not been heated by the sun and are thought to represent a pristine, well preserved deep-freeze sample of what the outer solar system was like following its birth 4.6 billion years ago. The KBOs found in the Hubble data are thought to be the building blocks of dwarf planets such as Pluto. Read more: 1.usa.gov/1vzUcyK NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Listening to galaxies tuning at z ~ 2.5-3.0: The first strikes of the Hubble fork

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talia, M.; Cimatti, A.; Mignoli, M.; Pozzetti, L.; Renzini, A.; Kurk, J.; Halliday, C.

2014-02-01

Aims: We investigate the morphological properties of 494 galaxies selected from the Galaxy Mass Assembly ultra-deep Spectroscopic Survey (GMASS) at z > 1, primarily in their optical rest frame, using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) infrared images, from the Cosmic Assembly Near-IR Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS). Methods: The morphological analysis of Wield Field Camera (WFC3) H160 band images was performed using two different methods: a visual classification identifying traditional Hubble types, and a quantitative analysis using parameters that describe structural properties, such as the concentration of light and the rotational asymmetry. The two classifications are compared. We then analysed how apparent morphologies correlate with the physical properties of galaxies. Results: The fractions of both elliptical and disk galaxies decrease between redshifts z ~ 1 to z ~ 3, while at z > 3 the galaxy population is dominated by irregular galaxies. The quantitative morphological analysis shows that, at 1 < z < 3, morphological parameters are not as effective in distinguishing the different morphological Hubble types as they are at low redshift. No significant morphological k-correction was found to be required for the Hubble type classification, with some exceptions. In general, different morphological types occupy the two peaks of the (U - B)rest colour bimodality of galaxies: most irregulars occupy the blue peak, while ellipticals are mainly found in the red peak, though with some level of contamination. Disks are more evenly distributed than either irregulars and ellipticals. We find that the position of a galaxy in a UVJ diagram is related to its morphological type: the "quiescent" region of the plot is mainly occupied by ellipticals and, to a lesser extent, by disks. We find that only ~33% of all morphological ellipticals in our sample are red and passively evolving galaxies, a percentage that is consistent with previous results obtained at z < 1. Blue galaxies morphologically classified as ellipticals show a remarkable structural similarity to red ones. We search for correlations between our morphological and spectroscopic galaxy classifications. Almost all irregulars have a star-forming galaxy spectrum. In addition, the majority of disks show some sign of star-formation activity in their spectra, though in some cases their red continuum is indicative of old stellar populations. Finally, an elliptical morphology may be associated with either passively evolving or strongly star-forming galaxies. Conclusions: We propose that the Hubble sequence of galaxy morphologies takes shape at redshift 2.5 < z < 3. The fractions of both ellipticals and disks decrease with increasing lookback time at z > 1, such that at redshifts z = 2.5-2.7 and above, the Hubble types cannot be identified, and most galaxies are classified as irregular. Appendix A is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Astronomy from Space: The Hubble, Herschel and James Webb Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Jonathan P.

2009-01-01

Space-based astronomy is going through a renaissance, with three Great Observatories currently flying: Hubble in the visible and ultraviolet, Spitzer in the infrared and Chandra in X-rays. The future looks equally bright. The final servicing mission to Hubble will take place in February 2009 and promises to make the observatory more capable than ever with two new cameras, and refurbishment that will allow it to last at least five years. The upcoming launch of the Herschel Space Telescope will open the far-infrared to explore the cool and dusty Universe. Finally, we look forward to the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2013, which wil provide a successor to both Hubble and Spitzer. In this talk, the author discusses some of the highlights of scientific discovery in the last 10 years and reveals the promise to the next 10 years.

"Amazing Space": Creating Educational Resources from Current Scientific Research Results from the Hubble Space Telescope.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christian, C. A.; Eisenhamer, B.; Eisenhamer, Jonathan; Teays, Terry

2001-01-01

Introduces the Amazing Space program which is designed to enhance student mathematics, science, and technology skills using recent data and results from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Hubble Space Telescope mission. Explains the process of designing multi-media resources in a five-week summer workshop that partners…

Hubble Space Telescope nears Shuttle Endeavour

NASA Image and Video Library

1993-12-04

STS061-73-040 (4 Dec 1993) --- Backdropped against the blackness of space, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) nears the Space Shuttle Endeavour. With the aid of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), the STS-61 crew members later grappled the spacecraft and berthed it in the cargo bay for five-days of servicing chores by four space walkers.

UV-spektra från Hubble-teleskopet avslöjar en stjärna i Vargen som lagrar tunga isotoper av mycket tunga grundämnen.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johansson, S. E.; Leckrone, D. S.; Wahlgren, G. M.

1994-09-01

UV spectra from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal a star that stores heavy isotopes of very heavy elements. Atomic and plasma physics arguments for UV spectroscopy from space borne observatories are given. As an example, the authors discuss the analysis of high resolution spectra of the chemically peculiar star χ Lupi, obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope, in terms of identification of spectral lines of very heavy elements.

The MUSE Hubble Ultra Deep Field Survey. II. Spectroscopic redshifts and comparisons to color selections of high-redshift galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inami, H.; Bacon, R.; Brinchmann, J.; Richard, J.; Contini, T.; Conseil, S.; Hamer, S.; Akhlaghi, M.; Bouché, N.; Clément, B.; Desprez, G.; Drake, A. B.; Hashimoto, T.; Leclercq, F.; Maseda, M.; Michel-Dansac, L.; Paalvast, M.; Tresse, L.; Ventou, E.; Kollatschny, W.; Boogaard, L. A.; Finley, H.; Marino, R. A.; Schaye, J.; Wisotzki, L.

2017-11-01

We have conducted a two-layered spectroscopic survey (1' × 1' ultra deep and 3' × 3' deep regions) in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE). The combination of a large field of view, high sensitivity, and wide wavelength coverage provides an order of magnitude improvement in spectroscopically confirmed redshifts in the HUDF; i.e., 1206 secure spectroscopic redshifts for Hubble Space Telescope (HST) continuum selected objects, which corresponds to 15% of the total (7904). The redshift distribution extends well beyond z> 3 and to HST/F775W magnitudes as faint as ≈ 30 mag (AB, 1σ). In addition, 132 secure redshifts were obtained for sources with no HST counterparts that were discovered in the MUSE data cubes by a blind search for emission-line features. In total, we present 1338 high quality redshifts, which is a factor of eight increase compared with the previously known spectroscopic redshifts in the same field. We assessed redshifts mainly with the spectral features [O II] at z< 1.5 (473 objects) and Lyα at 2.9

Measuring Cosmic Expansion and Large Scale Structure with Destiny

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benford, Dominic J.; Lauer, Tod R.

2007-01-01

Destiny is a simple, direct, low cost mission to determine the properties of dark energy by obtaining a cosmologically deep supernova (SN) type Ia Hubble diagram and by measuring the large-scale mass power spectrum over time. Its science instrument is a 1.65m space telescope, featuring a near-infrared survey camera/spectrometer with a large field of view. During its first two years, Destiny will detect, observe, and characterize 23000 SN Ia events over the redshift interval 0.4lo00 square degrees to measure the large-scale mass power spectrum. The combination of surveys is much more powerful than either technique on its own, and will have over an order of magnitude greater sensitivity than will be provided by ongoing ground-based projects.

Hubble reveals heart of Lagoon Nebula

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-09-22

Image release date September 22, 2010 To view a video of this image go here: www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/5014452203 Caption: A spectacular new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals the heart of the Lagoon Nebula. Seen as a massive cloud of glowing dust and gas, bombarded by the energetic radiation of new stars, this placid name hides a dramatic reality. The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a dramatic view of gas and dust sculpted by intense radiation from hot young stars deep in the heart of the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8). This spectacular object is named after the wide, lagoon-shaped dust lane that crosses the glowing gas of the nebula. This structure is prominent in wide-field images, but cannot be seen in this close-up. However the strange billowing shapes and sandy texture visible in this image make the Lagoon Nebula’s watery name eerily appropriate from this viewpoint too. Located four to five thousand light-years away, in the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer), Messier 8 is a huge region of star birth that stretches across one hundred light-years. Clouds of hydrogen gas are slowly collapsing to form new stars, whose bright ultraviolet rays then light up the surrounding gas in a distinctive shade of red. The wispy tendrils and beach-like features of the nebula are not caused by the ebb and flow of tides, but rather by ultraviolet radiation’s ability to erode and disperse the gas and dust into the distinctive shapes that we see. In recent years astronomers probing the secrets of the Lagoon Nebula have found the first unambiguous proof that star formation by accretion of matter from the gas cloud is ongoing in this region. Young stars that are still surrounded by an accretion disc occasionally shoot out long tendrils of matter from their poles. Several examples of these jets, known as Herbig-Haro objects, have been found in this nebula in the last five years, providing strong support for astronomers’ theories about star formation in such hydrogen-rich regions. The Lagoon Nebula is faintly visible to the naked eye on dark nights as a small patch of grey in the heart of the Milky Way. Without a telescope, the nebula looks underwhelming because human eyes are unable to distinguish clearly between colours at low light levels. Charles Messier, the 18th century French astronomer, observed the nebula and included it in his famous astronomical catalogue, from which the nebula’s alternative name comes. But his relatively small refracting telescope would only have hinted at the dramatic structures and colours now visible thanks to Hubble. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA. Image credit: NASA, ESA NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

Hubble Space Telescope Program on STS-95 Supported by Space Acceleration Measurement System for Free Flyers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kacpura, Thomas J.

2000-01-01

John Glenn's historic return to space was a primary focus of the STS 95 space shuttle mission; however, the 83 science payloads aboard were the focus of the flight activities. One of the payloads, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital System Test (HOST), was flown in the cargo bay by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. It served as a space flight test of upgrade components for the telescope before they are installed in the shuttle for the next Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. One of the upgrade components is a cryogenic cooling system for the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). The cooling is required for low noise in the receiver's sensitive electronic instrumentation. Originally, a passive system using dry ice cooled NICMOS, but the ice leaked away and must be replaced. The active cryogenic cooler can provide the cold temperatures required for the NICMOS, but there was a concern that it would create vibrations that would affect the fine pointing accuracy of the Hubble platform.

Hubble Space Telescope 2004 Battery Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hollandsworth, Roger; Armantrout, Jon; Rao, Gopalakrishna M.

2004-01-01

Battery cell wear out mechanisms and signatures are examined and compared to orbital data from the six on-orbit Hubble Space Telescope (HST) batteries, and the Flight Spare Battery (FSB) Test Bed at Marshall Space Fiight Center (MSFC), which is instrumented with individual cell voltage monitoring.

Upgraded Hubble Space Telescope Images

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-09-08

Heidi Hammel, senior research scientist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado discusses newly released images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The images were from four of the telescopes' six operating science instruments. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

KSC-08pd2453

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians check the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, after removal of its protective cover. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2454

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians check the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, after removal of its protective cover. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2474

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, is lowered onto the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2472

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, is moved toward the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2473

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, is lowered toward the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2471

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, an overhead crane lifts the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, above the stand holding the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2458

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, is ready to be transferred to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

Astronomers Set a New Galaxy Distance Record

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-05-06

This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the farthest spectroscopically confirmed galaxy observed to date (inset). It was identified in this Hubble image of a field of galaxies in the CANDELS survey (Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey). NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope also observed the unique galaxy. The W. M. Keck Observatory was used to obtain a spectroscopic redshift (z=7.7), extending the previous redshift record. Measurements of the stretching of light, or redshift, give the most reliable distances to other galaxies. This source is thus currently the most distant confirmed galaxy known, and it appears to also be one of the brightest and most massive sources at that time. The galaxy existed over 13 billion years ago. The near-infrared light image of the galaxy (inset) has been colored blue as suggestive of its young, and hence very blue, stars. The CANDELS field is a combination of visible-light and near-infrared exposures. Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/astronomers-set-a-new-galaxy... Credits: NASA, ESA, P. Oesch (Yale U.) NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Interactive Astronomy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Jean K.

1997-01-01

Presents guiding principles for developing interactive lessons for the World Wide Web. Describes "Amazing Space: Education Online from the Hubble Space Telescope", a program where students study spectacular Hubble Space Telescope images of stars and star-forming regions to learn about the life cycle of stars and the creation of atoms. (JRH)

Soft X-Ray Exposure Testing of FEP Teflon for the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

deGroh, Kim K.

1998-01-01

The FEP Teflon (DuPont) multilayer insulation (MLI) thermal-control blanket material on the Hubble Space Telescope is degrading in the space environment. During the first Hubble servicing mission in 1993, after 3.6 years in low Earth orbit, aluminized and silvered FEP Teflon MLI thermal-control blanket materials were retrieved. These materials have been jointly analyzed by the NASA Lewis Research Center and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for degradation induced in the space environment (ref. 1). Solar-facing blanket materials were found to be embrittled with through-the-thickness cracking in the 5-mil FEP. During the second Hubble servicing mission in 1997, astronauts noticed that several blankets had large areas with tears. The torn FEP was curled up in some areas, exposing the underlying materials to the space environment. This tearing problem, and the associated curling up of torn areas, could lead to over-heating of the telescope and to particulate contamination. A Hubble Space Telescope MLI Failure Review Board was assembled by Goddard to investigate and identify the degradation mechanism of the FEP, to identify and characterize replacement materials, and to estimate the extent of damage at the time of the third servicing mission in 1999. A small piece of FEP retrieved during the second servicing mission is being evaluated by this failure review board along with materials from the first servicing mission. Since the first servicing mission, and as part of the failure review board, Lewis has been exposing FEP to soft x-rays to help determine the damage mechanisms of FEP in the space environment. Soft x-rays, which can penetrate into the bulk of FEP, are generated during solar flares and appear to be contributing to the degradation of the Hubble MLI.

STS-31 Mission Insignia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

The mission insignia for NASA's STS-31 mission features the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in its observing configuration against a background of the universe it will study. The cosmos includes a stylistic depiction of galaxies in recognition of the contribution made by Sir Edwin Hubble to our understanding of the nature of galaxies and the expansion of the universe. The STS-31 crew points out that is it in honor of Hubble's work that this great observatory in space bears his name. The depicted Space Shuttle trails a spectrum symbolic of both the red shift observations that were so important to Hubble's work and new information which will be obtained with the HST. Encircling the art work, designed by the crew, are the names of its members.

Crater Copernicus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

HUBBLE SHOOTS THE MOON in a change of venue from peering at the distant universe, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken a look at Earth's closest neighbor in space, the Moon. Hubble was aimed at one of the Moon's most dramatic and photogenic targets, the 58 mile-wide (93 km) impact crater Copernicus. The image was taken while the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph(STIS) was aimed at a different part of the moon to measure the colors of sunlight reflected off the Moon. Hubble cannot look at the Sun directly and so must use reflected light to make measurements of the Sun's spectrum. Once calibrated by measuring the Sun's spectrum, the STIS can be used to study how the planets both absorb and reflect sunlight.(upper left)The Moon is so close to Earth that Hubble would need to take a mosaic of 130 pictures to cover the entire disk. This ground-based picture from Lick Observatory shows the area covered in Hubble's photomosaic with the WideField Planetary Camera 2..(center)Hubble's crisp bird's-eye view clearly shows the ray pattern of bright dust ejected out of the crater over one billion years ago, when an asteroid larger than a mile across slammed into the Moon. Hubble can resolve features as small as 600 feet across in the terraced walls of the crater, and the hummock-like blanket of material blasted out by the meteor impact.(lower right)A close-up view of Copernicus' terraced walls. Hubble can resolve features as small as 280 feet across.

Hubble Portrait of the Double

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-03-28

This is the clearest view yet of the distant planet Pluto and its moon, Charon, as revealed by NASA Hubble Space Telescope. The image was taken by the European Space Agency Faint Object Camera on February 21, 1994.

Constraints on z~10 Galaxies from the Deepest Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouwens, R. J.; Illingworth, G. D.; Thompson, R. I.; Franx, M.

2005-05-01

We use all available fields with deep NICMOS imaging to search for J110-dropouts (H160,AB<~28) at z~10. Our primary data set for this search is the two J110+H160 NICMOS fields taken in parallel with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF). The 5 σ limiting magnitudes were ~28.6 in J110 and ~28.5 in H160 (0.6" apertures). Several shallower fields were also used: J110+H160 NICMOS frames available over the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) North, the HDF-South NICMOS parallel, and the ACS UDF (with 5 σ limiting magnitudes in J110 and H160 ranging from 27.0 to 28.2). The primary selection criterion was (J110-H160)AB>1.8. Eleven such sources were found in all search fields using this criterion. Eight of these are clearly ruled out as credible z~10 sources, either as a result of detections (>2 σ) blueward of J110 or their colors redward of the break (H160-K~1.5) (redder than >~98% of lower redshift dropouts). The nature of the three remaining sources could not be determined from the data. This number appears consistent with the expected contamination from low-redshift interlopers. Analysis of the stacked images for the three candidates also suggests some contamination. Regardless of their true redshifts, the actual number of z~10 sources must be three or fewer. To assess the significance of these results, two lower redshift samples (a z~3.8 B-dropout and z~6 i-dropout sample) were projected to z~7-13 using a (1+z)-1 size scaling (for fixed luminosity). They were added to the image frames and the selection was repeated, giving 15.6 and 4.8 J110-dropouts, respectively. This suggests that to the limit of this probe (~0.3L*z=3), there has been evolution from z~3.8 and possibly from z~6. This is consistent with the strong evolution already noted at z~6 and z~7.5 relative to z~3-4. Even assuming that three sources from this probe are at z~10, the rest-frame continuum UV (~1500 Å) luminosity density at z~10 (integrated down to 0.3L*z=3) is just 0.19+0.13-0.09 times that at z~3.8 (or 0.19+0.15-0.10 times, including the small effect from cosmic variance). However, if none of our sources are at z~10, this ratio has a 1 σ upper limit of 0.07. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.

Calibration of the Hubble Space Telescope polarimetric modes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lupie, O. L.; Stockman, H. S.

1988-01-01

Stellar and galactic polarimetry from space is an unexplored observational regime and one which holds exciting promise for answering many fundamental astrophysical questions. The Hubble Space Telescope will be the first space observatory to provide a variety of polarimetric modes to astronomers including spectral, imaging, and single-aperture UV polarimetry. As part of the calibration program for these modes, the Space Telescope Science Institute has initiated a ground-based program to define faint standard fields and solicited community support to establish a temporal baseline for these potential standard targets. In this paper, the polarimetric capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope, the philosophy and complications of in-flight calibration, and the status and direction of the standard targets program are discussed.

Hubble Space Telescope. Update: 18 months in orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

In April 1990, Space Shuttle Discovery launched the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). An 18 month in-orbit update of the operations and performance of the HST is presented. Numerous color photographs are shown of objects already observed, and mission plans are presented for future observations by the HST.

Hubble Space Telescope approaches Shuttle Endeavour

NASA Image and Video Library

1993-12-04

STS061-93-031 (4 Dec 1993) --- Part of the vast Indian Ocean forms the backdrop for this scene of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) as it approaches the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Denham Sound and Shark Bay, on Australia's west coast, are just below the waiting mechanical arm at lower right corner.

KSC-02pd0629

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-04-30

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the 2002 Space Congress, Cape Canaveral, Fla., Frank Ceppolina, project manager, Hubble Space Telescope Development Project, gives a presentation on "Hubble Discoveries." The Space Congress is held annually to highlight military and space initiatives, new technologies, and Florida's role in programs and research. This year's theme is Beginning a New Era - Initiatives in Space. NASA presented several paper sessions, including Advancements in Technology. Space Congress is sponsored by the Canaveral Council of Technical Societies

History of Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-01-02

What look like giant twisters are spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). These images are, in actuality, pillars of gases that are in the process of the formation of a new star. These pillars can be billions of miles in length and may have been forming for millions of years. This one formation is located in the Lagoon Nebula and was captured by the Hubble's wide field planetary camera-2 (WFPC-2).

STS-31 ATLANTIS ORBITER VEHICLE (OV) 104 - CREW INSIGNIA

NASA Image and Video Library

1989-02-17

S89-40887 (October 1989) --- The mission insignia for NASA?s STS-31 mission features the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in its observing configuration against a background of the universe it will study. The cosmos includes a stylistic depiction of galaxies in recognition of the contribution made by Sir Edwin Hubble to our understanding of the nature of galaxies and the expansion of the universe. The STS-31 crew points out that it is in honor of Hubble?s work ?that this great observatory in space bears his name.? The depicted space shuttle trails a spectrum symbolic of both the red shift observations that were so important to Hubble?s work and new information which will be obtained with the HST. Encircling the artwork, designed by the crew, are the names of its members: Loren J. Shriver, commander; Charles F. Bolden, pilot; and Steven A. Hawley, Bruce McCandless II and Kathryn D. Sullivan, mission specialists. The NASA insignia design for space shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, it will be publicly announced. Photo credit: NASA

Star Formation at z = 2.481 in the Lensed Galaxy SDSS J1110+6459. II. What is Missed at the Normal Resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rigby, J. R.; Johnson, T. L.; Sharon, K.; Whitaker, K.; Gladders, M. D.; Florian, M.; Lotz, J.; Bayliss, M.; Wuyts, E.

2017-07-01

For lensed galaxy SGAS J111020.0+645950.8 at redshift z = 2.481, which is magnified by a factor of 28 ± 8, we analyze the morphology of star formation, as traced by rest-frame ultraviolet emission, in both the highly magnified source plane and simulations of how this galaxy would appear without lensing magnification. Were this galaxy not lensed, but rather drawn from a Hubble Space Telescope deep field, we would conclude that almost all its star formation arises from an exponential disk (Sérsic index of 1.0 ± 0.4) with an effective radius of {r}e=2.7+/- 0.3 {kpc} measured from two-dimensional fitting to F606W using Galfit, and {r}e=1.9+/- 0.1 {kpc} measured by fitting a radial profile to F606W elliptical isophotes. At the normal spatial resolution of the deep fields, there is no sign of clumpy star formation within SGAS J111020.0+645950.8. However, the enhanced spatial resolution enabled by gravitational lensing tells a very different story; much of the star formation arises in two dozen clumps with sizes of r = 30-50 pc spread across the 7 kpc length of the galaxy. The color and spatial distribution of the diffuse component suggests that still-smaller clumps are unresolved. Despite this clumpy, messy morphology, the radial profile is still well-characterized by an exponential profile. In this lensed galaxy, stars are forming in complexes with sizes well below 100 pc such sizes are wholly unexplored by surveys of galaxy evolution at 1< z< 3.

How Long Can the Hubble Space Telescope Operate Reliably?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xapsos, M. A.; Stauffer, C.; Jordan, T.; Poivey, C.; Lum, G.; Haskins, D. N.; Pergosky, A. M.; Smith, D. C.; LaBel, K. A.

2014-01-01

Total ionizing dose exposure of electronic parts in the Hubble Space Telescope is analyzed using 3-D ray trace and Monte Carlo simulations. Results are discussed along with other potential failure mechanisms for science operations.

Hubble gets revitalised in new Servicing Mission for more and better science!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2002-02-01

As a unique collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA), and NASA, Hubble has had a phenomenal scientific impact. The unsurpassed sharp images from this space observatory have penetrated into the hidden depths of space and revealed breathtaking phenomena. But Hubble's important contributions to science have only been possible through a carefully planned strategy to service and upgrade Hubble every two or three years. ESA, the European Space Agency has a particular role to play in this Servicing Mission. One of the most exciting events of this mission will come when the ESA-built solar panels are replaced by newer and more powerful ones. The new panels, developed in the US, are equipped with ESA developed drive mechanisms and were tested at the facilities at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands. This facility is the only place in the world where such tests can be performed. According to Ton Linssen, HST Project Manager at ESA, who supervised all ESA involvement in the new solar panels development including the test campaign at Estec - "a particularly tense moment occurs when the present solar panels have to be rolled up to fit into the Shuttle's cargo bay. The hard environment of space has taken its toll on the panels and it will be a very delicate operation to roll them up. Our team will be waiting and watching with bated breath. If the panels can't be rolled up they will possibly have to be left in space." "With this Servicing Mission Hubble is once again going to be brought back to the frontline of scientific technology", says Piero Benvenuti, Hubble Project Scientist at ESA. "New super-advanced instrumentation will revitalise the observatory. For example, Hubble's new digital camera - The new Advanced Camera for Surveys, or ACS - can take images of twice the area of the sky and with five times the sensitivity of Hubble's previous instruments, therefore increasing by ten times Hubble's discovery capability! The European astronomers look forward to use the new camera and perform new science building on the great breakthroughs they have already achieved." ACS is going to replace the Faint Object Camera, or FOC, built by ESA. The FOC, which has functioned perfectly since the beginning, has been a key instrument to get the best out of the unprecedented imaging capability of Hubble. The FOC was a "state-of-the art" instrument in the 80s, but the field of digital imaging has progressed so much in the past 20 years that, having fulfilled its scientific goals, this ESA flagship on Hubble is chivalrously giving way to newer technology. However, the story of FOC is not over yet: experts will still learn from it, as it will be brought back to Earth and inspected, to study the effects on the hardware of the long duration exposure in space. Hubble is expected to continue to explore the sky during the next decade, after which its work will be taken over by its successor, the powerful ESA/NASA/CSA(*) Next Generation Space Telescope. NGST's main focus will be observations of the faint infrared light from the first stars and galaxies in the Universe. Notes for editors The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international co-operation between ESA and NASA. It was launched in 1990. The partnership agreement between ESA and NASA was signed on 7 October 1977; as a result of this agreement European astronomers have guaranteed access to more than 20% of Hubble's observing time. Astronauts have already paid visits to Hubble in 1993, '97, '99 and now, in the spring of 2002, it is time for the fourth Servicing Mission (named Servicing Mission 3B), planned for launch on 28th February. Originally planned as one mission, the third Servicing Mission was split into two parts (Servicing Mission 3A and 3B) because of the sheer number of tasks to be carried out and the urgency with which Hubble's gyroscopes had to be replaced in late '99. In addition to the new solar panels and the ACS camera, astronauts will install a very high-tech cooling system for Hubble's infrared camera, NICMOS. NICMOS has been dormant since 1999 when it ran out of coolant. The new cooling system is a mechanical cooler, and works like an advanced refrigerator. Servicing Mission 3B will also include other maintenance tasks. Altogether five extensive space walks are planned.

The Morphology of Passively Evolving Galaxies at Z-2 from HST/WFC3 in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cassata, P.; Giavalisco, M.; Guo, Yicheng; Ferguson, H.; Koekemoer, A.; Renzini, A.; Fontana, A.; Salimbeni, S.; Dickinson, M.; Casertano, S.;

The MUSE Hubble Ultra Deep Field Survey. X. Lyα equivalent widths at 2.9 < z < 6.6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashimoto, T.; Garel, T.; Guiderdoni, B.; Drake, A. B.; Bacon, R.; Blaizot, J.; Richard, J.; Leclercq, F.; Inami, H.; Verhamme, A.; Bouwens, R.; Brinchmann, J.; Cantalupo, S.; Carollo, M.; Caruana, J.; Herenz, E. C.; Kerutt, J.; Marino, R. A.; Mitchell, P.; Schaye, J.

2017-11-01

We present rest-frame Lyα equivalent widths (EW0) of 417 Lyα emitters (LAEs) detected with Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at 2.9 200 Å above 1σ uncertainties. Two of these 12 LAEs show signatures of merger or AGN activity: the weak Civλ1549 emission line. For the remaining 10 very large EW0 LAEs, we find that the EW0 values can be reproduced by young stellar ages (< 100 Myr) and low metallicities (≲ 0.02 Z⊙). Otherwise, at least part of the Lyα emission in these LAEs needs to arise from anisotropic radiative transfer effects, fluorescence by hidden AGN or quasi-stellar object activity, or gravitational cooling.

New set of solar arrays deployed on Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

1993-12-09

STS061-99-002 (2-13 Dec 1993) --- The new set of solar array panels deployed on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is backdropped against the blackness of space and a widely cloud-covered area on Earth. The 70mm frame was exposed by one of the Space Shuttle Endeavour's seven crew members on the aft flight deck.

Hubble Space Telescope: The GO and GTO Observing Programs. Version 1.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saha, Abhijit

1990-01-01

Selected information from the current Hubble Space Telescope (HST) science programs for the Guaranteed Time Observers (GTO's) and General Observers (GO's) is presented. Included are program abstracts, detailed listings of specific targets, and exposure information.

History of Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-01-01

This photograph is a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of a sky full of glittering jewels. The HST peered into the Sagittarius star cloud, a narrow dust free region, providing this spectacular glimpse of a treasure chest full of stars.

Hubble Sees the Force Awakening in a Newborn Star

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-12-17

In the center of this image from the Hubble Space Telescope, partially obscured by a dark cloud of dust, a newborn star shoots twin jets out into space as a sort of birth announcement to the universe.

KSC-02pd0626

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-04-30

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the 2002 Space Congress, Cape Canaveral, Fla., attendees listen to a presentation on "Hubble Discoveries" by Frank Ceppolina, project manager, Hubble Space Telescope Development Project. The Space Congress is held annually to highlight military and space initiatives, new technologies, and Florida's role in programs and research. This year's theme is Beginning a New Era - Initiatives in Space. NASA presented several paper sessions, including Advancements in Technology. Space Congress is sponsored by the Canaveral Council of Technical Societies

Milky J “Hubble Gotchu" of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon visits Goddard

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Fans of 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' know the setup: A guy in a Yankees jacket shows off Hubble images and shouts to the audience that, 'Hubble gotchu!' Monday night's episode showcased footage shot right here at Goddard Space Flight Center. Left to Right: Phil Driggers, Katie Lilly, Milky J “Hubble Gotchu”, Mike Menzel, Amber Straughn, Ray Lundquist. Read more about Milky J's visit here: geeked.gsfc.nasa.gov/?p=2066 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Gun

Hubble Finds New Dark Spot on Neptune

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a new great dark spot, located in the northern hemisphere of the planet Neptune. Because the planet's northern hemisphere is now tilted away from Earth, the new feature appears near the limb of the planet.

The spot is a near mirror-image to a similar southern hemisphere dark spot that was discovered in 1989 by the Voyager 2 probe. In 1994, Hubble showed that the southern dark spot had disappeared.

Like its predecessor, the new spot has high altitude clouds along its edge, caused by gasses that have been pushed to higher altitudes where they cool to form methane ice crystal clouds. The dark spot may be a zone of clear gas that is a window to a cloud deck lower in the atmosphere.

Planetary scientists don t know how long lived this new feature might be. Hubble's high resolution will allow astronomers to follow the spot's evolution and other unexpected changes in Neptune's dynamic atmosphere.

The image was taken on November 2, 1994 with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, when Neptune was 2.8 billion miles (4.5 billion kilometers) from Earth. Hubble can resolve features as small as 625 miles (1,000 kilometers) across in Neptune's cloud tops.

The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Spaced Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.

This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/

A Deep Search with the Hubble Space Telescope for Late-Time Supernova Signatures in the Hosts of XRF 011030 and XRF 020427

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levan, Andrew; Patel, Sandeep; Kouveliotou, Chryssa; Fruchter, Andrew; Rhoads, James; Rol, Evert; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico; Gorosabel, Javier; Hiorth, Jens; Wijers, Ralph

2005-01-01

X-ray flashes (XRFs) are, like gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), thought to signal the collapse of massive stars in distant galaxies. Many models posit that the isotropic equivalent energies of XRFs are lower than those for GRBs, such that they are visible fiom a reduced range of distances when compared with GRBs. Here we present the results of two-epoch Hubble Space Telescope imaging of two XRFs. These images, taken approximately 45 and 200 days postburst, reveal no evidence of an associated supernova in either case. Supernovae such as SN 1998bw would have been visible out to z approximately 1.5 in each case, while fainter supernovae such as SN 2002ap would have been visible to z approximately 1. If the XRFs lie at such large distances, their energies would not fit the observed correlation between the GRB peak energy and isotropic energy release (E(sub p) proportional to E(sub iso)(sup 1/2), in which soft bursts are less energetic. We conclude that, should these XRFs reside at low redshifts (z less than 0.6), either their line of sight is heavily extinguished, they are associated with extremely faint supernovae, or, unlike GRBs, these XRFs do not have temporally coincident supernovae.

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE AND HI IMAGING OF STRONG RAM PRESSURE STRIPPING IN THE COMA SPIRAL NGC 4921: DENSE CLOUD DECOUPLING AND EVIDENCE FOR MAGNETIC BINDING IN THE ISM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kenney, Jeffrey D. P.; Abramson, Anne; Bravo-Alfaro, Hector, E-mail: jeff.kenney@yale.edu

Remarkable dust extinction features in the deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) V and I images of the face-on Coma cluster spiral galaxy NGC 4921 show in unprecedented ways how ram pressure strips the ISM from the disk of a spiral galaxy. New VLA HI maps show a truncated and highly asymmetric HI disk with a compressed HI distribution in the NW, providing evidence for ram pressure acting from the NW. Where the HI distribution is truncated in the NW region, HST images show a well-defined, continuous front of dust that extends over 90° and 20 kpc. This dust front separatesmore » the dusty from dust-free regions of the galaxy, and we interpret it as galaxy ISM swept up near the leading side of the ICM–ISM interaction. We identify and characterize 100 pc–1 kpc scale substructure within this dust front caused by ram pressure, including head–tail filaments, C-shaped filaments, and long smooth dust fronts. The morphology of these features strongly suggests that dense gas clouds partially decouple from surrounding lower density gas during stripping, but decoupling is inhibited, possibly by magnetic fields that link and bind distant parts of the ISM.« less

Results of a hubble space telescope search for natural satellites of dwarf planet 1 ceres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeMario, Benjamin E.; Schmidt, Britney E.; Mutchler, Max J.; Li, Jian-Yang; McFadden, Lucy A.; McLean, Brian J.; Russell, Christopher T.

2016-12-01

In order to prepare for the arrival of the Dawn spacecraft at Ceres, a search for satellites was undertaken by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to enhance the mission science return and to ensure spacecraft safety. Previous satellite searches from ground-based telescopes have detected no satellites within Ceres' Hill sphere down to a size of 3 km (Gehrels et al. 1987) and early HST investigations searched to a limit of 1-2 km (Bieryla et al. 2011). The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the HST was used to image Ceres between 14 April-28 April 2014. These images cover approximately the inner third of Ceres' Hill sphere, where the Hill sphere is the region surrounding Ceres where stable satellite orbits are possible. We performed a deep search for possible companions orbiting Ceres. No natural companions were located down to a diameter of 48 m, over most of the Hill sphere to a distance of 205,000 km (434 Ceres radii) from the surface of Ceres. It was impossible to search all the way to the surface of Ceres because of scattered light, but at a distance of 2865 km (five Ceres radii), the search limit was determined to be 925 m.

NASA in Crisis: The Space Agency's Public Relations Efforts Regarding the Hubble Space Telescope.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kauffman, James

1997-01-01

Examines the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) public relations efforts concerning the Hubble telescope. Proposes that NASA's poor public relations exacerbated problems: NASA oversold the telescope before it was deployed, failed to develop a plan for release of images, provided misleading flight reports, and reported…

Journey to Mars Update on This Week @NASA – September 30, 2016

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-09-30

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden joined other leaders of the world’s space agencies to discuss the latest technological breakthroughs and developments in space exploration at the 67th International Astronautical Congress, Sept. 26-30th in Guadalajara, Mexico. At the event, NASA discussed new elements to its multi-phase Journey to Mars to extend the human footprint all the way to the Red Planet. NASA will continue operations aboard the International Space Station through 2024. Work currently underway aboard the station to encourage commercial development of low-Earth orbit, develop deep space systems, life support and human health is part of the Earth Reliant phase of the Journey to Mars. In the 2020s, during the Proving Ground phase when NASA steps out farther, the agency now plans to send an astronaut crew on a yearlong mission to a deep space destination near the moon. They will conduct activities to verify habitation and test our readiness for Mars. A round-trip robotic Mars sample return mission is being targeted for the 2020s, as part of the Earth Independent phase before finally sending humans on a mission to orbit Mars in the early 2030s. Also, Zurbuchen Named Head of NASA Science, Hubble Spots Possible Water Plumes on Europa, Rosetta’s Mission Ends, and Armstrong Celebrates 70 Years of Flight Research!

KSC-08pd2470

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, an overhead crane lifts the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, high above the floor for transfer to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2459

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians check the placement of an overhead crane to the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, that will transfer the WFC3 to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KSC-08pd2469

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, an overhead crane moves the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, from its stand. The WFC3 will be transferred to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier. WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission for the fifth and final Hubble servicing flight to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

HUBBLE PEEKS INTO A STELLAR NURSERY IN A NEARBY GALAXY

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

HUBBLE PEEKS INTO A STELLAR NURSERY IN A NEARBY GALAXY NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has peered deep into a neighboring galaxy to reveal details of the formation of new stars. Hubble's target was a newborn star cluster within the Small Magellanic Cloud, a small galaxy that is a satellite of our own Milky Way. The new images show young, brilliant stars cradled within a nebula, or glowing cloud of gas, cataloged as N 81. These massive, recently formed stars inside N 81 are losing material at a high rate, sending out strong stellar winds and shock waves and hollowing out a cocoon within the surrounding nebula. The two most luminous stars, seen in the Hubble image as a very close pair near the center of N 81, emit copious ultraviolet radiation, causing the nebula to glow through fluorescence. Outside the hot, glowing gas is cooler material consisting of hydrogen molecules and dust. Normally this material is invisible, but some of it can be seen in silhouette against the nebular background, as long dust lanes and a small, dark, elliptical-shaped knot. It is believed that the young stars have formed from this cold matter through gravitational contraction. Few features can be seen in N 81 from ground-based telescopes, earning it the informal nick-name 'The Blob.' Astronomers were not sure if just one or a few hot stars were embedded in the cloud, or if it was a stellar nursery containing a large number of less massive stars. Hubble's high-resolution imaging shows the latter to be the case, revealing that numerous young, white-hot stars---easily visible in the color picture---are contained within N 81. This crucial information bears strongly on theories of star formation, and N 81 offers a singular opportunity for a close-up look at the turbulent conditions accompanying the birth of massive stars. The brightest stars in the cluster have a luminosity equal to 300,000 stars like our own Sun. Astronomers are especially keen to study star formation in the Small Magellanic Cloud, because its chemical composition is different from that of the Milky Way. All of the chemical elements, other than hydrogen and helium, have only about one-tenth the abundances seen in our own galaxy. The study of N81 thus provides an excellent template for studying the star formation that occurred long ago in very distant galaxies, before nuclear reactions inside stars had synthesized the elements heavier than helium. The Small Magellanic Cloud, named after the explorer Ferdinand Magellan, lies 200,000 light-years away, and is visible only from the Earth's southern hemisphere. N 81 is the 81st nebula cataloged in a survey of the SMC carried out in the 1950's by astronomer Karl Henize, who later became an astronomer-astronaut who flew into space aboard NASA's space shuttle. The Hubble Heritage image of N 81 is a color representation of data taken in September, 1997, with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. Color filters were used to sample light emitted by oxygen ([O III]) and hydrogen (H-alpha, H-beta). N 81 is the target of investigations by European astronomers Mohammad Heydari-Malayeri from the Paris Observatory in France; Michael Rosa from the Space Telescope-European Coordinating Facility in Munich, Germany; Hans Zinnecker of the Astrophysical Institute in Potsdam, Germany; Lise Deharveng of Marseille Observatory, France; and Vassilis Charmadaris of Cornell University, USA (formerly at Paris Observatory). Members of this team are interested in understanding the formation of hot, massive stars, especially under conditions different from those in the Milky Way. Image Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgement: Mohammad Heydari-Malayeri (Paris Observatory, France) EDITOR'S

HUBBLE SHOOTS THE MOON

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

In a change of venue from peering at the distant universe, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken a look at Earth's closest neighbor in space, the Moon. Hubble was aimed at one of the Moon's most dramatic and photogenic targets, the 58 mile-wide (93 km) impact crater Copernicus. The image was taken while the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) was aimed at a different part of the moon to measure the colors of sunlight reflected off the Moon. Hubble cannot look at the Sun directly and so must use reflected light to make measurements of the Sun's spectrum. Once calibrated by measuring the Sun's spectrum, the STIS can be used to study how the planets both absorb and reflect sunlight. (upper left) The Moon is so close to Earth that Hubble would need to take a mosaic of 130 pictures to cover the entire disk. This ground-based picture from Lick Observatory shows the area covered in Hubble's photomosaic with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2.. (center) Hubble's crisp bird's-eye view clearly shows the ray pattern of bright dust ejected out of the crater over one billion years ago, when an asteroid larger than a mile across slammed into the Moon. Hubble can resolve features as small as 600 feet across in the terraced walls of the crater, and the hummock-like blanket of material blasted out by the meteor impact. (lower right) A close-up view of Copernicus' terraced walls. Hubble can resolve features as small as 280 feet across. Credit: John Caldwell (York University, Ontario), Alex Storrs (STScI), and NASA

KSC-2009-2433

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH, is moved into a clean area. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission, replacing the one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The SIC&DH is being prepared for integration onto the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission, replacing one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The carrier holds the payload for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission servicing NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch May 12. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2009-2432

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician monitors the lowering of the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH, onto a stand. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission, replacing the one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The SIC&DH is being prepared for integration onto the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission, replacing one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The carrier holds the payload for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission servicing NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch May 12. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2009-2434

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the clean area of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH, in the foreground, is being prepared for integration onto the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier, in the background. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission, replacing the one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission, replacing one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The carrier holds the payload for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission servicing NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch May 12. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2009-2435

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the clean area of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH, in the foreground, is being prepared for integration onto the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier, in the background. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission, replacing the one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission, replacing one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The carrier holds the payload for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission servicing NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch May 12. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

HUBBLE PINPOINTS WHITE DWARFS IN GLOBULAR CLUSTER

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Peering deep inside a cluster of several hundred thousand stars, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope uncovered the oldest burned-out stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. Located in the globular cluster M4, these small, dying stars - called white dwarfs - are giving astronomers a fresh reading on one of the biggest questions in astronomy: How old is the universe? The ancient white dwarfs in M4 are about 12 to 13 billion years old. After accounting for the time it took the cluster to form after the big bang, astronomers found that the age of the white dwarfs agrees with previous estimates for the universe's age. In the top panel, a ground-based observatory snapped a panoramic view of the entire cluster, which contains several hundred thousand stars within a volume of 10 to 30 light-years across. The Kitt Peak National Observatory's 0.9-meter telescope took this picture in March 1995. The box at left indicates the region observed by the Hubble telescope. The Hubble telescope studied a small region of the cluster. A section of that region is seen in the picture at bottom left. A sampling of an even smaller region is shown at bottom right. This region is only about one light-year across. In this smaller region, Hubble pinpointed a number of faint white dwarfs. The blue circles pinpoint the dwarfs. It took nearly eight days of exposure time over a 67-day period to find these extremely faint stars. Globular clusters are among the oldest clusters of stars in the universe. The faintest and coolest white dwarfs within globular clusters can yield a globular cluster's age. Earlier Hubble observations showed that the first stars formed less than 1 billion years after the universe's birth in the big bang. So, finding the oldest stars puts astronomers within arm's reach of the universe's age. M4 is 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 made the observations from January through April 2001. These optical observations were combined to create the above images. Spectral data were also taken. Credit for Hubble telescope photos: NASA and H. Richer (University of British Columbia) Credit for ground-based photo: NOAO/AURA/NSF

Hubble Space Telescope - Scientific, Technological and Social Contributions to the Public Discourse on Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiseman, Jennifer

2012-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope has unified the world with a sense of awe and wonder for 2 I years and is currently more scientifically powerful than ever. I will present highlights of discoveries made with the Hubble Space Telescope, including details of planetary weather, star formation, extra-solar planets, colliding galaxies, and a universe expanding with the acceleration of dark energy. I will also present the unique technical challenges and triumphs of this phenomenal observatory, and discuss how our discoveries in the cosmos affect our sense of human unity, significance, and wonder.

The Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions: Past, present, and future operational challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ochs, William R.; Barbehenn, George M.; Crabb, William G.

1996-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope was designed to be serviced by the Space Shuttle to upgrade systems, replace failed components and boost the telescope into higher orbits. There exists many operational challenges that must be addressed in preparation for the execution of a servicing mission, including technical and managerial issues. The operational challenges faced by the Hubble operations and ground system project for the support of the first servicing mission and future servicing missions, are considered. The emphasis is on those areas that helped ensure the success of the mission, including training, testing and contingency planning.

The Hubble Deep UV Legacy Survey (HDUV): Survey Overview and First Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oesch, Pascal; Montes, Mireia; HDUV Survey Team

2015-08-01

Deep HST imaging has shown that the overall star formation density and UV light density at z>3 is dominated by faint, blue galaxies. Remarkably, very little is known about the equivalent galaxy population at lower redshifts. Understanding how these galaxies evolve across the epoch of peak cosmic star-formation is key to a complete picture of galaxy evolution. Here, we present a new HST WFC3/UVIS program, the Hubble Deep UV (HDUV) legacy survey. The HDUV is a 132 orbit program to obtain deep imaging in two filters (F275W and F336W) over the two CANDELS Deep fields. We will cover ~100 arcmin2, reaching down to 27.5-28.0 mag at 5 sigma. By directly sampling the rest-frame far-UV at z>~0.5, this will provide a unique legacy dataset with exquisite HST multi-wavelength imaging as well as ancillary HST grism NIR spectroscopy for a detailed study of faint, star-forming galaxies at z~0.5-2. The HDUV will enable a wealth of research by the community, which includes tracing the evolution of the FUV luminosity function over the peak of the star formation rate density from z~3 down to z~0.5, measuring the physical properties of sub-L* galaxies, and characterizing resolved stellar populations to decipher the build-up of the Hubble sequence from sub-galactic clumps. This poster provides an overview of the HDUV survey and presents the reduced data products and catalogs which will be released to the community.

Modeling Hubble Space Telescope flight data by Q-Markov cover identification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, K.; Skelton, R. E.; Sharkey, J. P.

1992-01-01

A state space model for the Hubble Space Telescope under the influence of unknown disturbances in orbit is presented. This model was obtained from flight data by applying the Q-Markov covariance equivalent realization identification algorithm. This state space model guarantees the match of the first Q-Markov parameters and covariance parameters of the Hubble system. The flight data were partitioned into high- and low-frequency components for more efficient Q-Markov cover modeling, to reduce some computational difficulties of the Q-Markov cover algorithm. This identification revealed more than 20 lightly damped modes within the bandwidth of the attitude control system. Comparisons with the analytical (TREETOPS) model are also included.

NASA Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Research Project Capstone Even

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-05-05

Dr. Amber Straughn, Lead Scientist for James Webb Space Telescope Education & Public Outreach at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, speaks to students from Mapletown Jr/Sr High School and Margaret Bell Middle School during the NASA Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Research Project Capstone Event in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters on Monday, May 5, 2014 Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Space Shuttle Projects

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-08-01

Designed by the crew members, the STS-103 emblem depicts the Space Shuttle Discovery approaching the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) prior to its capture and berthing. The purpose of the mission was to remove and replace some of the Telescope's older and out-of-date systems with newer, more reliable and more capable ones, and to make repairs to HST's exterior thermal insulation that had been damaged by more than nine years of exposure to the space environment. The horizontal and vertical lines centered on the Telescope symbolize the ability to reach and maintain a desired attitude in space, essential to the instrument's scientific operation. The preservation of this ability was one of the primary objectives of the mission. After the flight, the Telescope resumed its successful exploration of deep space and will continue to be used to study solar system objects, stars in the making, late phases of stellar evolution, galaxies and the early history of the universe. HST, as represented on this emblem was inspired by views from previous servicing missions, with its solar arrays illuminated by the Sun, providing a striking contrast with the blackness of space and the night side of Earth.

Comet P/2010 V1 as a Natural Disintegration Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jewitt, David; Weaver, Harold A.; Mutchler, Maximilian J.; Agarwal, Jessica; Meech, Karen Jean; Li, Jing; Kleyna, Jan; Ishiguro, Masateru; Wainscoat, Richard J.; Hui, Man-To

2016-10-01

Discovered in outburst in 2010, Jupiter-family comet P/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murukami) was found to be split in observations at the end of 2015. We used the Hubble Space Telescope to obtain deep images of P/2010 V1 at high angular resolution in the 2016 January to March period. The resulting data, by far the best yet obtained for any split or disrupting comet, show the astrometric, photometric and morphological evolution of about 30 fragments. We will present the first results for the velocity dispersion, photometric distribution and variability and discuss the measurements in terms of models for the breakup.

The HDUV Survey: Six Lyman Continuum Emitter Candidates at z ˜ 2 Revealed by HST UV Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naidu, R. P.; Oesch, P. A.; Reddy, N.; Holden, B.; Steidel, C. C.; Montes, M.; Atek, H.; Bouwens, R. J.; Carollo, C. M.; Cibinel, A.; Illingworth, G. D.; Labbé, I.; Magee, D.; Morselli, L.; Nelson, E. J.; van Dokkum, P. G.; Wilkins, S.

2017-09-01

We present six galaxies at z˜ 2 that show evidence of Lyman continuum (LyC) emission based on the newly acquired UV imaging of the Hubble Deep UV legacy survey (HDUV) conducted with the WFC3/UVIS camera on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). At the redshift of these sources, the HDUV F275W images partially probe the ionizing continuum. By exploiting the HST multiwavelength data available in the HDUV/GOODS fields, models of the UV spectral energy distributions, and detailed Monte Carlo simulations of the intergalactic medium absorption, we estimate the absolute ionizing photon escape fractions of these galaxies to be very high—typically > 60 % (> 13 % for all sources at 90% likelihood). Our findings are in broad agreement with previous studies that found only a small fraction of galaxies with high escape fraction. These six galaxies compose the largest sample yet of LyC leaking candidates at z˜ 2 whose inferred LyC flux has been observed at HST resolution. While three of our six candidates show evidence of hosting an active galactic nucleus, two of these are heavily obscured and their LyC emission appears to originate from star-forming regions rather than the central nucleus. Extensive multiwavelength data in the GOODS fields, especially the near-IR grism spectra from the 3D-HST survey, enable us to study the candidates in detail and tentatively test some recently proposed indirect methods to probe LyC leakage. High-resolution spectroscopic follow-up of our candidates will help constrain such indirect methods, which are our only hope of studying f esc at z˜ 5-9 in the JWST era. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained from the data archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute. STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.

Venus Cloud Tops Viewed by Hubble

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-05-18

Venus Cloud Tops Viewed by Hubble. This is a NASA Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet-light image of the planet Venus, taken on January 24 1995, when Venus was at a distance of 70.6 million miles 113.6 million kilometers from Earth.

Supernova Cosmology Project

Science.gov Websites

Space Telescope Cluster Supernova Survey: II. The Type Ia Supernova Rate in High-Redshift Galaxy /abs/0809.1648 Constraining Dust and Color Variations of High-z SNe Using NICMOS on the Hubble Space /0804.4142 A New Determination of the High-Redshift Type Ia Supernova Rates with the Hubble Space Telescope

Firestorm Of Star Birth In The Active Galaxy Centaurus A

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA image release June 16, 2011 Resembling looming rain clouds on a stormy day, dark lanes of dust crisscross the giant elliptical galaxy Centaurus A. Hubble's panchromatic vision, stretching from ultraviolet through near-infrared wavelengths, reveals the vibrant glow of young, blue star clusters and a glimpse into regions normally obscured by the dust. The warped shape of Centaurus A's disk of gas and dust is evidence for a past collision and merger with another galaxy. The resulting shockwaves cause hydrogen gas clouds to compress, triggering a firestorm of new star formation. These are visible in the red patches in this Hubble close-up. At a distance of just over 11 million light-years, Centaurus A contains the closest active galactic nucleus to Earth. The center is home for a supermassive black hole that ejects jets of high-speed gas into space, but neither the supermassive or the jets are visible in this image. This image was taken in July 2010 with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington, D.C. For images and more information about the findings, visit: www.nasa.gov/hubble and www.hubblesite.org/news/2011/18 Cheryl Gundy, STSCI NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-82 crew members and workers at KSC's Vertical Processing Facility get a final look at the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) in its flight configuration for the STS-82 mission. The crew is participating in the Crew Equipment Integration Test (CEIT). NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS also is HST's first cryogenic instrument - its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is scheduled Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-01-22

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-82 crew members and workers at KSC's Vertical Processing Facility get a final look at the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) in its flight configuration for the STS-82 mission. The crew is participating in the Crew Equipment Integration Test (CEIT). NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS also is HST's first cryogenic instrument - its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is scheduled Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

Creation of the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Dell, C. R.

2009-08-01

The Hubble Space Telescope has been the most successful space astronomy project to date, producing images that put the public in awe and images and spectra that have produced many scientific discoveries. It is the natural culmination of a dream envisioned when rocket flight into space was first projected and a goal set for the US space program soon after NASA was created. The design and construction period lasted almost two decades and its operations have already lasted almost as long. The capabilities of the observatory have evolved and expanded with periodic upgrading of its instrumentation, thus realizing the advantages of its unique design. The success of this long-lived observatory is closely tied to the availability of the Space Shuttle and the end of the Shuttle program means that the end of the Hubble program will follow before long.

CANDELS: The Cosmic Assembly Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grogin, Norman A.; Koekemoer, anton M.; Faber, S. M.; Ferguson, Henry C.; Kocevski, Dale D.; Riess, Adam G.; Acquaviva, Viviana; Alexander, David M.; Almaini, Omar; Ashby, Matthew L. N.;

Weak Lensing from Space I: Instrumentation and Survey Strategy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rhodes, Jason; Refregier, Alexandre; Massey, Richard

A wide field space-based imaging telescope is necessary to fully exploit the technique of observing dark matter via weak gravitational lensing. This first paper in a three part series outlines the survey strategies and relevant instrumental parameters for such a mission. As a concrete example of hardware design, we consider the proposed Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP). Using SNAP engineering models, we quantify the major contributions to this telescope's Point Spread Function (PSF). These PSF contributions are relevant to any similar wide field space telescope. We further show that the PSF of SNAP or a similar telescope will be smaller than currentmore » ground-based PSFs, and more isotropic and stable over time than the PSF of the Hubble Space Telescope. We outline survey strategies for two different regimes - a ''wide'' 300 square degree survey and a ''deep'' 15 square degree survey that will accomplish various weak lensing goals including statistical studies and dark matter mapping.« less

Future Visions for Scientific Human Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garvin, James

2005-01-01

Today, humans explore deep-space locations such as Mars, asteroids, and beyond, vicariously here on Earth, with noteworthy success. However, to achieve the revolutionary breakthroughs that have punctuated the history of science since the dawn of the Space Age has always required humans as "the discoverers," as Daniel Boorstin contends in this book of the same name. During Apollo 17, human explorers on the lunar surface discovered the "genesis rock," orange glass, and humans in space revamped the optically crippled Hubble Space Telescope to enable some of the greatest astronomical discoveries of all time. Science-driven human exploration is about developing the opportunities for such events, perhaps associated with challenging problems such as whether we can identify life beyond Earth within the universe. At issue, however, is how to safely insert humans and the spaceflight systems required to allow humans to operate as they do best in the hostile environment of deep space. The first issue is minimizing the problems associated with human adaptation to the most challenging aspects of deep space space radiation and microgravity (or non-Earth gravity). One solution path is to develop technologies that allow for minimization of the exposure time of people to deep space, as was accomplished in Apollo. For a mission to the planet Mars, this might entail new technological solutions for in-space propulsion that would make possible time-minimized transfers to and from Mars. The problem of rapid, reliable in-space transportation is challenged by the celestial mechanics of moving in space and the so-called "rocket equation." To travel to Mars from Earth in less than the time fuel-minimizing trajectories allow (i.e., Hohmann transfers) requires an exponential increase in the amount of fuel. Thus, month-long transits would require a mass of fuel as large as the dry mass of the ISS, assuming the existence of continuous acceleration engines. This raises the largest technological stumbling block to moving humans on site as deep-space explorers, delivering the masses required for human spaceflight systems to LEO or other Earth orbital vantage points using the existing or projected fleet of Earth-to-orbit (ETO) launch vehicles. Without a return to Saturn V-class boosters or an alternate path, one cannot imagine emplacing the masses that would be required for any deep-space voyage without a prohibitive number of Shuttle-class launches. One futurist solution might involve mass launch systems that could be used to move the consumables, including fuel, water, food, and building materials, to LEO in pieces rather than launching integrated systems. This approach would necessitate the development of robotic assembly and fuel-storage systems in Earth orbit, but could provide for a natural separation of low-value cargo (e.g., fuel, water).

Hubble Spies a Loopy Galaxy

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-02-02

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope photo of NGC 7714 presents an especially striking view of the galaxy's smoke-ring-like structure. The golden loop is made of sun-like stars that have been pulled deep into space, far from the galaxy's center. The galaxy is located approximately 100 million light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Pisces. The universe is full of such galaxies that are gravitationally stretched and pulled and otherwise distorted in gravitational tug-o'-wars with bypassing galaxies. The companion galaxy doing the "taffy pulling" in this case, NGC 7715, lies just out of the field of view in this image. A very faint bridge of stars extends to the unseen companion. The close encounter has compressed interstellar gas to trigger bursts of star formation seen in bright blue arcs extending around NGC 7714's center. The gravitational disruption of NGC 7714 began between 100 million and 200 million years ago, at the epoch when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. The image was taken with the Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys in October 2011. Credit: NASA and ESA. Acknowledgment: A. Gal-Yam (Weizmann Institute of Science) NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Live from the Hubble Space Telescope: a possibility of astronomical education using Internet.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agata, H.; Miura, H.; Ito, S.; Koyama, H.; Turuoka, N.; Ebisuzaki, T.

1996-12-01

The authors have joined in "Live from the Hubble Space Telescope" which was operated by a Passport to Knowledge Project team. The authors are sure that collaboration between scientists and teachers using Internet have an effect on science education.

Discarded solar array panel removed from Hubble Space telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

1993-12-06

STS061-95-031 (6 Dec 1993) --- The damaged solar array panel removed from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is backdropped over northern Sudan. Astronaut Kathryn C. Thornton, just out of frame at top right, watched the panel after releasing it moments earlier.

The Hubble Space Telescope: Problems and Solutions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villard, Ray

1990-01-01

Presented is the best understanding of the flaw discovered in the optics of the Hubble Space Telescope and the possible solutions to the problems. The spherical aberration in the telescope's mirror and its effect on the quality of the telescope's imaging ability is discussed. (CW)

Upgraded Hubble Space Telescope Images

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-09-08

NASA Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate Dr. Edward J. Weiler discusses newly released images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The images were from four of the telescopes' six operating science instruments. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Identification of Active Galactic Nuclei through HST optical variability in the GOODS South field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pouliasis, Ektoras; Georgantopoulos; Bonanos, A.; HCV Team

2016-08-01

This work aims to identify AGN in the GOODS South deep field through optical variability. This method can easily identify low-luminosity AGN. In particular, we use images in the z-band obtained from the Hubble Space Telescope with the ACS/WFC camera over 5 epochs separated by ~45 days. Aperture photometry has been performed using SExtractor to extract the lightcurves. Several variability indices, such as the median absolute deviation, excess variance, and sigma were applied to automatically identify the variable sources. After removing artifacts, stars and supernovae from the variable selected sample and keeping only those sources with known photometric or spectroscopic redshift, the optical variability was compared to variability in other wavelengths (X-rays, mid-IR, radio). This multi-wavelength study provides important constraints on the structure and the properties of the AGN and their relation to their hosts. This work is a part of the validation of the Hubble Catalog of Variables (HCV) project, which has been launched at the National Observatory of Athens by ESA, and aims to identify all sources (pointlike and extended) showing variability, based on the Hubble Source Catalog (HSC, Whitmore et al. 2015). The HSC version 1 was released in February 2015 and includes 80 million sources imaged with the WFPC2, ACS/WFC, WFC3/UVIS and WFC3/IR cameras.

Galaxy Zoo: morphological classifications for 120 000 galaxies in HST legacy imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Willett, Kyle W.; Galloway, Melanie A.; Bamford, Steven P.; Lintott, Chris J.; Masters, Karen L.; Scarlata, Claudia; Simmons, B. D.; Beck, Melanie; Cardamone, Carolin N.; Cheung, Edmond; Edmondson, Edward M.; Fortson, Lucy F.; Griffith, Roger L.; Häußler, Boris; Han, Anna; Hart, Ross; Melvin, Thomas; Parrish, Michael; Schawinski, Kevin; Smethurst, R. J.; Smith, Arfon M.

2017-02-01

We present the data release paper for the Galaxy Zoo: Hubble (GZH) project. This is the third phase in a large effort to measure reliable, detailed morphologies of galaxies by using crowdsourced visual classifications of colour-composite images. Images in GZH were selected from various publicly released Hubble Space Telescope legacy programmes conducted with the Advanced Camera for Surveys, with filters that probe the rest-frame optical emission from galaxies out to z ˜ 1. The bulk of the sample is selected to have mI814W < 23.5, but goes as faint as mI814W < 26.8 for deep images combined over five epochs. The median redshift of the combined samples is = 0.9 ± 0.6, with a tail extending out to z ≃ 4. The GZH morphological data include measurements of both bulge- and disc-dominated galaxies, details on spiral disc structure that relate to the Hubble type, bar identification, and numerous measurements of clump identification and geometry. This paper also describes a new method for calibrating morphologies for galaxies of different luminosities and at different redshifts by using artificially redshifted galaxy images as a baseline. The GZH catalogue contains both raw and calibrated morphological vote fractions for 119 849 galaxies, providing the largest data set to date suitable for large-scale studies of galaxy evolution out to z ˜ 1.

Exploring the Universe with the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

A general overview is given of the operations, engineering challenges, and components of the Hubble Space Telescope. Deployment, checkout and servicing in space are discussed. The optical telescope assembly, focal plane scientific instruments, wide field/planetary camera, faint object spectrograph, faint object camera, Goddard high resolution spectrograph, high speed photometer, fine guidance sensors, second generation technology, and support systems and services are reviewed.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) high gain antenna (HGA) deployment during STS-31

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-04-25

Held in appendage deploy position, the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST's) high gain antenna (HGA) has been released from its stowed position along the Support System Module (SSM) forward shell. The STS-31 crew aboard Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) oversees the automatic HGA deployment prior to releasing HST. HST HGA is backdropped against the blackness of space.

Innovative Resources for Education and Public Information: Electronic Services, Data and Information from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Other NASA Missions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christian, Carol A.

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which supports the operation of the Hubble Space Telescope, is actively investigating and supporting innovative and experimental methods for improving science and math education content. The educational resources on the World Wide Web are derived from the latest data, scientific results, and advances…

Hubble Space Telescope: Battery Capacity Trend Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rao, M. Gopalakrishna; Hollandsworth, Roger; Armantrout, Jon

2004-01-01

Battery cell wear out mechanisms and signatures are examined and compared to orbital data from the six on-orbit Hubble Space Telescope (HST) batteries, and the Flight Spare Battery (FSB) Test Bed at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), which is instrumented with individual cell voltage monitoring. Capacity trend data is presented which suggests HST battery replacement is required in 2005-2007 or sooner.

The MUSE Hubble Ultra Deep Field Survey. IX. Evolution of galaxy merger fraction since z ≈ 6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ventou, E.; Contini, T.; Bouché, N.; Epinat, B.; Brinchmann, J.; Bacon, R.; Inami, H.; Lam, D.; Drake, A.; Garel, T.; Michel-Dansac, L.; Pello, R.; Steinmetz, M.; Weilbacher, P. M.; Wisotzki, L.; Carollo, M.

2017-11-01

We provide, for the first time, robust observational constraints on the galaxy major merger fraction up to z ≈ 6 using spectroscopic close pair counts. Deep Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) observations in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) and Hubble Deep Field South (HDF-S) are used to identify 113 secure close pairs of galaxies among a parent sample of 1801 galaxies spread over a large redshift range (0.2 < z < 6) and stellar masses (107-1011 M⊙), thus probing about 12 Gyr of galaxy evolution. Stellar masses are estimated from spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting over the extensive UV-to-NIR HST photometry available in these deep Hubble fields, adding Spitzer IRAC bands to better constrain masses for high-redshift (z ⩾ 3) galaxies. These stellar masses are used to isolate a sample of 54 major close pairs with a galaxy mass ratio limit of 1:6. Among this sample, 23 pairs are identified at high redshift (z ⩾ 3) through their Lyα emission. The sample of major close pairs is divided into five redshift intervals in order to probe the evolution of the merger fraction with cosmic time. Our estimates are in very good agreement with previous close pair counts with a constant increase of the merger fraction up to z ≈ 3 where it reaches a maximum of 20%. At higher redshift, we show that the fraction slowly decreases down to about 10% at z ≈ 6. The sample is further divided into two ranges of stellar masses using either a constant separation limit of 109.5 M⊙ or the median value of stellar mass computed in each redshift bin. Overall, the major close pair fraction for low-mass and massive galaxies follows the same trend. These new, homogeneous, and robust estimates of the major merger fraction since z ≈ 6 are in good agreement with recent predictions of cosmological numerical simulations. Based on observations made with ESO telescopes at the La Silla-Paranal Observatory under programmes 094.A-0289(B), 095.A-0010(A), 096.A-0045(A) and 096.A-0045(B).

Planetary nebulae: 20 years of Hubble inquiry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balick, Bruce

2012-08-01

The Hubble Space Telescope has served the critical roles of microscope and movie camera in the past 20 years of research on planetary nebulae (``PNe''). We have glimpsed the details of the evolving structures of neutral and ionized post-AGB objects, built ingenious heuristic models that mimic these structures, and constrained most of the relevant physical processes with careful observations and interpretation. We have searched for close physical binary stars with spatial resolution ~50 AU at 1 AU, located jets emerging from the nucleus at speeds up to 2000 km s-1 and matched newly discovered molecular and X-ray emission regions to physical substructures in order to better understand how stellar winds and ionizing radiation interact to form the lovely symmetries that are observed. Ultraviolet spectra of CNO in PNe help to uncover how stars process deep inside AGB stars with unstable nuclear burning zones. HST broadband imaging has been at the forefront of uncovering surprisingly complex wind morphologies produced at the tip of the AGB, and has led to an increasing realization of the potentially vital roles of close binary stars and emerging magnetic fields in shaping stellar winds.

History of Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

NASA Image and Video Library

1995-12-01

This deepest-ever view of the universe unveils myriad galaxies back to the begirning of time. Several hundred, never-before-seen, galaxies are visible in this view of the universe, called Hubble Deep Field (HDF). Besides the classical spiral and elliptical shaped galaxies, there is a bewildering variety of other galaxy shapes and colors that are important clues to understanding the evolution of the universe. Some of the galaxies may have formed less than one-billion years after the Big Bang. The image was assembled from many separate exposures with the Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 (WF/PC2), for ten consecutive days between December 18, 1995 and December 28, 1995. This true-color view was assembled from separate images taken with blue, red, and infrared light. By combining these separate images into a single color picture, astronomers will be able to infer, at least statistically, the distance, age, and composition of galaxies in the field. Blue objects contain young stars and/or are relatively close, while redder objects contain older stellar populations and/or are farther away.

The varying cosmological constant: a new approximation to the Friedmann equations and universe model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Öztaş, Ahmet M.; Dil, Emre; Smith, Michael L.

2018-05-01

We investigate the time-dependent nature of the cosmological constant, Λ, of the Einstein Field Equation (EFE). Beginning with the Einstein-Hilbert action as our fundamental principle we develop a modified version of the EFE allowing the value of Λ to vary as a function of time, Λ(t), indirectly, for an expanding universe. We follow the evolving Λ presuming four-dimensional space-time and a flat universe geometry and present derivations of Λ(t) as functions of the Hubble constant, matter density, and volume changes which can be traced back to the radiation epoch. The models are more detailed descriptions of the Λ dependence on cosmological factors than previous, allowing calculations of the important parameters, Ωm and Ωr, to deep lookback times. Since we derive these without the need for extra dimensions or other special conditions our derivations are useful for model evaluation with astronomical data. This should aid resolution of several difficult problems of astronomy such as the best value for the Hubble constant at present and at recombination.

EVA 2 activity on Flight Day 5 to service the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-02-15

S82-E-5404 (15 Feb. 1997) --- Astronaut Gregory J. Harbaugh on the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) with the Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS), during the repair of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This view was taken with an Electronic Still Camera (ESC).

KSC-02pd0622

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-04-30

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the 2002 Space Congress, Cape Canaveral, Fla., held April 30 - May 3, visitors look at astronauts' gloves worn during spacewalks. The exhibit highlighted the Hubble Space Telescope 3B Servicing Mission (STS-109) in March 2002. The Space Congress is held annually to highlight military and space initiatives, new technologies, and Florida's role in programs and research. This year's theme is Beginning a New Era - Initiatives in Space. NASA presented several paper sessions, including Hubble Discoveries and Advancements in Technology. Space Congress is sponsored by the Canaveral Council of Technical Societies

VizieR Online Data Catalog: GLASS. VI. MCS J0416.1-2403 HFF imaging & spectra (Hoag+, 2016)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoag, A.; Huang, K.-H.; Treu, T.; Bradac, M.; Schmidt, K. B.; Wang, X.; Brammer, G. B.; Broussard, A.; Amorin, R.; Castellano, M.; Fontana, A.; Merlin, E.; Schrabback, T.; Trenti, M.; Vulcani, B.

2017-02-01

The Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space (GLASS; GO-13459, PI: Treu; Schmidt+ 2014ApJ...782L..36S; Treu+ 2015, J/ApJ/812/114) observed 10 massive galaxy clusters with the HST WFC3-IR G102 and G141 grism between 2013 December and 2015 January. Each of the clusters targeted by GLASS has deep multi-band HST imaging from the Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) in 2014 September and/or from CLASH (ESO VIMOS large program CLASH-VLT; 186.A-0798; PI: P. Rosati; Balestra+, 2016, J/ApJS/224/33). We also use mid-IR imaging data acquired with the IRAC on board the Spitzer Space Telescope obtained by the DDT program #90258 (PI: Soifer; P. Capak+ 2016, in prep.) and #80168 (PI: Bouwens). (2 data files).

Hubble Captures Cosmic Ice Sculptures

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA image release September 16, 2010 Enjoying a frozen treat on a hot summer day can leave a sticky mess as it melts in the Sun and deforms. In the cold vacuum of space, there is no edible ice cream, but there is radiation from massive stars that is carving away at cold molecular clouds, creating bizarre, fantasy-like structures. These one-light-year-tall pillars of cold hydrogen and dust, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope, are located in the Carina Nebula. Violent stellar winds and powerful radiation from massive stars are sculpting the surrounding nebula. Inside the dense structures, new stars may be born. This image of dust pillars in the Carina Nebula is a composite of 2005 observations taken of the region in hydrogen light (light emitted by hydrogen atoms) along with 2010 observations taken in oxygen light (light emitted by oxygen atoms), both times with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The immense Carina Nebula is an estimated 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. in Washington, D.C. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

HUBBLE FINDS MANY BRIGHT CLOUDS ON URANUS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

A recent Hubble Space Telescope view reveals Uranus surrounded by its four major rings and by 10 of its 17 known satellites. This false-color image was generated by Erich Karkoschka using data taken on August 8, 1998, with Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer. Hubble recently found about 20 clouds - nearly as many clouds on Uranus as the previous total in the history of modern observations. The orange-colored clouds near the prominent bright band circle the planet at more than 300 mph (500 km/h), according to team member Heidi Hammel (MIT). One of the clouds on the right-hand side is brighter than any other cloud ever seen on Uranus. The colors in the image indicate altitude. Team member Mark Marley (New Mexico State University) reports that green and blue regions show where the atmosphere is clear and sunlight can penetrate deep into Uranus. In yellow and grey regions the sunlight reflects from a higher haze or cloud layer. Orange and red colors indicate very high clouds, such as cirrus clouds on Earth. The Hubble image is one of the first images revealing the precession of the brightest ring with respect to a previous image [LINK to PRC97-36a]. Precession makes the fainter part of the ring (currently on the upper right-hand side) slide around Uranus once every nine months. The fading is caused by ring particles crowding and hiding each other on one side of their eight-hour orbit around Uranus. The blue, green and red components of this false-color image correspond to exposures taken at near-infrared wavelengths of 0.9, 1.1, and 1.7 micrometers. Thus, regions on Uranus appearing blue, for example, reflect more sunlight at 0.9 micrometer than at the longer wavelengths. Apparent colors on Uranus are caused by absorption of methane gas in its atmosphere, an effect comparable to absorption in our atmosphere which can make distant clouds appear red. Credit: Erich Karkoschka (University of Arizona) and NASA

High Redshift Supernova Search

Science.gov Websites

;on schedule." Before-and-after pictures (and Hubble Space Telescope picture) of a high-redshift High Redshift Supernova Search Home Page of the Supernova Cosmology Project This is the Lawrence Foretell Fate of the Universe." Pictures from the ground and from the Hubble Space Telescope: [PDF

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) at Lockheed Facility during preflight assembly

NASA Image and Video Library

1988-03-31

A mechanical arm positions the axial scientific instrument (SI) module (orbital replacement unit (ORU)) just outside the open doors of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Support System Module (SSM) as clean-suited technicians oversee the process. HST assembly is being completed at the Lockheed Facility in Sunnyvale, California.

Hubble Space Telescope Observations of M32: The Color-Magnitude Diagram

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grillmair, C. J.; Lauer, T. R.; Worthey, G.; Faber, S. M.; Freedman, W. L.; Madore, B. F.; Ajhar, E. A.; Baum, W. A.; Holtzman, J. A.; Lynds, C. R.;

Muchas Caras: Engaging Spanish Speakers in the Planetarium and K--12 Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Traub-Metlay, S.; Salas, F.; Duncan, D.

2008-11-01

Reaching out to Spanish speakers is increasingly vital to workforce development and public support of space science projects. Fiske Planetarium offers Spanish translations of our newest planetarium shows, such as ``Las Personas del Telescopio Hubble'' (``The Many Faces of Hubble'') and ``Tormenta Espacial'' (``Space Storm'').

Space Science in Action: Astronomy [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

1999

This videotape recording teaches students about constellations, star movement, and how scientists have studied celestial bodies throughout history from Ptolemy to Copernicus to the work of the Hubble Space Telescope. An interview with Kathy Thornton, one of the astronauts who repaired the Hubble while in orbit, is featured. A hands-on activity…

Detection of the Red Giant Branch Stars in the M82 Using the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Madore, B.; Sakai, S.

1999-01-01

We present color-magnitude diagrams and luminosity functions or stars in two halo regions of the irregular galaxy in M82, based on F555W and F814W photometry taken with the Hubble Space Telescope and Wide Field Planetary Camera 2.

Appendange deployment mechanism for the Hubble Space Telescope program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenfield, H. T.

1985-01-01

The key requirements, a design overview, development testing (qualification levels), and two problems and their solutions resolved during the mechanism development testing phase are presented. The mechanism described herein has demonstrated its capability to deploy/restow two large Hubble Space Telescope deployable appendages in a varying but controlled manner.

KSC-2009-3074

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-11

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Firing Room at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Steven Hoyle, left, and Russ Brucker, center, receive a VIP award for their efforts associated with the STS-125 mission and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Hoyle is the payload test operations manager with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center; Brucker is the Atlantis payload project manager with United Space Alliance. A crew of seven launched today on space shuttle Atlantis to service Hubble. Liftoff was on time at 2:01 p.m. EDT. Atlantis' 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, fine guidance sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Hubble Space Telescope Deploy, Eastern Cuba, Haiti

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-04-29

A close up deploy view of the Hubble Space Telescope on the end of the space shuttle remote manipulator system (RMS) with Eastern Cuba, (20.0N, 74.0W) seen on the left side of the telescope and northern Haiti seen on the right side of the telescope. The light colored blue feature in the water north of Haiti is the shallow waters of the Caicos Bank.

Probing stellar mass build-up in galaxies at z=4-7 with CANDELS and S-CANDELS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Mimi; Finkelstein, Steven L.; Ashby, Matthew; Merlin, Emiliano

2015-01-01

Over the last few years the advent of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 has enabled us to build statistically significant samples of galaxies out to z=8. We have subsequently witnessed remarkable progress in our understanding of galaxy evolution in the early universe. However, our understanding of the galaxy stellar mass growth in this era has been limited due to the lack of rest-frame optical data at a comparable depth as the HST data. Here we present results on the galaxy stellar mass function at z=4-7 from a sample of ~7500 galaxies over an area of ~280 square arcmin in the CANDELS GOODS-South and North fields, as well as the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. Utilizing deep IRAC data from the S-CANDELS and IUDF10 programs to robustly constrain the stellar masses of galaxies in our sample, we measure the stellar-mass to rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) luminosity trends in each of our redshift bins. We convolve these trends with recent measurements of the rest-frame ultraviolet luminosity function to derive the stellar mass functions. Contrary to initial studies at these redshifts, we find steeper low-mass-end slopes (-1.6 at z=4, and -2.0 at z=7), similar to recent simulations. Our results provide the most accurate estimates to date of the cosmic stellar mass density over the first two billion years after the Big Bang.

Optimal Dictionaries for Sparse Solutions of Multi-frame Blind Deconvolution

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-01

object is the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). As stated above, the dictionary training used the first 100 of the total of the simulated PSFs. The second set...diffraction-limited Hubble image and HubbleRE is the reconstructed image from the 100 simulated atmospheric turbulence degraded images of the HST

Whirlpool Galaxy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

Scientists are seeing unprecedented detail of the spiral arms and dust clouds in the nearby Whirlpool galaxy, thanks to a new Hubble Space Telescope image, available at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pictures/wfpc/wfpc.html. The image uses data collected January 15 and 24, 1995, and July 21, 1999, by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, designed and built by JPL. Using the image, a research group led by Dr. Nick Scoville of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, clearly defined the structure of the galaxy's cold dust clouds and hot hydrogen, and they linked star clusters within the galaxy to their parent dust clouds.

The Whirlpool galaxy is one of the most photogenic galaxies. This celestial beauty is easily seen and photographed with smaller telescopes and studied extensively from large ground- and space-based observatories. The new composite image shows visible starlight and light from the emission of glowing hydrogen, which is associated with the most luminous young stars in the spiral arms.

The galaxy is having a close encounter with a nearby companion galaxy, NGC 5195, just off the upper edge of the image. The companion's gravitational pull is triggering star formation in the main galaxy, lit up by numerous clusters of young and energetic stars in brilliant detail. Luminous clusters are highlighted in red by their associated emission from glowing hydrogen gas.

This image was composed by the Hubble Heritage Team from Hubble archive data and was superimposed onto data taken by Dr. Travis Rector of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory at the .9-meter (35-inch) telescope at the National Science Foundation's Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, Ariz. Scoville's team includes M. Polletta of the University of Geneva, Switzerland; S. Ewald and S. Stolovy of Caltech; and R. Thompson and M. Rieke of the University of Arizona, Tucson.

The Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md., manages space operations for the Hubble Space Telescope for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA under contract with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. JPL is a division of Caltech.

Additional information about the Hubble Space Telescope is available at http://www.stsci.edu . More information about the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 is available at http://wfpc2.jpl.nasa.gov

Wide Field Imaging of the Hubble Deep Field-South Region III: Catalog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palunas, Povilas; Collins, Nicholas R.; Gardner, Jonathan P.; Hill, Robert S.; Malumuth, Eliot M.; Rhodes, Jason; Teplitz, Harry I.; Woodgate, Bruce E.

2002-01-01

We present 1/2 square degree uBVRI imaging around the Hubble Deep Field - South. These data have been used in earlier papers to examine the QSO population and the evolution of the correlation function in the region around the HDF-S. The images were obtained with the Big Throughput Camera at CTIO in September 1998. The images reach 5 sigma limits of u approx. 24.4, B approx. 25.6, V approx. 25.3, R approx. 24.9 and I approx. 23.9. We present a catalog of approx. 22,000 galaxies. We also present number-magnitude counts and a comparison with other observations of the same field. The data presented here are available over the world wide web.

Measuring the Value of the Hubble Constant “à la Refsdal”

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grillo, C.; Rosati, P.; Suyu, S. H.; Balestra, I.; Caminha, G. B.; Halkola, A.; Kelly, P. L.; Lombardi, M.; Mercurio, A.; Rodney, S. A.; Treu, T.

2018-06-01

Realizing Refsdal’s original idea from 1964, we present estimates of the Hubble constant that are complementary to, and potentially competitive with, those of other cosmological probes. We use the observed positions of 89 multiple images, with extensive spectroscopic information, from 28 background sources and the measured time delays between the images S1–S4 and SX of supernova “Refsdal” (z = 1.489), which were obtained thanks to Hubble Space Telescope deep imaging and Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer data. We extend the strong-lensing modeling of the Hubble Frontier Fields galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+2223 (z = 0.542), published by Grillo et al. (2016), and explore different ΛCDM models. Taking advantage of the lensing information associated to the presence of very close pairs of multiple images at various redshifts, and to the extended surface brightness distribution of the SN Refsdal host, we can reconstruct the total mass-density profile of the cluster very precisely. The combined dependence of the multiple-image positions and time delays on the cosmological parameters allows us to infer the values of H 0 and Ωm with relative (1σ) statistical errors of, respectively, 6% (7%) and 31% (26%) in flat (general) cosmological models, assuming a conservative 3% uncertainty on the final time delay of image SX and, remarkably, no priors from other cosmological experiments. Our best estimate of H 0, based on the model described in this work, will be presented when the final time-delay measurement becomes available. Our results show that it is possible to utilize time delays in lens galaxy clusters as an important alternative tool for measuring the expansion rate and the geometry of the universe.

ASTRO-1: a 1.8m unobscured space observatory for next generation UV/visible astrophysics and exoplanet exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, Gary W.; Egerman, Robert; Morse, Jon A.; Wilkes, Belinda

2016-07-01

The Hubble Space Telescope has been a scientific marvel that has provided unimaginable imagery and scientific discovery. Its exquisite UV/Visible imaging performance is unmatched from the ground. In NASA's future planning, the earliest possible successor mission would be in the 3030s, well beyond the expected lifetime of Hubble. The ASTRO-1 space telescope is a 1.8m off-axis (unobscured) observatory that looks to fill this critical void with Hubble-like performance to continue the scientific quest while also providing the possibility for exoplanet research with a coronagraphic instrument and/or a free flying starshade. BoldlyGo Institute seeks to reach beyond NASA funding to leverage the high public interest in space research and exploration, and the search for life beyond Earth.

Finding Our Origins with the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Jonathan P.

2003-01-01

NASA's Origins program is a series of space telescopes designed to study the origins of galaxies, stars, planets and life in the universe. In this talk, I will concentrate on the origin and evolution of galaxies, beginning with the Big Bang and tracing what we have learned with the Hubble Space Telescope through to the present day. I will introduce several of the tools that astronomers use to measure distances, measure velocities, and look backwards in time. I will show that results from studies with Hubble have led to plans for its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, which is designed to find the first galaxies that formed in the distant past. I will finish with a short discussion of other missions in the Origins theme, including the Terrestrial Planet Finder.

Finding our Origins with the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Jonathan P.

2004-01-01

NASA s Origins program is a series of space telescopes designed to study the origins of galaxies, stars, planets and life in the universe. In this talk, I will concentrate on the origin and evolution of galaxies, beginning with the Big Bang and tracing what we have learned with the Hubble Space Telescope through to the present day. I will introduce several of the tools that astronomers use to measure distances, measure velocities, and look backwards in time. I will show that results from studies with Hubble have led to plans for its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, which is designed to find the first galaxies that formed in the distant past. I will finish with a short discussion of other missions in the Origins theme, including the Terrestrial Planet Finder.

Charge retention test experiences on Hubble Space Telescope nickel-hydrogen battery cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nawrocki, Dave E.; Driscoll, J. R.; Armantrout, J. D.; Baker, R. C.; Wajsgras, H.

1993-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) nickel-hydrogen battery module was designed by Lockheed Missile & Space Co (LMSC) and manufactured by Eagle-Picher Ind. (EPI) for the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as an Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) for the nickel-cadmium batteries originally selected for this low earth orbit mission. The design features of the HST nickel hydrogen battery are described and the results of an extended charge retention test are summarized.

Deep Keck u-Band Imaging of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field: A Catalog of z ~ 3 Lyman Break Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rafelski, Marc; Wolfe, Arthur M.; Cooke, Jeff; Chen, Hsiao-Wen; Armandroff, Taft E.; Wirth, Gregory D.

2009-10-01

We present a sample of 407 z ~ 3 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) to a limiting isophotal u-band magnitude of 27.6 mag in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The LBGs are selected using a combination of photometric redshifts and the u-band drop-out technique enabled by the introduction of an extremely deep u-band image obtained with the Keck I telescope and the blue channel of the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer. The Keck u-band image, totaling 9 hr of integration time, has a 1σ depth of 30.7 mag arcsec-2, making it one of the most sensitive u-band images ever obtained. The u-band image also substantially improves the accuracy of photometric redshift measurements of ~50% of the z ~ 3 LBGs, significantly reducing the traditional degeneracy of colors between z ~ 3 and z ~ 0.2 galaxies. This sample provides the most sensitive, high-resolution multi-filter imaging of reliably identified z ~ 3 LBGs for morphological studies of galaxy formation and evolution and the star formation efficiency of gas at high redshift.

Cat's Eye Nebula

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

The Cat's Eye Nebula, one of the first planetary nebulae discovered, also has one of the most complex forms known to this kind of nebula. Eleven rings, or shells, of gas make up the Cat's Eye. The full beauty of the Cat's Eye Nebula is revealed in this detailed view from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The image from Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) shows a bull's eye pattern of eleven or even more concentric rings, or shells, around the Cat's Eye. Each 'ring' is actually the edge of a spherical bubble seen projected onto the sky -- that's why it appears bright along its outer edge. Observations suggest the star ejected its mass in a series of pulses at 1,500-year intervals. These convulsions created dust shells, each of which contain as much mass as all of the planets in our solar system combined (still only one percent of the Sun's mass). These concentric shells make a layered, onion-skin structure around the dying star. The view from Hubble is like seeing an onion cut in half, where each skin layer is discernible. The bull's-eye patterns seen around planetary nebulae come as a surprise to astronomers because they had no expectation that episodes of mass loss at the end of stellar lives would repeat every 1,500 years. Several explanations have been proposed, including cycles of magnetic activity somewhat similar to our own Sun's sunspot cycle, the action of companion stars orbiting around the dying star, and stellar pulsations. Another school of thought is that the material is ejected smoothly from the star, and the rings are created later on due to formation of waves in the outflowing material. Credit: NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgment: R. Corradi (Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, Spain) and Z. Tsvetanov (NASA) The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute conducts Hubble science operations. Goddard is responsible for HST project management, including mission and science operations, servicing missions, and all associated development activities. To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Results of a Hubble Space Telescope Search for Natural Satellites of Dwarf Planet 1 Ceres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeMario, Benjamin; Schmidt, Britney E.; Mutchler, Maximilian J.; Li, Jian-Yang; McFadden, Lucy Ann; McLean, Brian; Russell, Christopher T.

2016-10-01

In order to prepare for the arrival of the Dawn spacecraft at Ceres, a search for satellites was undertaken by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to enhance the mission science return and to ensure spacecraft safety. Previous satellite searches from ground-based telescopes have detected no satellites within Ceres' Hill sphere down to a size of 3 km (Gehrels et al. 1987) and early HST investigations searched to a limit of 1-2 km (Bieryla et al. 2011). The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the HST was used to image Ceres between 14 April - 28 April 2014. These images cover approximately the inner third of Ceres' Hill sphere, where the Hill sphere is the region surrounding Ceres where stable satellite orbits are possible. We performed a deep search for possible companions orbiting Ceres. No natural companions were located down to a diameter of 48 meters, over most of the Hill sphere to a distance of 205,000 km (434 Ceres radii) from the surface of Ceres. It was impossible to search all the way to the surface of Ceres because of scattered light, but at a distance of 2865 km (five Ceres radii), the search limit was determined to be 925 meters. The absence of a satellite around Ceres could, in the future, support more refined theories about satellite formation or capture mechanisms in the solar system.

Hubble Supernova Bubble Resembles Holiday Ornament

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA image release December 14, 2010 A delicate sphere of gas, photographed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, floats serenely in the depths of space. The pristine shell, or bubble, is the result of gas that is being shocked by the expanding blast wave from a supernova. Called SNR 0509-67.5 (or SNR 0509 for short), the bubble is the visible remnant of a powerful stellar explosion in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a small galaxy about 160,000 light-years from Earth. Ripples in the shell's surface may be caused by either subtle variations in the density of the ambient interstellar gas, or possibly driven from the interior by pieces of the ejecta. The bubble-shaped shroud of gas is 23 light-years across and is expanding at more than 11 million miles per hour (5,000 kilometers per second). Astronomers have concluded that the explosion was one of an especially energetic and bright variety of supernovae. Known as Type Ia, such supernova events are thought to result from a white dwarf star in a binary system that robs its partner of material, takes on much more mass than it is able to handle, and eventually explodes. Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys observed the supernova remnant on Oct. 28, 2006 with a filter that isolates light from glowing hydrogen seen in the expanding shell. These observations were then combined with visible-light images of the surrounding star field that were imaged with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 on Nov. 4, 2010. With an age of about 400 years as seen from Earth, the supernova might have been visible to southern hemisphere observers around the year 1600, however, there are no known records of a "new star" in the direction of the LMC near that time. A more recent supernova in the LMC, SN 1987A, did catch the eye of Earth viewers and continues to be studied with ground- and space-based telescopes, including Hubble. For images and more information about SNR 0509, visit: hubblesite.org/news/2010/27 heritage.stsci.edu/2010/27 www.nasa.gov/hubble The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgment: J. Hughes (Rutgers University) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

Supernova Cosmology Project

Science.gov Websites

<= Back to SCP Home Page Discovery of Unusual Optical Transient with the Hubble Space Telescope observations of SCP 06F6, an unusual optical transient discovered during the Hubble Space Telescope Cluster Supernova Survey. The transient brightened over a period of ~100 days, reached a peak magnitude of ~21.0 in

The Hubble Space Telescope Cluster Supernova Survey. III. Correlated

Science.gov Websites

Properties SAO/NASA ADS Astronomy Abstract Service Title: The Hubble Space Telescope Cluster Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA), AF(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake , USA), AH(Institute of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka

STS 31 PAYLOAD HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE ENCLOSED IN AN AIR-TIGHT PLASTIC BAG FOR PROTECTION IN VERTICA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

Preparations are made to enclose the Hubble Space Telescope [HST] inside an air-tight plastic bag in the VPF. Processing of the 94- inch primary mirror telescope for launch on the Discovery in March 1990, involves working within strict controls to prevent contamination.

25+ Years of the Hubble Space Telescope and a Simple Error That Cost Millions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shakerin, Said

2016-01-01

A simple mistake in properly setting up a measuring device caused millions of dollars to be spent in correcting the initial optical failure of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This short article is intended as a lesson for a physics laboratory and discussion of errors in measurement.

Upgraded Hubble Space Telescope Images

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-09-08

NASA Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate Dr. Edward J. Weiler listens to a reporters question during a press conference where NASA released images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The images were from four of the telescopes' six operating science instruments. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

STS-109 Crew Interviews: James H. Newman

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

STS-109 Mission Specialist James H. Newman is seen during a prelaunch interview. He answers questions about his inspiration to become an astronaut, his career path, and his most memorable experiences. He gives details on the mission's goals and objectives, which focus on the refurbishing of the Hubble Space Telescope, and his role in the mission. He provides a brief background on the Hubble Space Telescope, and explains the plans for the rendezvous of the Columbia Orbiter with the Hubble Space Telescope. He provides details and timelines for each of the planned Extravehicular Activities (EVAs), which include replacing the solar arrays, changing the Power Control Unit, installing the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), and installing a new Cryocooler for the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). He gives further explanation of each of these pieces of equipment. He also describes the break-out plan in place for these spacewalks. The interview ends with Newman explaining the details of a late addition to the mission's tasks, which is to replace a reaction wheel on the Hubble Space Telescope.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility prepare a solid state recorder for installation in a protective enclosure as part of the prelaunch preparations for STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. The digital solid state recorder will replace one of three engineering/science tape recorders on Hubble. The solid state recorder has no moving parts to wear out. It also is more flexible than a reel-to-reel recorder and can store 10 times as much data. Liftoff aboard Discovery is targeted Feb. 11 with a crew of seven.

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-01-16

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility prepare a solid state recorder for installation in a protective enclosure as part of the prelaunch preparations for STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. The digital solid state recorder will replace one of three engineering/science tape recorders on Hubble. The solid state recorder has no moving parts to wear out. It also is more flexible than a reel-to-reel recorder and can store 10 times as much data. Liftoff aboard Discovery is targeted Feb. 11 with a crew of seven.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility install a solid state recorder into a transport assembly in its protective enclosure as part of the prelaunch preparations for STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. The digital solid state recorder will replace one of three engineering/science tape recorders on Hubble. The solid state recorder has no moving parts to wear out. It also is more flexible than a reel-to-reel recorder and can store 10 times as much data. Liftoff aboard Discovery is targeted Feb. 11 with a crew of seven.

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-01-16

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility install a solid state recorder into a transport assembly in its protective enclosure as part of the prelaunch preparations for STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. The digital solid state recorder will replace one of three engineering/science tape recorders on Hubble. The solid state recorder has no moving parts to wear out. It also is more flexible than a reel-to-reel recorder and can store 10 times as much data. Liftoff aboard Discovery is targeted Feb. 11 with a crew of seven.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Absorption velocities for 21 super-luminous SNe Ic (Liu+, 2017)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y.-Q.; Modjaz, M.; Bianco, F. B.

2018-04-01

We have collected the spectra of all available super-luminous supernovae (SLSNe) Ic that have a date of maximum light published before April of 2016. These SLSNe Ic were mainly discovered and observed by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN), the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey, the Dark Energy Survey (DES), the Hubble Space Telescope Cluster Supernova Survey, the Pan-STARRS1 Medium Deep Survey (PS1), the Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects (PESSTO), the Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) as well as the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF), and the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS). See table 1. (2 data files).

Artist concept of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) orbiting Earth after deploy

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-04-05

This artist concept shows the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in operational configuration orbiting the Earth after its deploy from Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103 during STS-31. The high gain antennas (HGAs) and solar arrays (SAs) have been extended. HST's aperature door is open as it views the universe from a vantage point above the Earth's atmosphere. View provided by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).

2010 Space Telescope Science Institute Calibration Workshop - Hubble after SM4. Preparing JWST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deustua, Susana; Oliveira, Cristina

2010-07-01

After the successful servicing mission in May 2009 (SM4), the Hubble Space Telescope now has five working science instruments: COS, WFC3, STIS, ACS, FGS. NICMOS is currently on hold. Construction has started on the James Webb Space Telescope and its instruments. Conducting research projects at the vanguard often means pushing the instruments to their limits and requires understanding and calibrating complex instrument effects.

The Luminosity Function of Star Clusters in 20 Star-forming Galaxies Based on Hubble Legacy Archive Photometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitmore, Bradley C.; Chandar, Rupali; Bowers, Ariel S.; Larsen, Soeren; Lindsay, Kevin; Ansari, Asna; Evans, Jessica

2014-04-01

Luminosity functions (LFs) have been determined for star cluster populations in 20 nearby (4-30 Mpc), star-forming galaxies based on Advanced Camera for Surveys source lists generated by the Hubble Legacy Archive (HLA). These cluster catalogs provide one of the largest sets of uniform, automatically generated cluster candidates available in the literature at present. Comparisons are made with other recently generated cluster catalogs demonstrating that the HLA-generated catalogs are of similar quality, but in general do not go as deep. A typical cluster LF can be approximated by a power law, dN/dLvpropL α, with an average value for α of -2.37 and rms scatter = 0.18 when using the F814W ("I") band. A comparison of fitting results based on methods that use binned and unbinned data shows good agreement, although there may be a systematic tendency for the unbinned (maximum likelihood) method to give slightly more negative values of α for galaxies with steeper LFs. We find that galaxies with high rates of star formation (or equivalently, with the brightest or largest numbers of clusters) have a slight tendency to have shallower values of α. In particular, the Antennae galaxy (NGC 4038/39), a merging system with a relatively high star formation rate (SFR), has the second flattest LF in the sample. A tentative correlation may also be present between Hubble type and values of α, in the sense that later type galaxies (i.e., Sd and Sm) appear to have flatter LFs. Hence, while there do appear to be some weak correlations, the relative similarity in the values of α for a large number of star-forming galaxies suggests that, to first order, the LFs are fairly universal. We examine the bright end of the LFs and find evidence for a downturn, although it only pertains to about 1% of the clusters. Our uniform database results in a small scatter (≈0.4 to 0.5 mag) in the correlation between the magnitude of the brightest cluster (M brightest) and log of the number of clusters brighter than MI = -9 (log N). We also examine the magnitude of the brightest cluster versus log SFR for a sample including both dwarf galaxies and ULIRGs. This shows that the correlation extends over roughly six orders of magnitude but with scatter that is larger than for our spiral sample, probably because of the high levels of extinction in many of the LIRGs. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. Also based on data obtained from the Hubble Legacy Archive, which is a collaboration between the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI/NASA), the Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF/ESA), and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC/NRC/CSA). Support for Program number 11781 was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute.

-V2 plane on the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-03

STS109-E-5104 (3 March 2002) --- The Hubble Space Telescope is seen in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Each present set of solar array panels will be replaced during one of the space walks planned for the coming week. The crew aimed various cameras, including the digital still camera used for this frame, out the shuttle's aft flight deck windows to take a series of survey type photos, the first close-up images of the telescope since December of 1999.

-V2 plane on the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-03

STS109-E-5102 (3 March 2002) --- The Hubble Space Telescope is seen in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Each present set of solar array panels will be replaced during one of the space walks planned for the coming week. The crew aimed various cameras, including the digital still camera used for this frame, out the shuttle's aft flight deck windows to take a series of survey type photos, the first close-up images of the telescope since December of 1999.

Hubble Sees a Star ‘Inflating’ a Giant Bubble

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

For the 26th birthday of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers are highlighting a Hubble image of an enormous bubble being blown into space by a super-hot, massive star. The Hubble image of the Bubble Nebula, or NGC 7635, was chosen to mark the 26th anniversary of the launch of Hubble into Earth orbit by the STS-31 space shuttle crew on April 24, 1990 “As Hubble makes its 26th revolution around our home star, the sun, we celebrate the event with a spectacular image of a dynamic and exciting interaction of a young star with its environment. The view of the Bubble Nebula, crafted from WFC-3 images, reminds us that Hubble gives us a front row seat to the awe inspiring universe we live in,” said John Grunsfeld, Hubble astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, in Washington, D.C. The Bubble Nebula is seven light-years across—about one-and-a-half times the distance from our sun to its nearest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri, and resides 7,100 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. The seething star forming this nebula is 45 times more massive than our sun. Gas on the star gets so hot that it escapes away into space as a “stellar wind” moving at over four million miles per hour. This outflow sweeps up the cold, interstellar gas in front of it, forming the outer edge of the bubble much like a snowplow piles up snow in front of it as it moves forward. As the surface of the bubble's shell expands outward, it slams into dense regions of cold gas on one side of the bubble. This asymmetry makes the star appear dramatically off-center from the bubble, with its location in the 10 o’clock position in the Hubble view. Dense pillars of cool hydrogen gas laced with dust appear at the upper left of the picture, and more “fingers” can be seen nearly face-on, behind the translucent bubble. The gases heated to varying temperatures emit different colors: oxygen is hot enough to emit blue light in the bubble near the star, while the cooler pillars are yellow from the combined light of hydrogen and nitrogen. The pillars are similar to the iconic columns in the “Pillars of Creation” Eagle Nebula. As seen with the structures in the Eagle Nebula, the Bubble Nebula pillars are being illuminated by the strong ultraviolet radiation from the brilliant star inside the bubble. The Bubble Nebula was discovered in 1787 by William Herschel, a prominent British astronomer. It is being formed by a proto-typical Wolf-Rayet star, BD +60º2522, an extremely bright, massive, and short-lived star that has lost most of its outer hydrogen and is now fusing helium into heavier elements. The star is about four million years old, and in 10 million to 20 million years, it will likely detonate as a supernova. Hubble’s Wide Field Camera-3 imaged the nebula in visible light with unprecedented clarity in February 2016. The colors correspond to blue for oxygen, green for hydrogen, and red for nitrogen. This information will help astronomers understand the geometry and dynamics of this complex system. The Bubble Nebula is one of only a handful of astronomical objects that have been observed with several different instruments onboard Hubble. Hubble also imaged it with the Wide Field Planetary Camera (WFPC) in September 1992, and with Wide Field Planetary Camera-2 (WFPC2) in April 1999. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

My Most Memorable AAS Meeting, or How Stephen Hawking's Chauffeur and Chubby Wise's Fiddle Are Related to the Hubble Deep Field (At Least In My Mind and Experience!)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucas, R. A.

1999-05-01

Sometimes, in the most extraordinary conditions and times, strange things happen which remind us of just how small a world we really inhabit, and how so many varied things may suddenly be juxtaposed in our lives, and in the lives of others. My most memorable AAS meeting involves not only the meeting but events while getting there. It was January 1996, and we had just finished our observations and initial data reduction of the Hubble Deep Field, the members of the HDF working group doggedly coming in to the STScI by various means over the December holidays and the New Year, in the midst of several blizzards which even closed STScI for a number of days. Not surprisingly, work on the HDF AAS presentations was ongoing until the last minute, until people left snowy Baltimore for sunny San Antonio. My street was plowed for the first time in a week a few hours before my 6AM flight, so after digging out my car, with no time for sleep, between 3AM and 6AM on the morning I left, I soon discovered my own surprising connections between Stephen Hawking's chauffeur, Chubby Wise's fiddle, and the Hubble Deep Field. I'll elaborate in this paper if you're curious!

Aesthetic Response and Cosmic Aesthetic Distance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madacsi, D.

2013-04-01

For Homo sapiens, the experience of a primal aesthetic response to nature was perhaps a necessary precursor to the arousal of an artistic impulse. Among the likely visual candidates for primal initiators of aesthetic response, arguments can be made in favor of the flower, the human face and form, and the sky and light itself as primordial aesthetic stimulants. Although visual perception of the sensory world of flowers and human faces and forms is mediated by light, it was most certainly in the sky that humans first could respond to the beauty of light per se. It is clear that as a species we do not yet identify and comprehend as nature, or part of nature, the entire universe beyond our terrestrial environs, the universe from which we remain inexorably separated by space and time. However, we now enjoy a technologically-enabled opportunity to probe the ultimate limits of visual aesthetic distance and the origins of human aesthetic response as we remotely explore deep space via the Hubble Space Telescope and its successors.

KSC-2009-2983

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay is filled with hardware for the STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. At the bottom is the Flight Support System with the Soft Capture mechanism. At center is the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, or COS, and an IMAX 3D camera. At top is the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier with the Wide Field Camera 3. Atlantis' crew will service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope for the fifth and final time. The flight will include five spacewalks during which astronauts will refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments. As a result, Hubble's capabilities will be expanded and its operational lifespan extended through at least 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Servicing Mission 4 and the Extraordinary Science of the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiseman, Jennifer J.

2012-01-01

Just two years ago, NASA astronauts performed a challenging and flawless final Space Shuttle servicing mission to the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. With science instruments repaired on board and two new ones installed, the observatory. is more powerful now than ever before. I will show the dramatic highlights of the servicing mission and present some of the early scientific results from the refurbished telescope. Its high sensitivity and multi-wavelength capabilities are revealing the highest redshift galaxies ever seen, as well as details of the cosmic web of intergalactic medium, large scale structure formation, solar system bodies, and stellar evolution. Enlightening studies of dark matter, dark energy, and exoplanet atmospheres add to the profound contributions to astrophysics that are being made with Hubble, setting a critical stage for future observatories such as the James Webb Space Telescope.

Hubble Captures Celestial Fireworks Within the Large Magellanic Cloud

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

This is a color Hubble Space Telescope (HST) heritage image of supernova remnant N49, a neighboring galaxy, that was taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. Color filters were used to sample light emitted by sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen. The color image was superimposed on a black and white image of stars in the same field also taken with Hubble. Resembling a fireworks display, these delicate filaments are actually sheets of debris from a stellar explosion.

Hubble Space Telescope Angular Velocity Estimation During the Robotic Servicing Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thienel, Julie K.; Queen, Steven Z.; VanEepoel, John M.; Sanner, Robert M.

2005-01-01

During the Hubble Robotic Servicing Mission, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) attitude and rates are necessary to achieve the capture of HST by the Hubble Robotic Vehicle (HRV). The attitude and rates must be determined without the HST gyros or HST attitude estimates. The HRV will be equipped with vision-based sensors, capable of estimating the relative attitude between HST and HRV. The HST attitude is derived from the measured relative attitude and the HRV computed inertial attitude. However, the relative rate between HST and HRV cannot be measured directly. Therefore, the HST rate with respect to inertial space is not known. Two approaches are developed to estimate the HST rates. Both methods utilize the measured relative attitude and the HRV inertial attitude and rates. First, a nonlinear estimator is developed. The nonlinear approach estimates the HST rate through an estimation of the inertial angular momentum. Second, a linearized approach is developed. The linearized approach is based on more traditional Extended Kalman filter techniques. Simulation test results for both methods are given.

The Hubble Catalog of Variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gavras, P.; Bonanos, A. Z.; Bellas-Velidis, I.; Charmandaris, V.; Georgantopoulos, I.; Hatzidimitriou, D.; Kakaletris, G.; Karampelas, A.; Laskaris, N.; Lennon, D. J.; Moretti, M. I.; Pouliasis, E.; Sokolovsky, K.; Spetsieri, Z. T.; Tsinganos, K.; Whitmore, B. C.; Yang, M.

2017-06-01

The Hubble Catalog of Variables (HCV) is a 3 year ESA funded project that aims to develop a set of algorithms to identify variables among the sources included in the Hubble Source Catalog (HSC) and produce the HCV. We will process all HSC sources with more than a predefined number of measurements in a single filter/instrument combination and compute a range of lightcurve features to determine the variability status of each source. At the end of the project, the first release of the Hubble Catalog of Variables will be made available at the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) and the ESA Science Archives. The variability detection pipeline will be implemented at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) so that updated versions of the HCV may be created following the future releases of the HSC.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Redshifts of 65 CANDELS supernovae (Rodney+, 2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodney, S. A.; Riess, A. G.; Strolger, L.-G.; Dahlen, T.; Graur, O.; Casertano, S.; Dickinson, M. E.; Ferguson, H. C.; Garnavich, P.; Hayden, B.; Jha, S. W.; Jones, D. O.; Kirshner, R. P.; Koekemoer, A. M.; McCully, C.; Mobasher, B.; Patel, B.; Weiner, B. J.; Cenko, S. B.; Clubb, K. I.; Cooper, M.; Filippenko, A. V.; Frederiksen, T. F.; Hjorth, J.; Leibundgut, B.; Matheson, T.; Nayyeri, H.; Penner, K.; Trump, J.; Silverman, J. M.; U, V.; Azalee Bostroem, K.; Challis, P.; Rajan, A.; Wolff, S.; Faber, S. M.; Grogin, N. A.; Kocevski, D.

2015-01-01

In this paper we present a measurement of the Type Ia supernova explosion rate as a function of redshift (SNR(z)) from a sample of 65 supernovae discovered in the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) supernova program. This supernova survey is a joint operation of two Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Multi-Cycle Treasury (MCT) programs: CANDELS (PIs: Faber and Ferguson; Grogin et al., 2011ApJS..197...35G; Koekemoer et al., 2011ApJS..197...36K), and the Cluster Lensing and Supernovae search with Hubble (CLASH; PI: Postman; Postman et al. 2012, cat. J/ApJS/199/25). The supernova discovery and follow-up for both programs were allocated to the HST MCT supernova program (PI: Riess). The results presented here are based on the full five fields and ~0.25deg2 of the CANDELS program, observed from 2010 to 2013. A companion paper presents the SN Ia rates from the CLASH sample (Graur et al., 2014ApJ...783...28G). A composite analysis that combines the CANDELS+CLASH supernova sample and revisits past HST surveys will be presented in a future paper. The three-year CANDELS program was designed to probe galaxy evolution out to z~8 with deep infrared and optical imaging of five well-studied extragalactic fields: GOODS-S, GOODS-N (the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey South and North; Giavalisco et al. 2004, cat. II/261), COSMOS (the Cosmic Evolution Survey, Scoville et al., 2007ApJS..172....1S; Koekemoer et al., 2007ApJS..172..196K), UDS (the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey; Lawrence et al. 2007, cat. II/314; Cirasuolo et al., 2007MNRAS.380..585C), EGS (the Extended Groth Strip; Davis et al. 2007, cat. III/248). As described fully in Grogin et al. (2011ApJS..197...35G), the CANDELS program includes both "wide" and "deep" fields. The wide component of CANDELS comprises the COSMOS, UDS, and EGS fields, plus one-third of the GOODS-S field and one half of the GOODS-N field--a total survey area of 730 arcmin2. The "deep" component of CANDELS came from the central 67arcmin2 of each of the GOODS-S and GOODS-N fields. The CANDELS fields analyzed in this work are described in Table 1. (6 data files).

Berkeley Lab Scientists to Play Role in New Space Telescope

Science.gov Websites

circling distant suns, among other science aims. The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) will Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 infrared imager. A Hubble large-scale mapping survey of the survey of the M31 galaxy (shown here) required 432 "pointings" of its imager, while only two

An Intensive Hubble Space Telescope Survey for z>1 Type Ia Supernovae by

Science.gov Websites

Targ SAO/NASA ADS Astronomy Abstract Service Title: An Intensive Hubble Space Telescope Survey Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA; E. O. Lawrence Berkeley National , Clinton, NY 13323, USA), AH(National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 85726-6732, USA), AI

Extravehicular Activity Probabilistic Risk Assessment Overview for Thermal Protection System Repair on the Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bigler, Mark; Canga, Michael A.; Duncan, Gary

2010-01-01

The Shuttle Program initiated an Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) to assess the risks associated with performing a Shuttle Thermal Protection System (TPS) repair during the Space Transportation System (STS)-125 Hubble repair mission as part of risk trades between TPS repair and crew rescue.

Interactive, Collaborative Science via the 'Net: Live from the Hubble Space Telescope.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Federman, Alan N.; Edwards, Sheri

1997-01-01

As a part of the Passport to Knowledge Project "Live from the Hubble Space Telescope," over 60 schools collaborated by making weather observations that were displayed via the Internet during the week of April 15-19, 1996. Describes the weather activity, technical information, and the experiences of participating students in grades 5/6 at…

Hubble Space Telescope On-orbit Transfer Function Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vadlamudi, N.; Blair, M. A.; Clapp, B. R.

1992-01-01

The paper describes the On-orbit Transfer Function Test (TFT) designed for on-orbit vibration testing of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The TFT provides means for extracting accurate on-orbit characteristics of HST flexible body dynamics, making it possible to check periodically the state of the vehicle on-orbit and to assess changes in modal parameters.

STS-31 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) (SA & HGA deployed) is grappled by RMS

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-04-24

STS031-76-026 (25 April 1990) --- Most of the giant Hubble Space Telescope (HST) can be seen as it is suspended in space by Discovery's Remote Manipulator System (RMS) following the deployment of part of its solar panels and antennae. The photo was taken with a handheld Hasselblad camera. This was among the first photos NASA released on April 30, 1990, from the five-day STS 31 mission.

STS-31 pre-deployment checkout of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) on OV-103

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-04-25

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST), grappled by Discovery's, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103's, remote manipulator system (RMS), is oriented in a 90 degree pitch position during STS-31 pre-deployment checkout procedures. The solar array (SA) panel (center) and high gain antennae (HGA) (on either side) are stowed along the Support System Module (SSM) forward shell prior to deployment. The sun highlights HST against the blackness of space.

Upgraded Hubble Space Telescope Images

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-09-08

U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., left foreground, NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, center, and NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, right, along with members of the STS-125 and STS-31 space shuttle crews listen during a press conference where NASA unveiled new images from the Hubble Space Telescope Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The unveiled images were from four of the telescopes' six operating science instruments. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Development of a Virtual Company to Support the Reengineering of the NASA/Goddard Hubble Space Telescope Control Center System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lehtonen, Ken

1999-01-01

This is a report to the Third Annual International Virtual Company Conference, on The Development of a Virtual Company to Support the Reengineering of the NASA/Goddard Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Control Center System. It begins with a HST Science "Commercial": Brief Tour of Our Universe showing various pictures taken from the Hubble Space Telescope. The presentation then reviews the project background and goals. Evolution of the Control Center System ("CCS Inc.") is then reviewed. Topics of Interest to "virtual companies" are reviewed: (1) "How To Choose A Team" (2) "Organizational Model" (3) "The Human Component" (4) "'Virtual Trust' Among Teaming Companies" (5) "Unique Challenges to Working Horizontally" (6) "The Cultural Impact" (7) "Lessons Learned".

KSC-2009-2784

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-04-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. –– On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the payload canister is lifted toward the payload changeout room, or PCR, on the rotating service structure. The red umbilical lines are still attached. The canister's cargo of Hubble Space Telescope equipment will be deposited in the PCR and later transferred to the payload bay on space shuttle Atlantis, at right. Atlantis' 11-day STS-125 mission to service Hubble is targeted for launch May 12. The flight will include five spacewalks in which astronauts will refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments. As a result, Hubble's capabilities will be expanded and its operational lifespan extended through at least 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

A Lyman Break Galaxy in the Epoch of Reionization from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Grism Spectroscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rhoads, James E.; Malhotra, Sangeeta; Stern, Daniel K.; Gardner, Jonathan P.; Dickinson, Mark; Pirzkal, Norbert; Spinrad, Hyron; Reddy, Naveen; Dey, Arjun; Hathi, Nimish;

The Hubble Space Telescope Frontier Fields Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koekemoer, Anton M.; Mack, Jennifer; Lotz, Jennifer M.; Borncamp, David; Khandrika, Harish G.; Lucas, Ray A.; Martlin, Catherine; Porterfield, Blair; Sunnquist, Ben; Anderson, Jay; Avila, Roberto J.; Barker, Elizabeth A.; Grogin, Norman A.; Gunning, Heather C.; Hilbert, Bryan; Ogaz, Sara; Robberto, Massimo; Sembach, Kenneth; Flanagan, Kathryn; Mountain, Matt

2017-08-01

The Hubble Space Telescope Frontier Fields program is a large Director's Discretionary program of 840 orbits, to obtain ultra-deep observations of six strong lensing clusters of galaxies, together with parallel deep blank fields, making use of the strong lensing amplification by these clusters of distant background galaxies to detect the faintest galaxies currently observable in the high-redshift universe. The entire program has now completed successfully for all 6 clusters, namely Abell 2744, Abell S1063, Abell 370, MACS J0416.1-2403, MACS J0717.5+3745 and MACS J1149.5+2223,. Each of these was observed over two epochs, to a total depth of 140 orbits on the main cluster and an associated parallel field, obtaining images in ACS (F435W, F606W, F814W) and WFC3/IR (F105W, F125W, F140W, F160W) on both the main cluster and the parallel field in all cases. Full sets of high-level science products have been generated for all these clusters by the team at STScI, including cumulative-depth data releases during each epoch, as well as full-depth releases after the completion of each epoch. These products include all the full-depth distortion-corrected drizzled mosaics and associated products for each cluster, which are science-ready to facilitate the construction of lensing models as well as enabling a wide range of other science projects. Many improvements beyond default calibration for ACS and WFC3/IR are implemented in these data products, including corrections for persistence, time-variable sky, and low-level dark current residuals, as well as improvements in astrometric alignment to achieve milliarcsecond-level accuracy. The full set of resulting high-level science products and mosaics are publicly delivered to the community via the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) to enable the widest scientific use of these data, as well as ensuring a public legacy dataset of the highest possible quality that is of lasting value to the entire community.

Correcting Hubble Vision.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, John M.; Sheahen, Thomas P.

1994-01-01

Describes the theory behind the workings of the Hubble Space Telescope, the spherical aberration in the primary mirror that caused a reduction in image quality, and the corrective device that compensated for the error. (JRH)

Galaxy NGC 1512

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

A rainbow of colors is captured in the center of a magnificent barred spiral galaxy, as witnessed by the three cameras of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

The color-composite image of the galaxy NGC 1512 was created from seven images taken with the JPL-designed and built Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC-2), along with the Faint Object Camera and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer. Hubble's unique vantage point high above the atmosphere allows astronomers to see objects over a broad range of wavelengths from the ultraviolet to the infrared and to detect differences in the regions around newly born stars.

The new image is online at http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/2001/16 and http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/wfpc .

The image reveals a stunning 2,400 light-year-wide circle of infant star clusters in the center of NGC 1512. Located 30 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Horologium, NGC 1512 is a neighbor of our Milky Way galaxy.

With the Hubble data, a team of Israeli and American astronomers performed one of the broadest, most detailed studies ever of such star-forming regions. Results will appear in the June issue of the Astronomical Journal. The team includes Dr. Dan Maoz, Tel-Aviv University, Israel and Columbia University, New York, N.Y.; Dr. Aaron J. Barth, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass.; Dr. Luis C. Ho, The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington; Dr. Amiel Sternberg, Tel-Aviv University, Israel; and Dr. Alexei V. Filippenko, University of California, Berkeley.

The Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md., manages space operations for the Hubble Space Telescope for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc., for NASA under contract with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Additional information about the Hubble Space Telescope is online at http://www.stsci.edu . More information about the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 is at http://wfpc2.jpl.nasa.gov.

The Hubble Deep UV Legacy Survey (HDUV)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montes, Mireia; Oesch, Pascal

2015-08-01

Deep HST imaging has shown that the overall star formation density and UV light density at z>3 is dominated by faint, blue galaxies. Remarkably, very little is known about the equivalent galaxy population at lower redshifts. Understanding how these galaxies evolve across the epoch of peak cosmic star-formation is key to a complete picture of galaxy evolution. Here, we present a new HST WFC3/UVIS program, the Hubble Deep UV (HDUV) legacy survey. The HDUV is a 132 orbit program to obtain deep imaging in two filters (F275W and F336W) over the two CANDELS Deep fields. We will cover ~100 arcmin2 sampling the rest-frame far-UV at z>~0.5, this will provide a unique legacy dataset with exquisite HST multi-wavelength imaging as well as ancillary HST grism NIR spectroscopy for a detailed study of faint, star-forming galaxies at z~0.5-2. The HDUV will enable a wealth of research by the community, which includes tracing the evolution of the FUV luminosity function over the peak of the star formation rate density from z~3 down to z~0.5, measuring the physical properties of sub-L* galaxies, and characterizing resolved stellar populations to decipher the build-up of the Hubble sequence from sub-galactic clumps. This poster provides an overview of the HDUV survey and presents the reduced data products and catalogs which will be released to the community, reaching down to 27.5-28.0 mag at 5 sigma. By directly sampling the rest-frame far-UV at z>~0.5, this will provide a unique legacy dataset with exquisite HST multi-wavelength imaging as well as ancillary HST grism NIR spectroscopy for a detailed study of faint, star-forming galaxies at z~0.5-2. The HDUV will enable a wealth of research by the community, which includes tracing the evolution of the FUV luminosity function over the peak of the star formation rate density from z~3 down to z~0.5, measuring the physical properties of sub-L* galaxies, and characterizing resolved stellar populations to decipher the build-up of the Hubble sequence from sub-galactic clumps. This poster provides an overview of the HDUV survey and presents reduced data products and catalogs which will be released to the community.

The Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dickinson, Mark

2008-05-01

Observing the formation and evolution of ordinary galaxies at early cosmic times requires data at many wavelengths in order to recognize, separate and analyze the many physical processes which shape galaxies' history, including the growth of large scale structure, gravitational interactions, star formation, and active nuclei. Extremely deep data, covering an adequately large volume, are needed to detect ordinary galaxies in sufficient numbers at such great distances. The Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) was designed for this purpose as an anthology of deep field observing programs that span the electromagnetic spectrum. GOODS targets two fields, one in each hemisphere. Some of the deepest and most extensive imaging and spectroscopic surveys have been carried out in the GOODS fields, using nearly every major space- and ground-based observatory. Many of these data have been taken as part of large, public surveys (including several Hubble Treasury, Spitzer Legacy, and ESO Large Programs), which have produced large data sets that are widely used by the astronomical community. I will review the history of the GOODS program, highlighting results on the formation and early growth of galaxies and their active nuclei. I will also describe new and upcoming observations, such as the GOODS Herschel Key Program, which will continue to fill out our portrait of galaxies in the young universe.

LARGE SCALE REFRIGERATION PLANT FOR GROUND TESTING THE JAMES WEBB TELESCOPE AT NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

P. Arnold, Lutz Decker, D. Howe, J. Urbin, Jonathan Homan, Carl Reis, J. Creel, V. Ganni, P. Knudsen, A. Sidi-Yekhlef

The James Webb Telescope is the successor to the Hubble Telescope and will be placed in an orbit of 1.5 million km from earth. Before launch in 2014, the telescope will be tested in NASA Johnson Space Center's (JSC) space simulation chamber, Chamber A. The tests will be conducted at deep space conditions. Chamber A's helium cryo-panels are currently cooled down to 20 K by two Linde 3.5 kW helium refrigerators. The new 12.5 kW, 20-K helium coldbox described in this paper is part of the upgrade to the chamber systems for this large test program. The Linde coldbox willmore » provide refrigeration in several operating modes where the temperature of the chamber is being controlled with a high accuracy due to the demanding NASA test requirements. The implementation of two parallel expansion turbine strings and the Ganni cycle—Floating Pressure process results in a highly efficient and flexible process that minimizes the electrical input power. This paper will describe the collaboration and execution of the coldbox project.« less

Hubble-V

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-12-10

Resembling curling flames from a campfire, a magnificent nebula in a nearby galaxy observed by NASA Hubble Space Telescope provides new insight into the fierce birth of stars as it may have occurred in the early universe.

17. NBS TOOL ROOM. MISCELLANEOUS TOOLS USED DURING EXTRA VEHICULAR ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

17. NBS TOOL ROOM. MISCELLANEOUS TOOLS USED DURING EXTRA VEHICULAR ACTIVITY (EVA) MISSIONS AND NBS TRAINING. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT THE TOOLS ARE: SHUTTLE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM (STS) PORTABLE FOOT RESTRAINT (PFR), ESSEX WRENCH, SOCKET WRENCH, SAFETY TETHER REEL (LEFT REAR), MINI WORKSTATION (CENTER REAR), TETHERS (FRONT CENTER), HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE (HST) POWER TOOL (FRONT RIGHT), HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE & PORTABLE FOOT RESTRAINT (REAR RIGHT). - Marshall Space Flight Center, Neutral Buoyancy Simulator Facility, Rideout Road, Huntsville, Madison County, AL

STS-31 pre-deployment checkout of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) on OV-103

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-04-25

View taken through overhead window W7 aboard Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, shows the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) grappled by the remote manipulator system (RMS) and held in a 90 degree pitch position against the blackness of space. The solar array (SA) panel (center) and the high gain antennae (HGA) (on either side) are visible along the Support System Module (SSM) forward shell prior to deployment during STS-31.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) grappled by OV-103's RMS during STS-31 checkout

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-04-25

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST), grappled by Discovery's, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103's, remote manipulator system (RMS), is held in a pre-deployment position. During STS-31 checkout procedures, the solar array (SA) panels and the high gain antennae (HGA) will be deployed. The starboard SA (center) and the two HGA are stowed along side the Support System Module (SSM) forward shell. The sun highlights HST against the blackness of space.

Hubble Space Telescope,Spitzer Space Telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-01-11

This image showcases both the visible and infrared visualizations of the Orion Nebula. This view from a movie sequence looks down the 'valley' leading to the star cluster at the far end. The left side of the image shows the visible-light visualization, which fades to the infrared-light visualization on the right. These two contrasting models derive from observations by the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. An animation is available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22089

European astronaut selected for the third Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1998-08-01

The STS-104 crew will rendezvous with the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope, which is the size of a city bus, capture it using the Shuttle's Canadian robot arm and secure it in Columbia's payload bay. Then, working in teams of two, the four astronauts will leave the Shuttle's pressurised cabin and venture into the payload bay, performing a variety of tasks that will improve the productivity and reliability of the telescope. The four astronauts will perform a series of six "extravehicular" activities in the open space environment. Such activities are commonly called spacewalks, but this term does little justice to the considerable physical and mental efforts that astronauts need to make in doing the very demanding work involved. The Shuttle commander and pilot for this flight have not yet been appointed, but the four designated mission specialists begin training for the STS-104 mission immediately. "The ambitious nature of this mission, with its six spacewalks, made it important for the payload crew to begin training as early as possible," said David C. Leestma, NASA Director of Flight Crew Operations at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, to which Claude Nicollier is on resident assignment from ESA's European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, the home base of the European astronaut corps. The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit in April 1990. It is one of the most capable optical telescopes available to astronomers today, producing images and spectral observations at the forefront of astronomy. The European Space Agency contributed a 15 share to the development of Hubble. One of the five scientific instruments on board, the Faint Object Camera, was built by a European industrial consortium made up of British Aerospace, Dornier and Matra under a contract with the European Space Agency. The solar arrays which provide Hubble with electrical power were manufactured by British Aerospace and Dornier. In its eight years of operation, the telescope has not only observed relatively near celestial objects, like the planets in our solar system, but also looked thousands of millions of light years into space, taking images of the most distant galaxies ever seen. "The observations and spectral measurements taken with Hubble have improved our understanding of the origin and age of the universe. In some cases, the Hubble Space Telescope has already changed our thinking about the evolution of planetary systems, stars and galaxies," points out Roger Bonnet, ESA's Director of Science. Astronomers throughout the world are using the telescope. European astronomers have a significant share in the scientific utilisation of Hubble. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, USA, coordinates and schedules the various observations. Europe's centre for coordinating observations from Hubble, the Space Telescope European Coordination Facility, is located at the Headquarters of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) at Garching, near Munich, Germany. The Hubble Space Telescope is the first spacecraft ever built that has been designed for extensive in-orbit maintenance and refurbishment by astronauts. Unlike other satellites launched on unmanned rockets, Hubble is accessible by astronauts in orbit. It has numerous grapple fixtures and handholds for ease of access and the safety of astronauts. Hence the telescope's planned 15-year continuous operating time, despite the harsh environmental conditions, and the ability to upgrade it with more powerful instruments as technology progresses. At regular intervals of 3 to 4 years, the US Space Shuttle visits the telescope in orbit to replace components which have failed or reached the nominal end of their operational lifetime and to replace and upgrade instruments with newer, better ones. STS-104 will be the third Hubble servicing mission, after STS-61 in December 1993 and STS-82 in February 1997. To increase Hubble's scientific capability, Nicollier and his fellow crew members from NASA will remove the European-built Faint Object Camera, which has been working without any problem since the launch in 1990, and replace it with a new-generation instrument, called the Advanced Camera for Survey. With its three electronic cameras and complement of filters, this camera is expected to improve the telescope's sensitivity tenfold. Other primary tasks to be accomplished during STS-104 mission include replacement of the existing solar arrays with rigid, high-efficiency arrays for which ESA will deliver the mechanisms, manufactured by Daimler-Benz Aerospace/Dornier. In common with optical instruments, solar arrays gradually decline in performance when exposed to the space environment. Further tasks are the replacement of a mechanical tape recorder with a new-generation solid-state recorder and the replacement of Fine Guidance Sensor no. 2, one of three such devices that help to point the telescope at a celestial target with an accuracy of 0.007 arc seconds. This is equivalent to keeping the telescope pointed at a candle in Amsterdam from Vevey, Switzerland, about 700 km away, where Nicollier was born. The crew will also install a cooling system to improve the thermal protection of some of the telescope's systems, a new-technology cryogenic cooler for the Near Infrared Camera and Mutli-Object Spectrometer instrument and six improvement kits which will enhance Hubble's battery charge capability. In addition, they will repair and replace much of the multi-layer exterior thermal insulation on the sun-facing side of the telescope. On the second Hubble servicing mission, STS-82 in February 1997, the crew noticed peeling on several areas of the insulation and applied four patches to the worst affected areas. Both Smith and Nicollier have previous in-flight experience with Hubble: Smith performed three extravehicular sorties during the STS-82 mission to Hubble and Nicollier operated the Shuttle's Canadian robot arm during the first servicing mission on the STS-61 mission in 1993. Foale has conducted extravehicular activities from both the Space Shuttle and the Russian Mir space station. Grunsfeld has two previous spaceflights to his credit. For Nicollier, who was selected by ESA in 1978 in the first group of European astronauts, it will be the fourth flight into space, more than any other European astronaut to date. Prior to taking part in the first Hubble servicing mission in December 1993, he was a mission specialist on the August 1992 STS-46 mission during which Eureca - the European retrievable experiment platform - was deployed and the first Tethered Satellite System test flight conducted. In February 1996 he participated in STS-75, which carried the US Microgravity Payload experiments and the second flight test of the Tethered Satellite System. Nicollier, who is delighted and honoured to be reassigned to a Hubble servicing mission, points out: "obviously, it makes sense to take advantage of our previous training and mission-specific experience to increase the likelihood of success, but it will nevertheless be a complex and demanding flight. 'Routine' is a word that has no place in astronaut's vocabulary." With three previous space missions, Nicollier is thoroughly experienced in the operation of the Shuttle's robotic arm and the procedures associated with meeting, capturing and redeploying free-flying platforms from the US Space Shuttle. Regular contacts with European development engineers ensure that Nicollier's experience from the Shuttle missions will also flow into the development of European elements for the International Space Station, most notably the Automated Transfer Vehicle and the European Robotic Arm. "Together with the selection of Pedro Duque for the STS-95 mission in October this year, and others we confidently expect in the future, the selection of Claude Nicollier, who is one of ESA's most experienced astronauts, is a clear signal of the high esteem in which NASA holds high professional skills and human qualities of Claude and the other European astronauts. This is a sound basis for fruitful cooperation of mutual benefit on the International Space Station, where astronauts from the USA, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada will work together closely as a single integrated crew. It is also very useful to the development work on the European-built Station elements," comments Jörg Feustel-Büechl, who, as ESA Director of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity, is responsible not only for the European astronaut corps but for the European participation in the International Space Station as well. Feustel-Büechl also points out that "the Hubble servicingmission shows that men and women can significantly augment the efficiency and lifetime of complex systems in space. Humans have two essential 'built-in tools' which make them superior to any robot: their brain and their hands. No robot offers a comparable combination of high intelligence, adaptability to unexpected situations, mobility, dexterity and tactility. Robotic systems can perform pre-defined routine tasks and even support astronauts in their work, as the Shuttle's robotic arm shows, but they soon reach their inherent limitations when it comes to evaluating results and deciding what to do next. That is one of the key reasons why we are building and operating a manned space station." Additional information on Claude Nicollier, his NASA crewmates, the Hubble Space Telescope, the International Space Station and Europe's participation in the ISS programme can be found at the following Internet addresses: ESA astronauts: http://www.estec.esa.int/spaceflight/astronaut/ NASA astronauts: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/ Hubble Space Telescope: http://sci.esa.int/hubble/ http://oposite.stsci.edu http://www.stsci.edu http://ecf.hq.eso.org International Space Station: http://station.nasa.gov European participation in the International Space Station: http://www.estec.esa.int/spaceflight More information on ESA can be found at: http://www.esa.int

Hubble Space Telescope Discovery of a z = 3.9 Multiply Imaged Galaxy Behind

Science.gov Websites

the SAO/NASA ADS Astronomy Abstract Service Title: Hubble Space Telescope Discovery of a z College, Clinton, NY 13323, USA), AI(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA), AJ(Institute of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo 2-21-1

Near-ultraviolet imaging of Jupiter's satellite Io with the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paresce, F.; Sartoretti, P.; Albrecht, R.; Barbieri, C.; Blades, J. C.; Boksenberg, A.; Crane, P.; Deharveng, J. M.; Disney, M. J.; Jakobsen, P.

1992-01-01

The surface of Jupiter's Galilean satellite Io has been resolved for the first time in the near ultraviolet at 2850 A by the Faint Object Camera (FOC) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The restored images reveal significant surface structure down to the resolution limit of the optical system corresponding to approximately 250 km at the sub-earth point.

Upgraded Hubble Space Telescope Images

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-09-08

NASA Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate Dr. Edward J. Weiler speaks at the podium as Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., left, listens during a press conference where NASA unveiled new images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The images were from four of the telescopes' six operating science instruments. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Astronaut Anna Fisher in NBS Training For Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a cooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) to operate a long-lived space-based observatory. It was the flagship mission of NASA's Great Observatories program. The HST program began as an astronomical dream in the 1940s. During the 1970s and 1980s, the HST was finally designed and built becoming operational in the 1990s. The HST was deployed into a low-Earth orbit on April 25, 1990 from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). The design of the HST took into consideration its length of service and the necessity of repairs and equipment replacement by making the body modular. In doing so, subsequent shuttle missions could recover the HST, replace faulty or obsolete parts and be re-released. Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS) served as the test center for shuttle astronauts training for Hubble related missions. Shown is astronaut Anna Fisher training on a mock-up of a modular section of the HST for an axial scientific instrument change out.

KSC-98pc1137

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-09-23

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST) is suspended above its work stand in the Space Station Processing Facility before moving it to its payload canister. The HOST platform is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an Earth-orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry other payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH-3), and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

KSC-98pc1036

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-09-04

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST) is checked out by technicians in the Space Shuttle Processing Facility. One of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, the HOST platform is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry three other payloads: the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

KSC-2009-2426

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH, arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission. This unit will replace the one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The SIC&DH is being prepared for integration onto the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. The carrier holds the payload for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission servicing NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch May 12. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2009-2427

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH, is transferred inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission. This unit will replace the one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The SIC&DH is being prepared for integration onto the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier .The carrier holds the payload for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission servicing NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch May 12. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

The Hubble Spectroscopic Legacy Archive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peeples, M.; Tumlinson, J.; Fox, A.; Aloisi, A.; Fleming, S.; Jedrzejewski, R.; Oliveira, C.; Ayres, T.; Danforth, C.; Keeney, B.; Jenkins, E.

2017-04-01

With no future space ultraviolet instruments currently planned, the data from the UV spectrographs aboard the Hubble Space Telescope have a legacy value beyond their initial science goals. The goal of the Hubble Spectroscopic Legacy Archive(HSLA) is to provide to the community new science-grade combined spectra for all publicly available data obtained by the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS)and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). These data are packaged into "smart archives" according to target type and scientific themes to facilitate the construction of archival samples for common science uses. A new "quick look" capability makes the data easy for users to quickly access, assess the quality of,and download for archival science. The first generation of these products for the far-ultraviolet (FUV) modes of COS was made available online via the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) in early 2016 and updated in early 2017; future releases will include COS/NUV and STIS/UV data.

KSC-2009-2982

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay is filled with hardware for the STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. From the bottom are the Flight Support System with the Soft Capture mechanism and Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier with the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH; the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, or COS, and an IMAX 3D camera; and the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier with the Wide Field Camera 3. Atlantis' crew will service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope for the fifth and final time. The flight will include five spacewalks during which astronauts will refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments. As a result, Hubble's capabilities will be expanded and its operational lifespan extended through at least 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2009-2981

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay is filled with hardware for the STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. At the bottom are the Flight Support System with the Soft Capture mechanism and Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier with the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH. At center is the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, or COS, and an IMAX 3D camera. At top is the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier with the Wide Field Camera 3. Atlantis' crew will service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope for the fifth and final time. The flight will include five spacewalks during which astronauts will refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments. As a result, Hubble's capabilities will be expanded and its operational lifespan extended through at least 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2009-2980

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-08

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay is filled with hardware for the STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. From the bottom are the Flight Support System with the Soft Capture mechanism and Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier with the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH. At center is the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, or COS, and an IMAX 3D camera. At top is the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier with the Wide Field Camera 3. Atlantis' crew will service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope for the fifth and final time. The flight will include five spacewalks during which astronauts will refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments. As a result, Hubble's capabilities will be expanded and its operational lifespan extended through at least 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The Hubble Space Telescope: UV, Visible, and Near-Infrared Pursuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiseman, Jennifer

2010-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope continues to push the limits on world-class astrophysics. Cameras including the Advanced Camera for Surveys and the new panchromatic Wide Field Camera 3 which was installed nu last year's successful servicing mission S2N4,o{fer imaging from near-infrared through ultraviolet wavelengths. Spectroscopic studies of sources from black holes to exoplanet atmospheres are making great advances through the versatile use of STIS, the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. The new Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, also installed last year, is the most sensitive UV spectrograph to fly io space and is uniquely suited to address particular scientific questions on galaxy halos, the intergalactic medium, and the cosmic web. With these outstanding capabilities on HST come complex needs for laboratory astrophysics support including atomic and line identification data. I will provide an overview of Hubble's current capabilities and the scientific programs and goals that particularly benefit from the studies of laboratory astrophysics.

Hubble Spies Spectacular Sombrero

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-05-05

Lying at the southern edge of the rich Virgo cluster of galaxies, Messier 104, also called the Sombrero galaxy, is one of the most famous objects in the sky in this image from NASA Hubble Space Telescope.

History of Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-02-08

This photo, captured by the NASA Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) Advanced Camera for Surveys, is Hubble's latest view of an expanding halo of light around the distant star V838 Monocerotis, or V Mon, caused by an unusual stellar outburst that occurred back in January 2002. A burst of light from the bizarre star is spreading into space and reflecting off of surrounding circumstellar dust. As different parts are sequentially illuminated, the appearance of the dust changes. This effect is referred to as a "light echo". Located about 20,000 light-years away in the winter constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn), the star brightened to more than 600,000 times our Sun's luminosity. The light echo gives the illusion of contracting, until it finally disappears by the end of the decade.

The Hubble Spectroscopic Legacy Archive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peeples, Molly S.; Tumlinson, Jason; Fox, Andrew; Aloisi, Alessandra; Ayres, Thomas R.; Danforth, Charles; Fleming, Scott W.; Jenkins, Edward B.; Jedrzejewski, Robert I.; Keeney, Brian A.; Oliveira, Cristina M.

2016-01-01

With no future space ultraviolet instruments currently planned, the data from the UV spectrographs aboard the Hubble Space Telescope have a legacy value beyond their initial science goals. The Hubble Spectroscopic Legacy Archive will provide to the community new science-grade combined spectra for all publicly available data obtained by the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). These data will be packaged into "smart archives" according to target type and scientific themes to facilitate the construction of archival samples for common science uses. A new "quick look" capability will make the data easy for users to quickly access, assess the quality of, and download for archival science starting in Cycle 24, with the first generation of these products for the FUV modes of COS available online via MAST in early 2016.

Hubble Legacy Archive And The Public

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, Jessica; Whitmore, B.; Eisenhamer, B.; Bishop, M.; Knisely, L.

2012-01-01

The Hubble Legacy Archive (HLA) at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) hosts the Image of the Month (IOTM) Series. The HLA is a joint project of STScI, the Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF), and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC). The HLA is designed optimize science from the Hubble Space Telescope by providing online enhanced Hubble products and advanced browsing capabilities. The IOTM's are created for astronomers and the public to highlight various features within HLA, such as the "Interactive Display", "Footprint” and "Inventory” features to name a few. We have been working with the Office of Public Outreach (OPO) to create a standards based educational module for middle school to high school students of the IOTM: Rings and the Moons of Uranus. The set of Uranus activities are highlighted by a movie that displays the orbit of five of Uranus’ largest satellites. We made the movie based on eight visits of Uranus from 2000-06-16 to 2000-06-18, using the PC chip on the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and filter F850LP (proposal ID: 8680). Students will be engaged in activities that will allow them to "discover” the rings and satellites around Uranus, calculate the orbit of the satellites, and introduces students to analyze real data from Hubble.

Landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-125 Mission

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-24

STS125-S-062 (24 May 2009) --- Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, ending the STS-125 mission to repair and upgrade NASA?s Hubble Space Telescope. Onboard are astronauts Scott Altman, commander; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino and Andrew Feustel, all mission specialists. The main landing gear touched down at 8:39:05 a.m. (PDT) on May 24, 2009. Nose gear touchdown was at 8:39:15 a.m. Wheel-stop was at 8:40:15 a.m., bringing the mission?s elapsed time to 12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes, 9 seconds. Landing opportunities on May 22, May 23 and May 24 were waved off due to weather concerns at NASA?s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttle?s primary landing site. Through five spacewalks, the Hubble Space Telescope was refurbished and upgraded with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014.

Landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-125 Mission

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-24

STS125-S-064 (24 May 2009) --- Space Shuttle Atlantis approaches landing on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, ending the STS-125 mission to repair and upgrade NASA?s Hubble Space Telescope. Onboard are astronauts Scott Altman, commander; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino and Andrew Feustel, all mission specialists. The main landing gear touched down at 8:39:05 a.m. (PDT) on May 24, 2009. Nose gear touchdown was at 8:39:15 a.m. Wheel-stop was at 8:40:15 a.m., bringing the mission?s elapsed time to 12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes, 9 seconds. Landing opportunities on May 22, May 23 and May 24 were waved off due to weather concerns at NASA?s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttle?s primary landing site. Through five spacewalks, the Hubble Space Telescope was refurbished and upgraded with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014.

Landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-125 Mission

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-24

STS125-S-063 (24 May 2009) --- Space Shuttle Atlantis approaches landing on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, ending the STS-125 mission to repair and upgrade NASA?s Hubble Space Telescope. Onboard are astronauts Scott Altman, commander; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino and Andrew Feustel, all mission specialists. The main landing gear touched down at 8:39:05 a.m. (PDT) on May 24, 2009. Nose gear touchdown was at 8:39:15 a.m. Wheel-stop was at 8:40:15 a.m., bringing the mission?s elapsed time to 12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes, 9 seconds. Landing opportunities on May 22, May 23 and May 24 were waved off due to weather concerns at NASA?s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttle?s primary landing site. Through five spacewalks, the Hubble Space Telescope was refurbished and upgraded with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014.

A Scientific Revolution: The Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Jonathan P.

2010-01-01

Astronomy is going through a scientific revolution, responding to a flood of data from the Hubble Space Telescope, other space missions, and large telescopes on the ground. In this talk, I will discuss some of the important discoveries of the last decade, from dwarf planets in the outer Solar System to the mysterious dark energy that overcomes gravity to accelerate the expansion of the Universe. The next decade will be equally bright with the newly refurbished Hubble and the promise of its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. An infrared-optimized 6.5m space telescope, Webb is designed to find the first galaxies that formed in the early universe and to peer into the dusty gas clouds where stars and planets are born. With MEMS technology, a deployed primary mirror and a tennis-court sized sunshield, the mission presents many technical challenges. I will describe Webb's scientific goals, its design and recent progress in constructing the observatory. Webb is scheduled for launch in 2014.

Lonely Galaxy Lost in Space

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-06-10

Most galaxies are clumped together in groups or clusters. A neighboring galaxy is never far away. But this galaxy, known as NGC 6503, has found itself in a lonely position, at the edge of a strangely empty patch of space called the Local Void. The Local Void is a huge stretch of space that is at least 150 million light-years across. It seems completely empty of stars or galaxies. The galaxy’s odd location on the edge of this never-land led stargazer Stephen James O’Meara to dub it the “Lost-In-Space galaxy” in his 2007 book, Hidden Treasures. NGC 6503 is 18 million light-years away from us in the northern circumpolar constellation of Draco. NGC 6503 spans some 30,000 light-years, about a third of the size of the Milky Way. This Hubble Space Telescope image shows NGC 6503 in striking detail and with a rich set of colors. Bright red patches of gas can be seen scattered through its swirling spiral arms, mixed with bright blue regions that contain newly forming stars. Dark brown dust lanes snake across the galaxy’s bright arms and center, giving it a mottled appearance. The Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys data for NGC 6503 were taken in April 2003, and the Wide Field Camera 3 data were taken in August 2013. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington, D.C. Photo Credit: NASA, ESA, D. Calzetti (University of Massachusetts), H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University), and the Hubble Heritage Team NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

STS-31 pre-deployment checkout of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) on OV-103

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-04-25

During STS-31 checkout, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is held in a pre-deployment position by Discovery's, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103's, remote manipulator system (RMS). The view, taken from the crew cabin overhead window W7, shows the starboard solar array (SA) panel (center) and two high gain antennae (HGA) (on either side) stowed along side the Support System Module (SSM) forward shell. The sun highlights HST against the blackness of space.

HST deployed after repairs

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-09

STS109-E-5700 (9 March 2002) --- The Hubble Space Telescope, sporting new solar arrays and other important but less visible new hardware, begins its separation from the Space Shuttle Columbia. The STS-109 crew deployed the giant telescope at 4:04 a.m. CST (1004 GMT), March 9, 2002. Afterward, the seven crew members began to focus their attention to the trip home, scheduled for March 12. The STS-109 astronauts conducted five space walks to service and upgrade Hubble. This image was recorded with a digital still camera.

HST deployed after repairs

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-09

STS109-E-5704 (9 March 2002) --- The Hubble Space Telescope, sporting new solar arrays and other important but less visible new hardware, begins its separation from the Space Shuttle Columbia. The STS-109 crew deployed the giant telescope at 4:04 a.m. CST (1004 GMT), March 9, 2002. Afterward, the seven crew members began to focus their attention to the trip home, scheduled for March 12. The STS-109 astronauts conducted five space walks to service and upgrade Hubble. This image was recorded with a digital still camera.

HST deployed after repairs

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-09

STS109-E-5703 (9 March 2002) --- The Hubble Space Telescope, sporting new solar arrays and other important but less visible new hardware, begins its separation from the Space Shuttle Columbia. The STS-109 crew deployed the giant telescope at 4:04 a.m. CST (1004 GMT), March 9, 2002. Afterward, the seven crew members began to focus their attention to the trip home, scheduled for March 12. The STS-109 astronauts conducted five space walks to service and upgrade Hubble. This image was recorded with a digital still camera.

Hubble Space Telescope Medium Deep Survey. 2: Deconvolution of Wide Field Camera field galaxy images in the 13 hour + 43 deg field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Windhorst, R. A.; Schmidtke, P. C.; Pascarelle, S. M.; Gordon, J. M.; Griffiths, R. E.; Ratnatunga, K. U.; Neuschaefer, L. W.; Ellis, R. S.; Gilmore, G.; Glazebrook, K.

1994-01-01

We present isophotal profiles of six faint field galaxies from some of the first deep images taken for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Medium Deep Survey (MDS). These have redshifts in the range z = 0.126 to 0.402. The images were taken with the Wide Field Camera (WFC) in `parallel mode' and deconvolved with the Lucy method using as the point-spread function nearby stars in the image stack. The WFC deconvolutions have a dynamic range of 16 to 20 dB (4 to 5 mag) and an effective resolution approximately less than 0.2 sec (FWHM). The multiorbit HST images allow us to trace the morphology, light profiles, and color gradients of faint field galaxies down to V approximately equal to 22 to 23 mag at sub-kpc resolution, since the redshift range covered is z = 0.1 to 0.4. The goals of the MDS are to study the sub-kpc scale morphology, light profiles, and color gradients for a large samole of faint field galaxies down to V approximately equal to 23 mag, and to trace the fraction of early to late-type galaxies as function of cosmic time. In this paper we study the brighter MDS galaxies in the 13 hour + 43 deg MDS field in detail, and investigate to what extent model fits with pure exponential disks or a(exp 1/4) bulges are justified at V approximately less than 22 mag. Four of the six field galaxies have light profiles that indicate (small) inner bulges following r(exp 1/4) laws down to 0.2 sec resolution, plus a dominant surrounding exponential disk with little or no color gradients. Two occur in a group at z = 0.401, two are barred spiral galaxies at z = 0.179 and z = 0.302, and two are rather subluminous (and edge-on) disk galaxies at z = 0.126 and z = 0.179. Our deep MDS images can detect galaxies down to V, I approximately less than 25 to 26 mag, and demonstrate the impressive potential of HST--even with its pre-refurbished optics--to resolve morphological details in galaxies at cosmologically significant distances (v approximately less than 23 mag). Since the median redshift of these galaxies is approximately less than 0.4, the HST resolution allows us to study sub kpc size scales at the galaxy, which cannot be done with stable images over wide fields from the best ground-based sites.

Hubble IMAX Premier

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-03-09

Dr. Ed Weiler, left, is interviewed by Miles O'Brien prior to the World Premiere of "Hubble 3D", screened at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum Tuesday evening, March 9, 2010, in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

Hubble Frontier Field Abell 2744

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-07

This long-exposure image from NASA Hubble Space Telescope of massive galaxy cluster Abell 2744 is the deepest ever made of any cluster of galaxies. Shown in the foreground is Abell 2744, located in the constellation Sculptor.

MUSE deep-fields: the Ly α luminosity function in the Hubble Deep Field-South at 2.91 < z < 6.64

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drake, Alyssa B.; Guiderdoni, Bruno; Blaizot, Jérémy; Wisotzki, Lutz; Herenz, Edmund Christian; Garel, Thibault; Richard, Johan; Bacon, Roland; Bina, David; Cantalupo, Sebastiano; Contini, Thierry; den Brok, Mark; Hashimoto, Takuya; Marino, Raffaella Anna; Pelló, Roser; Schaye, Joop; Schmidt, Kasper B.

2017-10-01

We present the first estimate of the Ly α luminosity function using blind spectroscopy from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, MUSE, in the Hubble Deep Field-South. Using automatic source-detection software, we assemble a homogeneously detected sample of 59 Ly α emitters covering a flux range of -18.0 < log10 (F) < -16.3 (erg s-1 cm-2), corresponding to luminosities of 41.4 < log10 (L) < 42.8 (erg s-1). As recent studies have shown, Ly α fluxes can be underestimated by a factor of 2 or more via traditional methods, and so we undertake a careful assessment of each object's Ly α flux using a curve-of-growth analysis to account for extended emission. We describe our self-consistent method for determining the completeness of the sample, and present an estimate of the global Ly α luminosity function between redshifts 2.91 < z < 6.64 using the 1/Vmax estimator. We find that the luminosity function is higher than many number densities reported in the literature by a factor of 2-3, although our result is consistent at the 1σ level with most of these studies. Our observed luminosity function is also in good agreement with predictions from semi-analytic models, and shows no evidence for strong evolution between the high- and low-redshift halves of the data. We demonstrate that one's approach to Ly α flux estimation does alter the observed luminosity function, and caution that accurate flux assessments will be crucial in measurements of the faint-end slope. This is a pilot study for the Ly α luminosity function in the MUSE deep-fields, to be built on with data from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field that will increase the size of our sample by almost a factor of 10.

The intense starburst HDF 850.1 in a galaxy overdensity at z ≈ 5.2 in the Hubble Deep Field.

PubMed

Walter, Fabian; Decarli, Roberto; Carilli, Chris; Bertoldi, Frank; Cox, Pierre; Da Cunha, Elisabete; Daddi, Emanuele; Dickinson, Mark; Downes, Dennis; Elbaz, David; Ellis, Richard; Hodge, Jacqueline; Neri, Roberto; Riechers, Dominik A; Weiss, Axel; Bell, Eric; Dannerbauer, Helmut; Krips, Melanie; Krumholz, Mark; Lentati, Lindley; Maiolino, Roberto; Menten, Karl; Rix, Hans-Walter; Robertson, Brant; Spinrad, Hyron; Stark, Dan P; Stern, Daniel

2012-06-13

The Hubble Deep Field provides one of the deepest multiwavelength views of the distant Universe and has led to the detection of thousands of galaxies seen throughout cosmic time. An early map of the Hubble Deep Field at a wavelength of 850 micrometres, which is sensitive to dust emission powered by star formation, revealed the brightest source in the field, dubbed HDF 850.1 (ref. 2). For more than a decade, and despite significant efforts, no counterpart was found at shorter wavelengths, and it was not possible to determine its redshift, size or mass. Here we report a redshift of z = 5.183 for HDF 850.1, from a millimetre-wave molecular line scan. This places HDF 850.1 in a galaxy overdensity at z ≈ 5.2, corresponding to a cosmic age of only 1.1 billion years after the Big Bang. This redshift is significantly higher than earlier estimates and higher than those of most of the hundreds of submillimetre-bright galaxies identified so far. The source has a star-formation rate of 850 solar masses per year and is spatially resolved on scales of 5 kiloparsecs, with an implied dynamical mass of about 1.3 × 10(11) solar masses, a significant fraction of which is present in the form of molecular gas. Despite our accurate determination of redshift and position, a counterpart emitting starlight remains elusive.

Hubble's Wide View of 'Mystic Mountain' in Infrared

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-04-23

NASA image release April 22, 2010 This is a NASA Hubble Space Telescope near-infrared-light image of a three-light-year-tall pillar of gas and dust that is being eaten away by the brilliant light from nearby stars in the tempestuous stellar nursery called the Carina Nebula, located 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. The image marks the 20th anniversary of Hubble's launch and deployment into an orbit around Earth. The image reveals a plethora of stars behind the gaseous veil of the nebula's wall of hydrogen, laced with dust. The foreground pillar becomes semi-transparent because infrared light from background stars penetrates through much of the dust. A few stars inside the pillar also become visible. The false colors are assigned to three different infrared wavelength ranges. Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 observed the pillar in February and March 2010. Object Names: HH 901, HH 902 Image Type: Astronomical Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI) To read learn more about this image go to: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/hubble20th-img.... NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe.

Neutral Buoyancy Test - Hubble Space Telescope Scientific Instruments (SI)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a cooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) to operate a long-lived space-based observatory. It was the first and flagship mission of NASA's Great Observatories program. The HST program began as an astronomical dream in the 1940s. During the 1970s and 1980s, the HST was finally designed and built becoming operational in the 1990s. The HST was deployed into a low-Earth orbit on April 25, 1990 from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). The design of the HST took into consideration its length of service and the necessity of repairs and equipment replacement by making the body modular. In doing so, subsequent shuttle missions could recover the HST, replace faulty or obsolete parts and be re-released. Pictured is MSFC's Neutral Buoyancy Simulator that served as the test center for shuttle astronauts training for Hubble related missions. Shown is an astronaut training on a mock-up of a modular section of the HST in the removal and replacement of scientific instruments.

Evidence of a Non-universal Stellar Initial Mass Function. Insights from HST Optical Imaging of Six Ultra-faint Dwarf Milky Way Satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gennaro, Mario; Tchernyshyov, Kirill; Brown, Thomas M.; Geha, Marla; Avila, Roberto J.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Kalirai, Jason S.; Kirby, Evan N.; Renzini, Alvio; Simon, Joshua D.; Tumlinson, Jason; Vargas, Luis C.

2018-03-01

Using deep observations obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), we demonstrate that the sub-solar stellar initial mass function (IMF) of six ultra-faint dwarf Milky Way satellites (UFDs) is more bottom light than the IMF of the Milky Way disk. Our data have a lower-mass limit of ∼0.45 M ⊙, while the upper limit is ∼0.8 M ⊙, set by the turnoff mass of these old, metal-poor systems. If formulated as a single power law, we obtain a shallower IMF slope than the Salpeter value of ‑2.3, ranging from ‑1.01 for Leo IV to ‑1.87 for Boötes I. The significance of these deviations depends on the galaxy and is typically 95% or more. When modeled as a log-normal, the IMF fit results in a higher peak mass than in the Milky Way disk, but a Milky Way disk value for the characteristic system mass (∼0.22 M ⊙) is excluded at only 68% significance, and only for some UFDs in the sample. We find that the IMF slope correlates well with the galaxy mean metallicity, and to a lesser degree, with the velocity dispersion and the total mass. The strength of the observed correlations is limited by shot noise in the number of observed stars, but future space-based missions like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope ( WFIRST) will enhance both the number of dwarf Milky Way satellites that can be studied in such detail and the observation depth for individual galaxies. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with program GO-12549.

Most Detailed Image of the Crab Nebula

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-12-01

The Crab Nebula is one of the most intricately structured and highly dynamical objects ever observed. The new Hubble image of the Crab was assembled from 24 individual exposures taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble the Rotation of Uranus

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-08-02

These three NASA Hubble Space Telescope images of the planet Uranus reveal the motion of a pair of bright clouds in the planet southern hemisphere, and a high altitude haze that forms a cap above the planet south pole.

Hubble Unveils a Tapestry of Dazzling Diamond-Like Stars

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-01-21

Resembling an opulent diamond tapestry, this image from NASA Hubble Space Telescope shows a glittering star cluster that contains a collection of some of the brightest stars seen in our Milky Way galaxy called Trumpler 14.

The Secret Lives Of Galaxies Unveiled In Deep Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2003-06-01

Two of NASA's Great Observatories, bolstered by the largest ground-based telescopes around the world, are beginning to harvest new clues to the origin and evolution of galaxies. It's a bit like finding a family scrapbook containing snapshots that capture the lives of family members from infancy through adolescence to adulthood. "This is the first time the cosmic tale of how galaxies build themselves has been traced reliably to such early times in the universe's life," said Mauro Giavalisco, head of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) portion of the survey, and research astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. The HST has joined forces with the Chandra X-ray Observatory to survey a relatively broad swath of sky encompassing tens of thousands of galaxies stretching far back into time. The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), scheduled for launch in August, will soon join this unprecedented survey. Called the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS), astronomers are studying galaxy formation and evolution over a wide range of distances and ages. The project is tracing the assembly history of galaxies, the evolution of their stellar populations, and the gusher of energy from star formation and active nuclei powered by immense black holes. HST astronomers report the sizes of galaxies clearly increase continuously from the time the universe was about 1 billion years old to an age of 6 billion years. This is approximately half the current age of the universe, 13.7 billion years. GOODS astronomers also find the star birth rate rose mildly, by about a factor of three, between the time the universe was about one billion years old and 1.5 billion years old, and remained high until about 7 billion years ago, when it quickly dropped to one-tenth the earlier "baby boomer" rate. This is further evidence major galaxy building trailed off when the universe was about half its current age. GOODS Chandra Deep Fields South Chandra Deep Field South This increase in galaxy size is consistent with "bottom-up" models, where galaxies grow hierarchically, through mergers and accretion of smaller satellite galaxies. This is also consistent with the idea the sizes of galaxies match hand-in-glove to a certain fraction of the sizes of their dark-matter halos. Dark matter is an invisible form of mass that comprises most of the matter in the universe. The theory is dark matter essentially pooled into gravitational "puddles" in the early universe, then collected normal gas that quickly contracted to build star clusters and small galaxies. These dwarf galaxies merged piece-by-piece over billions of years to build the immense spiral and elliptical galaxies we see today. The Chandra observations amounted to a "high-energy core sample" of the early universe, allowing us to "study the history of black holes over almost the entire age of the universe," said Niel Brandt of Penn State University, a co-investigator on the Chandra GOODS team. One of the fascinating findings in this deepest X-ray image ever taken is the discovery of mysterious black holes, which have no optical counterparts. "We found seven mysterious sources that are completely invisible in the optical with Hubble," said Anton Koekemoer of the STScI, a co-investigator on both the Hubble and Chandra GOODS teams. "Either they are the most distant black holes ever detected, or they are less distant black holes that are the most dust enshrouded known, a surprising result as well." When comparing the HST and Chandra fields, astronomers also found active black holes in distant, relatively small galaxies were rarer than expected. This may be due to the effects of early generations of massive stars that exploded as supernovae, evacuating galactic gas and thus reducing the supply of gas needed to feed a super massive black hole. These and other results from the GOODS project will be published in a special issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters, entirely devoted to the team's results. The Chandra results are found in papers led by Koekemoer and Stefano Cristiani of the Trieste Astronomical Observatory. Hubble's findings came from papers led by Giavalisco, Mark Dickinson, and Harry Ferguson of the STScI. The image and additional information are available at: http://chandra.harvard.edu and http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/2003/18/

KSC-2009-2431

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician helps with the lifting of the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH. The unit will be placed on a stand until it is installed on the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission, replacing one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The carrier holds the payload for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission servicing NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch May 12. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2009-2429

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to remove the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH, from its shipping container. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission. This unit will replace the one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The SIC&DH is being prepared for integration onto the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier .The carrier holds the payload for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission servicing NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch May 12. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2009-2430

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians attach straps from a crane in order to lift the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission. This unit will replace the one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The SIC&DH is being prepared for integration onto the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier. The carrier holds the payload for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission servicing NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch May 12. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2009-2428

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians remove the shipping cover from the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH. The SIC&DH will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission. This unit will replace the one that suffered a failure aboard the orbiting telescope on Sept. 27, 2008. The SIC&DH is being prepared for integration onto the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier .The carrier holds the payload for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission servicing NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch May 12. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Small-Scale Mechanical Characterization of Space-Exposed Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene Recovered from the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, J. S.; Sharon, J. A.; Mohammed, J.; Hemker, K. J.

2012-01-01

Multi-layer insulation panels from the Hubble Space Telescope have been recovered after 19.1 years of on-orbit service and micro-tensile experiments have been performed to characterize the effect of space exposure on the mechanical response of the outermost layer. This outer layer, 127 m thick fluorinated ethylene propylene with a 100 nm thick vapor deposited aluminum reflective coating, maintained significant tensile ductility but exhibited a degradation of strength that scales with severity of space exposure. This change in properties is attributed to damage from incident solar flux, atomic oxygen damage, and thermal cycling.

Hubble Images of Comet Hale-Bopp

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

This is a series of Hubble Space Telescope observations of the region around the nucleus of Hale-Bopp, taken on eight different dates since September 1995. They chronicle changes in the evolution of the nucleus as it moves ever closer to, and is warmed by, the sun.

The first picture in the sequence, seen at upper left shows a strong dust outburst on the comet that occurred when it was beyond the orbit of Jupiter. Images in the Fall of 1996 show multiple jets that are presumably connected to the activation of multiple vents on the surface of the nucleus.

In these false color images, taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, the faintest regions are black, the brightest regions are white, and intermediate intensities are represented by different levels of red. All images are processed at the same spatial scale of 280 miles per pixel (470 kilometers), so the solid nucleus, no larger than 25 miles across, is far below Hubble's resolution.

The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Spaced Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.

This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/

Hubble Tracks Jupiter Storms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is following dramatic and rapid changes in Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere that will be critical for targeting observations made by the Galileo space probe when it arrives at the giant planet later this year.

This Hubble image provides a detailed look at a unique cluster of three white oval-shaped storms that lie southwest (below and to the left) of Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The appearance of the clouds, as imaged on February 13, 1995 is considerably different from their appearance only seven months earlier. Hubble shows these features moving closer together as the Great Red Spot is carried westward by the prevailing winds while the white ovals are swept eastward. (This change in appearance is not an effect of last July's comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collisions with Jupiter.)

The outer two of the white storms formed in the late 1930s. In the centers of these cloud systems the air is rising, carrying fresh ammonia gas upward. New, white ice crystals form when the upwelling gas freezes as it reaches the chilly cloud top level where temperatures are -200 degrees Fahrenheit (- 130 degrees Centigrade).

The intervening white storm center, the ropy structure to the left of the ovals, and the small brown spot have formed in low pressure cells. The white clouds sit above locations where gas is descending to lower, warmer regions. The extent of melting of the white ice exposes varied amounts of Jupiter's ubiquitous brown haze. The stronger the down flow, the less ice, and the browner the region.

A scheduled series of Hubble observations will help target regions of interest for detailed scrutiny by the Galileo spacecraft, which will arrive at Jupiter in early December 1995. Hubble will provide a global view of Jupiter while Galileo will obtain close-up images of structure of the clouds that make up the large storm systems such as the Great Red Spot and white ovals that are seen in this picture.

This color picture is assembled from a series of images taken by the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, in planetary camera mode, when Jupiter was at a distance of 519 million miles (961 million kilometers) from Earth. These images are part of a set of data obtained by a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) team headed by Reta Beebe of New Mexico State University.

This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/

HOST payload for STS-95 being moved into SSPF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST) is checked out by technicians in the Space Shuttle Processing Facility. One of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, the HOST platform is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry three other payloads: the Spartan solar- observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process.

HOST payload for STS-95 being moved into SSPF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Workers watch as the Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST)is moved inside the Space Shuttle Processing Facility. The HOST platform, one of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry three other payloads: the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process.

KSC-98pc1039

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-09-04

Workers watch as the Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST)is moved inside the Space Shuttle Processing Facility. The HOST platform, one of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry three other payloads: the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

KSC-98pc1037

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-09-04

The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST)is being raised to a workstand by technicians in the Space Shuttle Processing Facility. One of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, the HOST platform is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry three other payloads: the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

EVA 4 activity on Flight Day 7 to service the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-02-17

STS082-711-067 (11-21 Feb. 1997) --- Astronaut Gregory J. Harbaugh, mission specialist, floats horizontally in the cargo bay of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Discovery, backdropped against its giant temporary passenger, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Harbaugh, sharing this space walking activity with astronaut Joseph R. Tanner (out of frame), is actually recognizable through his helmet visor in the 70mm frame. He is near the Second Axial Carrier (SAC), Axial Scientific Instrument Protection Enclosure (ASIPE). STS-82 marked the first flight of the exit airlock, partially visible at bottom edge of photo.

STS-109 Post Flight Presentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2002-04-01

The STS-109 Post Flight presentation begins with Mission Specialists Nancy J. Currie, Michael J. Massimino, James H. Newman, and Richard M. Linnehan shown getting suited on launch day. Actual footage of the liftoff of the Space Shuttle Columbia is shown. Five spacewalks are performed to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Richard Linnehan and John Grunsfield are replacing solar arrays, connectors and power control units on the Hubble Space Telescope. Mission Specialist Nancy Currie will use Space Shuttle Columbia's robotic arm to grab the telescope, move it away from the orbiter and release it. A look at the coast of South America is also presented.

Thermally Induced Vibrations of the Hubble Space Telescope's Solar Array 3 in a Test Simulated Space Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Early, Derrick A.; Haile, William B.; Turczyn, Mark T.; Griffin, Thomas J. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the European Space Agency (ESA) conducted a disturbance verification test on a flight Solar Array 3 (SA3) for the Hubble Space Telescope using the ESA Large Space Simulator (LSS) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The LSS cyclically illuminated the SA3 to simulate orbital temperature changes in a vacuum environment. Data acquisition systems measured signals from force transducers and accelerometers resulting from thermally induced vibrations of the SAI The LSS with its seismic mass boundary provided an excellent background environment for this test. This paper discusses the analysis performed on the measured transient SA3 responses and provides a summary of the results.

EVA 3 activity on Flight Day 6 to service the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-02-16

S82-E-5572 (16 Feb. 1997) --- Pausing near the foot-restraint of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), astronauts Steven L. Smith (left) and Mark C. Lee communicate with and look toward their in-cabin team members during the third Extravehicular Activity (EVA) to perform servicing chores on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This view was taken with an Electronic Still Camera (ESC).

Evolution Of The Galaxy Major Merger Rate Since Z 6 In The Muse Hubble Ultra Deep Field Survey.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ventou, E.; Contini, T.; MUSE-GTO Collaboration

2017-06-01

Over the past two decades, strong evidence that galaxies have undergone a significant evolution over cosmic time were found. Do galaxy mergers, one of the main driving mechanisms behind the growth of galaxies, played a key role in their evolution at significant look-back time? Due to the difficulty to identify these violent interactions between galaxies at high redshifts, the major merger rate, involving two galaxies of similar masses, was constrained so far up to redshift z 3, from previous studies of spectrocopic pair counts. Thanks to MUSE, which is perfectly suited to identify close pairs of galaxies with secure spectroscopic redshifts, we are now able to extend such studies up to z 6. I will present the results obtained from deep (10-30h) MUSE observations in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. We provide the first constraints on the galaxy major merger evolution over 12 Gyrs (0.2 < z < 6) and over a broad range of stellar masses, showing that there is a flattening of the major merger rate evolution at very high redshift.

Dark-ages reionization and galaxy formation simulation-XI. Clustering and halo masses of high redshift galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Jaehong; Kim, Han-Seek; Liu, Chuanwu; Trenti, Michele; Duffy, Alan R.; Geil, Paul M.; Mutch, Simon J.; Poole, Gregory B.; Mesinger, Andrei; Wyithe, J. Stuart B.

2017-12-01

We investigate the clustering properties of Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) at z ∼ 6 - 8. Using the semi-analytical model MERAXES constructed as part of the dark-ages reionization and galaxy-formation observables from numerical simulation (DRAGONS) project, we predict the angular correlation function (ACF) of LBGs at z ∼ 6 - 8. Overall, we find that the predicted ACFs are in good agreement with recent measurements at z ∼ 6 and z ∼ 7.2 from observations consisting of the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field and cosmic sssembly near-infrared deep extragalactic legacy survey field. We confirm the dependence of clustering on luminosity, with more massive dark matter haloes hosting brighter galaxies, remains valid at high redshift. The predicted galaxy bias at fixed luminosity is found to increase with redshift, in agreement with observations. We find that LBGs of magnitude MAB(1600) < -19.4 at 6 ≲ z ≲ 8 reside in dark matter haloes of mean mass ∼1011.0-1011.5 M⊙, and this dark matter halo mass does not evolve significantly during reionisation.

Comparing Vesta Topography

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-09-27

These two images compare topographic maps of the giant asteroid Vesta as discerned by NASA Hubble Space Telescope top and as seen by NASA Dawn spacecraft bottom. Hubble has been in an orbit around Earth, while Dawn orbited Vesta from 2011 to 2012.

Hubble View of Neptune

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-08-02

These NASA Hubble Space Telescope views of the blue-green planet Neptune provide three snapshots of changing weather conditions. The images were taken in 1994 on 3 separate days when Neptune was 2.8 billion miles 4.5 billion kilometers from Earth.

Hubble Captures View of Mystic Mountain

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-04-22

NASA Hubble Space Telescope captures the chaotic activity atop a three-light-year-tall pillar of gas and dust that is being eaten away by the brilliant light from nearby bright stars in a tempestuous stellar nursery called the Carina Nebula.

Galaxy Group Stephan's Quintet Video File HubbleMinute: Battle Royale in Stephan's Quintet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope's closeup view of Stephan's Quintet, a group of five galaxies, reveals a string of brighter star clusters that separate like a diamond necklace. Astronomers studying the compact galaxy group Stephan's Quintet have seen creative destruction in the many collisions taking place among its galaxies. This HubbleMinute discusses what astronomers are learning and hope to learn from exploring the quintet.

Hubble Servicing Mission Press Conference

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-04-22

Ed Weiler, Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, seated second from left, speaks during a press conference on the upcoming Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission as David Leckrone, Hubble Project Scientist, Preston Burch and Mike Klenlen, seated right, look on, Thursday, April 23, 2009, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. J.D. Harrington, Public Affairs officer for the Science Mission Directorate looks on at left. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul. E. Alers)

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld and MS5 Feustel during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009990 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut John Grunsfeld, STS-125 mission specialist, positioned on a foot restraint on the end of Atlantis? remote manipulator system (RMS), participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and astronaut Andrew Feustel (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics. The blackness of space and the thin line of Earth?s atmosphere provide the backdrop for this scene.

H0LiCOW – IV. Lens mass model of HE 0435-1223 and blind measurement of its time-delay distance for cosmology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wong, Kenneth C.; Suyu, Sherry H.; Auger, Matthew W.

Strong gravitational lenses with measured time delays between the multiple images allow a direct measurement of the time-delay distance to the lens, and thus a measure of cosmological parameters, particularly the Hubble constant, H0. We present a blind lens model analysis of the quadruply imaged quasar lens HE 0435-1223 using deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, updated time-delay measurements from the COSmological MOnitoring of GRAvItational Lenses (COSMOGRAIL), a measurement of the velocity dispersion of the lens galaxy based on Keck data, and a characterization of the mass distribution along the line of sight. HE 0435-1223 is the third lens analysed as a part of the H0 Lenses in COSMOGRAIL's Wellspring (H0LiCOW) project. We account for various sources of systematic uncertainty, including the detailed treatment of nearby perturbers, the parametrization of the galaxy light and mass profile, and the regions used for lens modelling. We constrain the effective time-delay distance to be D Δt=2612more » $$+208\\atop{-191}$$Mpc, a precision of 7.6 per cent. From HE 0435-1223 alone, we infer a Hubble constant of H 0=73.1$$+5.7\\atop{-6.0}$$kms -1Mpc -1 assuming a flat ΛCDM cosmology. Lastly, the cosmographic inference based on the three lenses analysed by H0LiCOW to date is presented in a companion paper (H0LiCOW Paper V).« less

H0LiCOW – IV. Lens mass model of HE 0435-1223 and blind measurement of its time-delay distance for cosmology

DOE PAGES

Wong, Kenneth C.; Suyu, Sherry H.; Auger, Matthew W.; ...

2016-11-29

Strong gravitational lenses with measured time delays between the multiple images allow a direct measurement of the time-delay distance to the lens, and thus a measure of cosmological parameters, particularly the Hubble constant, H0. We present a blind lens model analysis of the quadruply imaged quasar lens HE 0435-1223 using deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, updated time-delay measurements from the COSmological MOnitoring of GRAvItational Lenses (COSMOGRAIL), a measurement of the velocity dispersion of the lens galaxy based on Keck data, and a characterization of the mass distribution along the line of sight. HE 0435-1223 is the third lens analysed as a part of the H0 Lenses in COSMOGRAIL's Wellspring (H0LiCOW) project. We account for various sources of systematic uncertainty, including the detailed treatment of nearby perturbers, the parametrization of the galaxy light and mass profile, and the regions used for lens modelling. We constrain the effective time-delay distance to be D Δt=2612more » $$+208\\atop{-191}$$Mpc, a precision of 7.6 per cent. From HE 0435-1223 alone, we infer a Hubble constant of H 0=73.1$$+5.7\\atop{-6.0}$$kms -1Mpc -1 assuming a flat ΛCDM cosmology. Lastly, the cosmographic inference based on the three lenses analysed by H0LiCOW to date is presented in a companion paper (H0LiCOW Paper V).« less

History of Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

NASA Image and Video Library

1993-07-09

This photograph shows an STS-61 astronaut training for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission (STS-61) in the Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS). Two months after its deployment in space, scientists detected a 2-micron spherical aberration in the primary mirror of the HST that affected the telescope's ability to focus faint light sources into a precise point. This imperfection was very slight, one-fiftieth of the width of a human hair. A scheduled Space Service servicing mission (STS-61) in 1993 permitted scientists to correct the problem. The MSFC NBS provided an excellent environment for testing hardware to examine how it would operate in space and for evaluating techniques for space construction and spacecraft servicing.

KSC-08pd2643

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-09-17

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a technician uncovers the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC. Contamination discovered Sept. 17 during preparations to deliver NASA's Hubble Space Telescope servicing payload to Launch Pad 39A will be removed. Cleanliness is extremely important for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission to Hubble, and the teams have insured that the SLIC is ready to fly. The SLIC, which holds battery module assemblies for servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope on the STS-125 mission, is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The carrier is one of four being transferred to Launch Pad 39A. At the pad, the carriers will be loaded into Atlantis’ payload bay. Launch of Atlantis is targeted for Oct. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2646

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-09-17

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians inspect areas of the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, for contamination. Contamination discovered Sept. 17 during preparations to deliver NASA's Hubble Space Telescope servicing payload to Launch Pad 39A will be removed. Cleanliness is extremely important for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission to Hubble, and the teams have insured that the SLIC is ready to fly. The SLIC, which holds battery module assemblies for servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope on the STS-125 mission, is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The carrier is one of four being transferred to Launch Pad 39A. At the pad, the carriers will be loaded into Atlantis’ payload bay. Launch of Atlantis is targeted for Oct. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2641

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-09-17

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the payload canister is moved on the floor for loading of the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC. Contamination discovered Sept. 17 during preparations to deliver NASA's Hubble Space Telescope servicing payload to Launch Pad 39A will be removed. Cleanliness is extremely important for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission to Hubble, and the teams have insured that the SLIC is ready to fly. The SLIC, which holds battery module assemblies for servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope on the STS-125 mission, is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The carrier is one of four being transferred to Launch Pad 39A. At the pad, the carriers will be loaded into Atlantis’ payload bay. Launch of Atlantis is targeted for Oct. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2645

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-09-17

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians inspect areas of the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, for contamination. Contamination discovered Sept. 17 during preparations to deliver NASA's Hubble Space Telescope servicing payload to Launch Pad 39A will be removed. Cleanliness is extremely important for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission to Hubble, and the teams have insured that the SLIC is ready to fly. The SLIC, which holds battery module assemblies for servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope on the STS-125 mission, is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The carrier is one of four being transferred to Launch Pad 39A. At the pad, the carriers will be loaded into Atlantis’ payload bay. Launch of Atlantis is targeted for Oct. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2642

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-09-17

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a technician begins uncovering the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC. Contamination discovered Sept. 17 during preparations to deliver NASA's Hubble Space Telescope servicing payload to Launch Pad 39A will be removed. Cleanliness is extremely important for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission to Hubble, and the teams have insured that the SLIC is ready to fly. The SLIC, which holds battery module assemblies for servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope on the STS-125 mission, is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The carrier is one of four being transferred to Launch Pad 39A. At the pad, the carriers will be loaded into Atlantis’ payload bay. Launch of Atlantis is targeted for Oct. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2644

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-09-17

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians inspect areas of the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, for contamination. Contamination discovered Sept. 17 during preparations to deliver NASA's Hubble Space Telescope servicing payload to Launch Pad 39A will be removed. Cleanliness is extremely important for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission to Hubble, and the teams have insured that the SLIC is ready to fly. The SLIC, which holds battery module assemblies for servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope on the STS-125 mission, is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The carrier is one of four being transferred to Launch Pad 39A. At the pad, the carriers will be loaded into Atlantis’ payload bay. Launch of Atlantis is targeted for Oct. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

EVA 1 activity on Flight Day 4 to service the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-02-14

STS082-730-090 (11-21 Feb. 1997) --- Astronaut Steven L. Smith handles one of the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) boxes, changed out on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) on Flight Day 4. Astronauts Smith and Mark C. Lee were participating in the first of five eventual days of Extravehicular Activity (EVA) to service the giant orbital observatory. Smith is standing on the end of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm, which was controlled by astronaut Steven A. Hawley inside the Space Shuttle Discovery's crew cabin.

Structural Safety of a Hubble Space Telescope Science Instrument

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lou, M. C.; Brent, D. N.

1993-01-01

This paper gives an overview of safety requirements related to structural design and verificationof payloads to be launched and/or retrieved by the Space Shuttle. To demonstrate the generalapproach used to implement these requirements in the development of a typical Shuttle payload, theWide Field/Planetary Camera II, a second generation science instrument currently being developed bythe Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the Hubble Space Telescope is used as an example. Inaddition to verification of strength and dynamic characteristics, special emphasis is placed upon thefracture control implementation process, including parts classification and fracture controlacceptability.

EVA 4 activity on Flight Day 7 to service the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-02-17

S82-E-5606 (17 Feb. 1997) --- Astronaut Gregory J. Harbaugh at work on Hubble Space Telescope (HST), with the assistance of astronaut Joseph R. Tanner (out of frame) on Remote Manipulator System (RMS). After replacing the HST's Solar Array Drive Electronics (SADE), Harbaugh and Tanner replaced the Magnetic Sensing System (MSS) protective lids with new, permanent covers; and they installed pre-cut insulation pieces to correct tears in the HST's protective covering caused by temperature changes in space. This view was taken with an Electronic Still Camera (ESC).

EVA 2 - MS Newman over Australia

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-05

STS109-E-5611 (5 March 2002) --- Astronauts James H. Newman, attached to the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm of the Space Shuttle Columbia, and Michael J. Massimino (out of frame) work on the Hubble Space Telescope as the shuttle flies over Western Australia. This day's space walk went on to see astronauts Newman and Massimino replace the port solar array on the Hubble. On the previous day astronauts John M. Grunsfeld and Richard M. Linnehan replaced the starboard solar array on the giant telescope. The image was recorded with a digital still camera.

KSC-08pd2122

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-24

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay has been thoroughly cleaned and is ready to receive the carriers transporting the instruments and equipment needed to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8 on the STS-125 mission to service Hubble. The mission crew will perform history-making, on-orbit “surgery” on two important science instruments aboard the telescope. After capturing the telescope, two teams of spacewalking astronauts will perform the repairs during five planned spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2120

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-24

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay has been thoroughly cleaned and is ready to receive the carriers transporting the instruments and equipment needed to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8 on the STS-125 mission to service Hubble. The mission crew will perform history-making, on-orbit “surgery” on two important science instruments aboard the telescope. After capturing the telescope, two teams of spacewalking astronauts will perform the repairs during five planned spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

POX 186: A Dwarf Galaxy in the Process of Formation?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corbin, Michael R.; Vacca, William D.

2002-12-01

We present deep U-, V-, and I-band images of the ``ultracompact'' blue dwarf galaxy POX 186 obtained with the Planetary Camera 2 of the Hubble Space Telescope. We have also obtained a near-ultraviolet spectrum of the object with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and combine this with a new ground-based optical spectrum. The images confirm the galaxy to be extremely small, with a maximum extent of only 300 pc, a luminosity of ~10-4L*, and an estimated mass of ~107 Msolar. Its morphology is highly asymmetric, with a tail of material on its western side that may be tidal in origin. The U-band image shows this tail to be part of a stream of material in which stars have recently formed. Most of the star formation in the galaxy is, however, concentrated in a central, compact (d~10-15 pc) star cluster. We estimate this cluster to have a total mass of ~105 Msolar, to be forming stars at a rate of less than 0.05 yr-1, and to have a maximum age of a few million years. The outer regions of the galaxy are significantly redder than the cluster, with V-I colors consistent with a population dominated by K and M stars. From our analysis of the optical spectrum we find the galaxy to have a metallicity Z~=0.06 Zsolar and to contain a significant amount of internal dust [E(B-V)~=0.28] both values agree with previous estimates. While these results rule out earlier speculation that POX 186 is a protogalaxy, its morphology, mass, and active star formation suggest that it represents a recent (within ~108 yr) collision between two clumps of stars of subgalactic size (~100 pc). POX 186 may thus be a very small dwarf galaxy that, dynamically speaking, is still in the process of formation. This interpretation is supported by the fact that it resides in a void, so its morphology cannot be explained as the result of an encounter with a more massive galaxy. Clumps of stars this small may represent the building blocks required by hierarchical models of galaxy formation, and these results also support the recent ``downsizing'' picture of galaxy formation in which the least massive objects are the last to form. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble Space Telescope is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555 to the Space Telescope Science Institute.

On Certain New Methodology for Reducing Sensor and Readout Electronics Circuitry Noise in Digital Domain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kizhner, Semion; Miko, Joseph; Bradley, Damon; Heinzen, Katherine

2008-01-01

NASA Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and upcoming cosmology science missions carry instruments with multiple focal planes populated with many large sensor detector arrays. These sensors are passively cooled to low temperatures for low-level light (L3) and near-infrared (NIR) signal detection, and the sensor readout electronics circuitry must perform at extremely low noise levels to enable new required science measurements. Because we are at the technological edge of enhanced performance for sensors and readout electronics circuitry, as determined by thermal noise level at given temperature in analog domain, we must find new ways of further compensating for the noise in the signal digital domain. To facilitate this new approach, state-of-the-art sensors are augmented at their array hardware boundaries by non-illuminated reference pixels, which can be used to reduce noise attributed to sensors. There are a few proposed methodologies of processing in the digital domain the information carried by reference pixels, as employed by the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope Projects. These methods involve using spatial and temporal statistical parameters derived from boundary reference pixel information to enhance the active (non-reference) pixel signals. To make a step beyond this heritage methodology, we apply the NASA-developed technology known as the Hilbert- Huang Transform Data Processing System (HHT-DPS) for reference pixel information processing and its utilization in reconfigurable hardware on-board a spaceflight instrument or post-processing on the ground. The methodology examines signal processing for a 2-D domain, in which high-variance components of the thermal noise are carried by both active and reference pixels, similar to that in processing of low-voltage differential signals and subtraction of a single analog reference pixel from all active pixels on the sensor. Heritage methods using the aforementioned statistical parameters in the digital domain (such as statistical averaging of the reference pixels themselves) zeroes out the high-variance components, and the counterpart components in the active pixels remain uncorrected. This paper describes how the new methodology was demonstrated through analysis of fast-varying noise components using the Hilbert-Huang Transform Data Processing System tool (HHT-DPS) developed at NASA and the high-level programming language MATLAB (Trademark of MathWorks Inc.), as well as alternative methods for correcting for the high-variance noise component, using an HgCdTe sensor data. The NASA Hubble Space Telescope data post-processing, as well as future deep-space cosmology projects on-board instrument data processing from all the sensor channels, would benefit from this effort.

Hubble Sees Pinwheel of Star Birth

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA image release October 19, 2010 Though the universe is chock full of spiral-shaped galaxies, no two look exactly the same. This face-on spiral galaxy, called NGC 3982, is striking for its rich tapestry of star birth, along with its winding arms. The arms are lined with pink star-forming regions of glowing hydrogen, newborn blue star clusters, and obscuring dust lanes that provide the raw material for future generations of stars. The bright nucleus is home to an older population of stars, which grow ever more densely packed toward the center. NGC 3982 is located about 68 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy spans about 30,000 light-years, one-third of the size of our Milky Way galaxy. This color image is composed of exposures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), and the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). The observations were taken between March 2000 and August 2009. The rich color range comes from the fact that the galaxy was photographed invisible and near-infrared light. Also used was a filter that isolates hydrogen emission that emanates from bright star-forming regions dotting the spiral arms. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. in Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgment: A. Riess (STScI) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

HUBBLE'S DEEPEST VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

[Left] A NASA Hubble Space Telescope view of the faintest galaxies ever seen in the universe, taken in infrared light with the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). The picture contains over 300 galaxies having spiral, elliptical and irregular shapes. Though most of these galaxies were first seen in 1995 when Hubble was used to take a visible-light deep exposure of the same field, NICMOS uncovers many new objects. Most of these objects are too small and faint to be apparent in the full field NICMOS view. Some of the reddest and faintest of the newly detected objects may be over 12 billion light-years away, as derived from a standard model of the universe. However, a powerful new generation of telescopes will be needed to confirm the suspected distances of these objects. The field of view is 2 million light-years across, at its maximum. Yet, on a cosmic scale, it represents only a thin pencil beam look across the universe. The area of sky is merely 1/100th the apparent diameter on the full moon. [Right] Two close-up NICMOS views of candidate objects which may be over 12 billion light-years away. Each candidate is centered in the frame. The reddish color may mean all of the starlight has been stretched to infrared wavelengths by the universe's expansion. Alternative explanations are that the objects are closer to us, but the light has been reddened by dust scattering. A new generation of telescopes will be needed to make follow-up observations capable of establishing true distance. The image was taken in January 1998 and required an exposure time of 36 hours to detect objects down to 30th magnitude. Hubble was aimed in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major, in a region just above the handle of the Big Dipper. The color corresponds to blue (0.45 microns), green (1.1 microns) and red (1.6 microns). Credit: Rodger I. Thompson (University of Arizona), and NASA

Hubble Sees Stars and a Stripe in Celestial Fireworks

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-01

A delicate ribbon of gas floats eerily in our galaxy. This image, taken by NASA Hubble Space Telescope, is a very thin section of a supernova remnant caused by a stellar explosion that occurred more than 1,000 years ago.

Hubble Finds New Dark Spot on Neptune

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-08-02

In 1995, NASA Hubble Space Telescope discovered a new great dark spot, located in the northern hemisphere of the planet Neptune. Because the planet northern hemisphere was tilted away from Earth, the new feature appeared near the limb of the planet.

Star Formation in Distant Red Galaxies: Spitzer Observations in the Hubble Deep Field-South

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webb, Tracy M. A.; van Dokkum, Pieter; Egami, Eiichi; Fazio, Giovanni; Franx, Marijn; Gawiser, Eric; Herrera, David; Huang, Jiasheng; Labbé, Ivo; Lira, Paulina; Marchesini, Danilo; Maza, José; Quadri, Ryan; Rudnick, Gregory; van der Werf, Paul

2006-01-01

We present Spitzer 24 μm imaging of 1.5~40 μJy and conclude that the bulk of the DRG population is dusty active galaxies. A mid-infrared (MIR) color analysis with IRAC data suggests that the MIR fluxes are not dominated by buried AGNs, and we interpret the high detection rate as evidence for a high average star formation rate of =130+/-30 Msolar yr-1. From this, we infer that DRGs are important contributors to the cosmic star formation rate density at z~2, at a level of ~0.02 Msolar yr-1 Mpc-3 to our completeness limit of KAB=22.9 mag.

Landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-125 Mission

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-24

STS125-S-065 (24 May 2009) --- Space Shuttle Atlantis? drag chute is deployed as the spacecraft rolls toward wheels stop on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, ending the STS-125 mission to repair and upgrade NASA?s Hubble Space Telescope. Onboard are astronauts Scott Altman, commander; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino and Andrew Feustel, all mission specialists. The main landing gear touched down at 8:39:05 a.m. (PDT) on May 24, 2009. Nose gear touchdown was at 8:39:15 a.m. Wheel-stop was at 8:40:15 a.m., bringing the mission?s elapsed time to 12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes, 9 seconds. Landing opportunities on May 22, May 23 and May 24 were waved off due to weather concerns at NASA?s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttle?s primary landing site. Through five spacewalks, the Hubble Space Telescope was refurbished and upgraded with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014.

New Hubble Servicing Mission to upgrade instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2006-10-01

The history of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is dominated by the familiar sharp images and amazing discoveries that have had an unprecedented scientific impact on our view of the world and our understanding of the universe. Nevertheless, such important contributions to science and humankind have only been possible as result of regular upgrades and enhancements to Hubble’s instrumentation. Using the Space Shuttle for this fifth Servicing Mission underlines the important role that astronauts have played and continue to play in increasing the Space Telescope’s lifespan and scientific power. Since the loss of Columbia in 2003, the Shuttle has been successfully launched on three missions, confirming that improvements made to it have established the required high level of safety for the spacecraft and its crew. “There is never going to be an end to the science that we can do with a machine like Hubble”, says David Southwood, ESA’s Director of Science. “Hubble is our way of exploring our origins. Everyone should be proud that there is a European element to it and that we all are part of its success at some level.” This Servicing Mission will not just ensure that Hubble can function for perhaps as much as another ten years; it will also increase its capabilities significantly in key areas. This highly visible mission is expected to take place in 2008 and will feature several space walks. As part of the upgrade, two new scientific instruments will be installed: the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and Wide Field Camera 3. Each has advanced technology sensors that will dramatically improve Hubble’s potential for discovery and enable it to observe faint light from the youngest stars and galaxies in the universe. With such an astounding increase in its science capabilities, this orbital observatory will continue to penetrate the most distant regions of outer space and reveal breathtaking phenomena. “Today, Hubble is producing more science than ever before in its history. Astronomers are requesting five times more observing time than that available to them” says Bob Fosbury, Head of the HST European Coordinating Facility. “The new instruments will open completely new windows on the universe. Extraordinary observations are planned over the coming years, including some of the most fascinating physical phenomena ever seen: investigation of planets around other stars, digging deeper into the ancestry of our Milky Way and above all gaining a much deeper insight into the evolution of the universe.” Around the same time that the Shuttle lifts off for the Servicing Mission, ESA will launch Herschel, the orbiting telescope with the largest mirror ever deployed in space. Herschel will complement Hubble in the infrared part of the spectrum and is an ESA mission with NASA participation. Instead of being left at the mercy of its aging instruments, the Hubble Space Telescope will now be given the new lease of life it deserves. In the hope that more discoveries from Hubble will help explain more of the mysteries of the universe, astronauts will make this fifth trip to the world’s most powerful visual light observatory and increase its lifespan and scientific power. Hubble’s direct successor, the James Webb Space Telescope - a collaborative project being undertaken by NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency - is scheduled for launch in 2013. The Servicing Mission just decided on will reduce the gap between the end of the HST mission and the start of the JWST mission. Notes for editors The Hubble Space Telescope project is being carried out by ESA and NASA on the basis of international cooperation.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) above OV-103's PLB during STS-31 deployment

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-04-25

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is raised above the payload bay (PLB) in low hover position during STS-31 checkout and pre-deployment procedures aboard Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103. Stowed along the HST Support System Module (SSM) are the high gain antenna (HGA) (center) and the two solar arrays (one either side). In the background are the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods and the Earth's surface.

Hubble Space Telescope Deploy, Cuba, Bahamas and Gulf of Mexico

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-04-29

STS031-151-010 (25 April 1990) --- The Hubble Space Telescope (HST), still in the grasp of Discovery's Remote Manipulator System (RMS), is backdropped over Cuba and the Bahama Islands. In this scene, it has yet to have deployment of its solar array panels and its high gain antennae. This scene was captured with a large format Aero Linhof camera used by several previous flight crews to record Earth scenes.

Long range science scheduling for the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Glenn; Johnston, Mark

1991-01-01

Observations with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST) are scheduled with the assistance of a long-range scheduling system (SPIKE) that was developed using artificial intelligence techniques. In earlier papers, the system architecture and the constraint representation and propagation mechanisms were described. The development of high-level automated scheduling tools, including tools based on constraint satisfaction techniques and neural networks is described. The performance of these tools in scheduling HST observations is discussed.

EVA 4 activity on Flight Day 7 to service the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-02-17

S82-E-5652 (17 Feb. 1997) --- Astronaut Gregory J. Harbaugh (solid stripe on EMU) uses Remote Manipulator System (RMS) as a cherry-picker device to service Hubble Space Telescope (HST). In cooperation with astronaut Joseph R. Tanner, nearby, the mission specialist was in the process of replacing the HST's Magnetic Sensing System (MSS) protective caps with new, permanent covers. This view was taken with an Electronic Still Camera (ESC).

Technicians complete assembly of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) mockup at JSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

Technicians complete assembly of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) mockup at JSC's Mockup and Integration Laboratory (MAIL) Bldg 9A. In the foreground, a technician holds the controls for an overhead crane attached to one of the HST's high gain antennas (HGAs). Technicians on the ground prepare the HGA to be hoisted into position on the mockup's Support System Module (SSM) forward shell as others work on SSM from a cherry picker.

KSC-08pd3113

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-10-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rotating service structure is open, revealing space shuttle Atlantis on the pad for the STS-125 mission, the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission for NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. On the RSS, the payload canister is in position at the payload changeout room to receive the Hubble hardware. The payload comprises four carriers holding various equipment for the mission. The hardware will be transported back to Kennedy’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility where it will be stored until a new target launch date can be set for Atlantis’ STS-125 mission in 2009. Atlantis’ October target launch date was delayed after a device on board Hubble used in the storage and transmission of science data to Earth shut down on Sept. 27. Replacing the broken device will be added to Atlantis’ servicing mission to the telescope. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

STS-109 Crew Interviews: Michael J. Massimino

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

STS-109 Mission Specialist Michael J. Massimino is seen during a prelaunch interview. He answers questions about his inspiration to become an astronaut, his career path, and his most memorable experiences. He gives details on the mission's goals and objectives, which focus on the refurbishing of the Hubble Space Telescope, and his role in the mission. He explains the plans for the rendezvous of the Columbia Orbiter with the Hubble Space Telescope. He provides details and timelines for each of the planned Extravehicular Activities (EVAs), which include replacing the solar arrays, changing the Power Control Unit, installing the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), and installing a new Cryocooler for the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). He also describes the break-out plan in place for these spacewalks. The interview ends with Massimino explaining the details of a late addition to the mission's tasks, which is to replace a reaction wheel on the Hubble Space Telescope.

The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic globular clusters - XIII. ACS/WFC parallel-field catalogues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simioni, M.; Bedin, L. R.; Aparicio, A.; Piotto, G.; Milone, A. P.; Nardiello, D.; Anderson, J.; Bellini, A.; Brown, T. M.; Cassisi, S.; Cunial, A.; Granata, V.; Ortolani, S.; van der Marel, R. P.; Vesperini, E.

2018-05-01

As part of the Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic globular clusters, 110 parallel fields were observed with the Wide Field Channel of the Advanced Camera for Surveys, in the outskirts of 48 globular clusters, plus the open cluster NGC 6791. Totalling about 0.3 deg2 of observed sky, this is the largest homogeneous Hubble Space Telescope photometric survey of Galalctic globular clusters outskirts to date. In particular, two distinct pointings have been obtained for each target on average, all centred at about 6.5 arcmin from the cluster centre, thus covering a mean area of about 23 arcmin2 for each globular cluster. For each field, at least one exposure in both F475W and F814W filters was collected. In this work, we publicly release the astrometric and photometric catalogues and the astrometrized atlases for each of these fields.

KSC-2009-3030

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The tools that will be used to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on the STS-125 mission are displayed in the NASA News Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Being held in the foreground is the grid cutter tool, which will enable removal of the Electromagnetic Interference Grid from the Advanced Camera for Surveys access cover. On space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission, Hubble will be serviced for the fifth and final time. The flight will include five spacewalks during which astronauts will refurbish and upgrade the telescope with these state-of-the-art science instruments. As a result, Hubble's capabilities will be expanded and its operational lifespan extended through at least 2014. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, fine guidance sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Launch is scheduled for 2:01 p.m. EDT May 11. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Edge-on Galaxy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has imaged an unusual edge-on galaxy, revealing remarkable details of its warped dusty disc and showing how colliding galaxies trigger the birth of new stars.

The image, taken by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), is online at http://heritage.stsci.edu and http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/wfpc. The camera was designed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. During observations of the galaxy, the camera passed a milestone, taking its 100,000th image since shuttle astronauts installed it in Hubble in 1993.

The dust and spiral arms of normal spiral galaxies, like our Milky Way, look flat when seen edge- on. The new image of the galaxy ESO 510-G13 shows an unusual twisted disc structure, first seen in ground-based photographs taken at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. ESO 510-G13 lies in the southern constellation Hydra, some 150 million light-years from Earth. Details of the galaxy's structure are visible because interstellar dust clouds that trace its disc are silhouetted from behind by light from the galaxy's bright, smooth central bulge.

The strong warping of the disc indicates that ESO 510-G13 has recently collided with a nearby galaxy and is in the process of swallowing it. Gravitational forces distort galaxies as their stars, gas, and dust merge over millions of years. When the disturbances die out, ESO 510-G13 will be a single galaxy.

The galaxy's outer regions, especially on the right side of the image, show dark dust and bright clouds of blue stars. This indicates that hot, young stars are forming in the twisted disc. Astronomers believe star formation may be triggered when galaxies collide and their interstellar clouds are compressed.

The Hubble Heritage Team used WFPC2 to observe ESO 510-G13 in April 2001. Pictures obtained through blue, green, and red filters were combined to make this color-composite image, which emphasizes the contrast between the dusty spiral arms, the bright bulge, and the blue star-forming regions. Additional information about the Hubble Space Telescope is online at http://www.stsci.edu. More information about the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 is at http://wfpc2.jpl.nasa.gov.

The Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md., manages space operations for Hubble for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

HUBBLE'S ULTRAVIOLET VIEWS OF NEARBY GALAXIES YIELD CLUES TO EARLY UNIVERSE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Astronomers are using these three NASA Hubble Space Telescope images to help tackle the question of why distant galaxies have such odd shapes, appearing markedly different from the typical elliptical and spiral galaxies seen in the nearby universe. Do faraway galaxies look weird because they are truly weird? Or, are they actually normal galaxies that look like oddballs, because astronomers are getting an incomplete picture of them, seeing only the brightest pieces? Light from these galaxies travels great distances (billions of light-years) to reach Earth. During its journey, the light is 'stretched' due to the expansion of space. As a result, the light is no longer visible, but has been shifted to the infrared where present instruments are less sensitive. About the only light astronomers can see comes from regions where hot, young stars reside. These stars emit mostly ultraviolet light. But this light is stretched, appearing as visible light by the time it reaches Earth. Studying these distant galaxies is like trying to put together a puzzle with some of the pieces missing. What, then, do distant galaxies really look like? Astronomers studied 37 nearby galaxies to find out. By viewing these galaxies in ultraviolet light, astronomers can compare their shapes with those of their distant relatives. These three Hubble telescope pictures, taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, represent a sampling from that survey. Astronomers observed the galaxies in ultraviolet and visible light to study all the stars that make up these 'cities of stars.' The results of their survey support the idea that astronomers are detecting the 'tip of the iceberg' of very distant galaxies. Based on these Hubble ultraviolet images, not all the faraway galaxies necessarily possess intrinsically odd shapes. The results are being presented today at the 197th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego, CA. The central region of the 'star-burst' spiral galaxy at far left, NGC 3310, shows young and old stars evenly distributed. If this were the case with most galaxies, astronomers would be able to recognize faraway galaxies fairly easily. In most galaxies, however, the stars are segregated by age, making classifying the distant ones more difficult. NGC 3310 is 46 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. The image was taken Sept. 12-13, 2000. The middle image is an example of a tiny, youthful spiral galaxy. ESO 418-008 is representative of the myriad of dwarf galaxies astronomers have seen in deep surveys. These galaxies are much smaller than typical ones like our Milky Way. In this galaxy, the population of stars is more strongly segregated by age. The older stars [red] reside in the center; the younger [blue], in the developing spiral arms. These small, young galaxies may be the building blocks of galaxy formation. ESO 418-008 is 56 million light-years from Earth in the southern constellation Fornax. The image was taken Oct. 10, 2000. The picture at right shows a cosmic collision between two galaxies, UGC 06471 and UGC 06472. These collisions occurred frequently in the early universe, producing galaxies of unusual shapes. The Hubble telescope has spied many such galaxies in the deep field surveys. The ultraviolet images of this galaxy merger suggest the presence of large amounts of dust, which were produced by massive stars that formed before or during this dramatic collision. This dust reddens the starlight in many places, just like a dusty atmosphere reddens the sunset. Studying the effects of this nearby collision could help astronomers explain the peculiar shapes seen in some of the distant galaxies. UGC 06471 and UGC 06472 are 145 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. The image was taken July 11, 2000. Photo credits: NASA, Rogier Windhorst (Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ), and the Hubble mid-UV team

KSC-98pc1139

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-09-23

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST), one of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, is placed inside its payload canister in the Space Station Processing Facility. The canister is 65 feet long, 18 feet wide and 18 feet, 7 inches high. The HOST platform is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an Earth-orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry other payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH-3), and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

KSC-98pc1138

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-09-23

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST), one of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, is suspended above its payload canister in the Space Station Processing Facility. The canister is 65 feet long, 18 feet wide and 18 feet, 7 inches high. The HOST platform is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an Earth-orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry other payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH-3), and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

KSC-98pc1136

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-09-23

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test Platform (HOST) is lifted off its work stand in the Space Station Processing Facility before moving it to its payload canister. One of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, the HOST platform is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an Earth-orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry other payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH-3), and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

Hubble confirms cosmic acceleration with weak lensing

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA/ESA Hubble Release Date: March 25, 2010 This image shows a smoothed reconstruction of the total (mostly dark) matter distribution in the COSMOS field, created from data taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based telescopes. It was inferred from the weak gravitational lensing distortions that are imprinted onto the shapes of background galaxies. The colour coding indicates the distance of the foreground mass concentrations as gathered from the weak lensing effect. Structures shown in white, cyan, and green are typically closer to us than those indicated in orange and red. To improve the resolution of the map, data from galaxies both with and without redshift information were used. The new study presents the most comprehensive analysis of data from the COSMOS survey. The researchers have, for the first time ever, used Hubble and the natural "weak lenses" in space to characterise the accelerated expansion of the Universe. Credit: NASA, ESA, P. Simon (University of Bonn) and T. Schrabback (Leiden Observatory) To learn more abou this image go to: www.spacetelescope.org/news/html/heic1005.html For more information about Goddard Space Flight Center go here: www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html

Ant nebula

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

A new Hubble Space Telescope image of a celestial object called the Ant Nebula may shed new light on the future demise of our Sun. The image is available at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pictures/wfpc .

The nebula, imaged on July 20, 1997, and June 30, 1998, by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, was observed by Drs. Raghvendra Sahai and John Trauger of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.; Bruce Balick of the University of Washington in Seattle; and Vincent Icke of Leiden University in the Netherlands. JPL designed and built the camera.

The Ant Nebula, whose technical name is Mz3, resembles the head and thorax of an ant when observed with ground-based telescopes. The new Hubble image, with 10 times the resolution revealing 100 times more detail, shows the 'ant's' body as a pair of fiery lobes protruding from a dying, Sun- like star. The Ant Nebula is located between 3,000 and 6,000 light years from Earth in the southern constellation Norma.

The image challenges old ideas about what happens to dying stars. This observation, along with other pictures of various remnants of dying stars called planetary nebulae, shows that our Sun's fate will probably be much more interesting, complex and dramatic than astronomers previously believed.

Although the ejection of gas from the dying star in the Ant Nebula is violent, it does not show the chaos one might expect from an ordinary explosion, but instead shows symmetrical patterns. One possibility is that the central star has a closely orbiting companion whose gravitational tidal forces shape the outflowing gas. A second possibility is that as the dying star spins, its strong magnetic fields are wound up into complex shapes like spaghetti in an eggbeater. Electrically charged winds, much like those in our Sun's solar wind but millions of times denser and moving at speeds up to 1,000 kilometers per second (more than 600 miles per second) from the star, follow the twisted field lines on their way out into space.

The Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md., manages space operations for the Hubble Space Telescope for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA under contract with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Additional information about the Hubble Space Telescope is available at http://www.stsci.edu . More information about the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 is available at http://wfpc2.jpl.nasa.gov.

Hubble On Its Way

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-21

This still image of the Hubble Space Telescope was captured by an STS-125 crew member as the two spacecraft continue their relative separation. During the week five spacewalks were performed to complete the final servicing mission for the orbital observatory. Photo credit: NASA May 19, 2009

Hubble Feathers the Peacock

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-09-19

This picture, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2, shows a galaxy known as NGC 6872 in the constellation of Pavo The Peacock. Its unusual shape is caused by its interactions with the smaller galaxy that can be seen just above NGC 6872.

HOST payload for STS-95 being moved into SSPF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST)is being raised to a workstand by technicians in the Space Shuttle Processing Facility. One of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, the HOST platform is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry three other payloads: the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process.

KSC-2009-3087

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-11

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis rises past the fixed service structure as it races toward space on the STS-125 mission. Atlantis will rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on the STS-125 mission. Liftoff was on time at 2:01 p.m. EDT. Atlantis' 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, fine guidance sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Photo credit: NASA/Michael Gayle-Rusty Backer

Hubble Space Telescope COSTAR asphere verification with a modified computer-generated hologram interferometer. [Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feinberg, L.; Wilson, M.

1993-01-01

To correct for the spherical aberration in the Hubble Space Telescope primary mirror, five anamorphic aspheric mirrors representing correction for three scientific instruments have been fabricated as part of the development of the corrective-optics space telescope axial-replacement instrument (COSTAR). During the acceptance tests of these mirrors at the vendor, a quick and simple method for verifying the asphere surface figure was developed. The technique has been used on three of the aspheres relating to the three instrument prescriptions. Results indicate that the three aspheres are correct to the limited accuracy expected of this test.

KSC-08pd2124

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-24

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a worker from United Space Alliance supervises the closure of the payload bay doors on space shuttle Atlantis. The payload bay has been thoroughly cleaned and is ready to receive the carriers transporting the instruments and equipment needed to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8 on the STS-125 mission to service Hubble. The mission crew will perform history-making, on-orbit “surgery” on two important science instruments aboard the telescope. After capturing the telescope, two teams of spacewalking astronauts will perform the repairs during five planned spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2121

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-24

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a worker from United Space Alliance prepares to close the payload bay doors on space shuttle Atlantis. The payload bay has been thoroughly cleaned and is ready to receive the carriers transporting the instruments and equipment needed to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8 on the STS-125 mission to service Hubble. The mission crew will perform history-making, on-orbit “surgery” on two important science instruments aboard the telescope. After capturing the telescope, two teams of spacewalking astronauts will perform the repairs during five planned spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Space Shuttle Projects

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-05

STS-109 Astronauts Michael J. Massimino and James H. Newman were making their second extravehicular activity (EVA) of their mission when astronaut Massimino, mission specialist, peered into Columbia's crew cabin during a brief break from work on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The HST is latched down just a few feet behind him in Columbia's cargo bay. The Space Shuttle Columbia STS-109 mission lifted off March 1, 2002 with goals of repairing and upgrading the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). STS-109 upgrades to the HST included: replacement of the solar array panels; replacement of the power control unit (PCU); replacement of the Faint Object Camera (FOC) with a new advanced camera for Surveys (ACS); and installation of the experimental cooling system for the Hubble's Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-object Spectrometer (NICMOS), which had been dormant since January 1999 when its original coolant ran out. The Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama had the responsibility for the design, development, and construction of the HST, which is the most powerful and sophisticated telescope ever built. Lasting 10 days, 22 hours, and 11 minutes, the STS-109 mission was the 108th flight overall in NASA's Space Shuttle Program.

Amateur and Professional Astronomers Team Up to Create a Cosmological Masterpiece

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

To view a video of this story go to: www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/8448332724 Working with astronomical image processors at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., renowned astro-photographer Robert Gendler has taken science data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) archive and combined it with his own ground-based observations to assemble a photo illustration of the magnificent spiral galaxy M106. Gendler retrieved archival Hubble images of M106 to assemble a mosaic of the center of the galaxy. He then used his own and fellow astro-photographer Jay GaBany's observations of M106 to combine with the Hubble data in areas where there was less coverage, and finally, to fill in the holes and gaps where no Hubble data existed. The center of the galaxy is composed almost entirely of HST data taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys, Wide Field Camera 3, and Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 detectors. The outer spiral arms are predominantly HST data colorized with ground-based data taken by Gendler's and GaBany's 12.5-inch and 20-inch telescopes, located at very dark remote sites in New Mexico. The image also reveals the optical component of the "anomalous arms" of M106, seen here as red, glowing hydrogen emission. To read more go to: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/m106.html Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), R. Gendler (for the Hubble Heritage Team), and G. Bacon (STScI) NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Evolution in the Continuum Morphological Properties of Ly alpha-Emitting Galaxies from Z=3.1 to Z=2.1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bond, Nicholas A.; Gawiser, Eric; Guaita, Lucia; Padilla, Nelson; Gronwall, Chile Caryl; Ciardullo, Robin; Lai, Kamson

2011-01-01

We present a rest-frame ultraviolet morphological analysis of 108 z = 2.1 Lyman Alpha Emitters (LAEs) in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDF-S) and compare it to a similar sample of 171 LAEs at z = 3.1 . Using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images taken as part of the Galaxy Evolution From Morphology and SEDs survey, Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, and Hubble Ultradeep Field surveys, we measure the size and photometric component distributions, where photo- metric components are defined as distinct clumps of UV-continuum emission. At both redshifts, the majority of LAEs have observed half-light radii < 2 kpc, but the median half-light radius rises from 0.97 kpc at z = 3.1 to 1.41 kpc at z = 2.1. A similar evolution is seen in the sizes of individual rest-UV components, but there is no evidence for evolution in the number of mUlti-component systems. In the z = 2.1 LAE sample, we see clear correlations between the LAE size and other physical properties derived from its SED. LAEs are found to be larger for galaxies with larger stellar mass, larger star formation rate, and larger dust obscuration, but there is no evidence for a trend between equivalent width and half-light radius at either redshift. The presence of these correlations suggests that a wide range of objects are being selected by LAE surveys at that redshift, including a significant fraction of objects for which a massive and moderately extended population of old stars underlies the young starburst giving rise to the Lya emission.

Iron Low-ionization Broad Absorption Line quasars - the missing link in galaxy evolution?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawther, Daniel Peter; Vestergaard, Marianne; Fan, Xiaohui

2015-08-01

A peculiar and rare type of quasar with strong low-ionization iron absorption lines - known as FeLoBAL quasars - may be the missing link between star forming (or starbursting) galaxies and quasars. They are hypothesized to be quasars breaking out of their dense birth blanket of gas and dust. In that case they are expected to have high rates of star formation in their galaxies. With the aim of addressing and settling this issue we have studied deep Hubble Space Telescope restframe UV and optical imaging of a subset of such quasars in order to characterize the host galaxy properties of these quasars. We present the results of this study along with simulations to characterize the uncertainties and robustness of our results.

The Multiple Stellar Populations in the Ancient LMC Globular Clusters Hodge 11 and NGC 2210

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaboyer, Brian; Gilligan, Christina; Wagner-Kaiser, Rachel; Mackey, Dougal; Sarajedini, Ata; Cummings, Jeffrey; Grocholski, Aaron; Geisler, Doug; Cohen, Roger; Villanova, Sandro; Yang, Soung-Chul; Parisi, Celeste

2018-01-01

Hubble Space telescope images of the ancient LMC globular clusters Hodge 11 and NGC 2210 in the F336W, F606W and F814W filters were obtained between June 2016 and April 2017. These deep images has been analyzed with the Dolphot software package. High quality photometry has been obtained from three magnitudes brighter than the horizontal branch, to about four magnitudes fainter than the main sequence turn-off. Both clusters show an excess of red main sequence stars in the F336W filter, indicating that multiple stellar populations exist in both clusters. Hodge 11 shows irregularities in its horizontal branch morphology, which is indicative of the presence of an approximately 0.1 dex internal helium abundance spread.

Hubble's new view of the cosmos

PubMed

Villard, R

1996-05-01

Since the December 1993 repair of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) optics by the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the rapid-fire scientific achievements have brought a new era of discovery to the field of astronomy. Hubble has confirmed some astronomical theories, challenged others, and often come up with complete surprises. Some images are so unexpected that astronomers have to develop new theories to explain what they are seeing. The HST has detected galaxies out to the visible horizon of the cosmos, and has made an attempt at pinning down the universe's expansion rate. Both of these key research areas should ultimately yield answers to age-old questions: What has happened since the beginning of time, and will the universe go on forever?

HUBBLE FINDS A BARE BLACK HOLE POURING OUT LIGHT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has provided a never-before-seen view of a warped disk flooded with a torrent of ultraviolet light from hot gas trapped around a suspected massive black hole. [Right] This composite image of the core of the galaxy was constructed by combining a visible light image taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), with a separate image taken in ultraviolet light with the Faint Object Camera (FOC). While the visible light image shows a dark dust disk, the ultraviolet image (color-coded blue) shows a bright feature along one side of the disk. Because Hubble sees ultraviolet light reflected from only one side of the disk, astronomers conclude the disk must be warped like the brim of a hat. The bright white spot at the image's center is light from the vicinity of the black hole which is illuminating the disk. [Left] A ground-based telescopic view of the core of the elliptical galaxy NGC 6251. The inset box shows Hubble Space Telescope's field of view. The galaxy is 300 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Minor. Photo Credit: Philippe Crane (European Southern Observatory), and NASA

Hubble Watches Super Star Create Holiday Light Show

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

This festive NASA Hubble Space Telescope image resembles a holiday wreath made of sparkling lights. The bright southern hemisphere star RS Puppis, at the center of the image, is swaddled in a gossamer cocoon of reflective dust illuminated by the glittering star. The super star is ten times more massive than our sun and 200 times larger. RS Puppis rhythmically brightens and dims over a six-week cycle. It is one of the most luminous in the class of so-called Cepheid variable stars. Its average intrinsic brightness is 15,000 times greater than our sun’s luminosity. The nebula flickers in brightness as pulses of light from the Cepheid propagate outwards. Hubble took a series of photos of light flashes rippling across the nebula in a phenomenon known as a "light echo." Even though light travels through space fast enough to span the gap between Earth and the moon in a little over a second, the nebula is so large that reflected light can actually be photographed traversing the nebula. By observing the fluctuation of light in RS Puppis itself, as well as recording the faint reflections of light pulses moving across the nebula, astronomers are able to measure these light echoes and pin down a very accurate distance. The distance to RS Puppis has been narrowed down to 6,500 light-years (with a margin of error of only one percent). The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md., conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington, D.C. Acknowledgment: H. Bond (STScI and Pennsylvania State University) NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Hubble's Cosmic Atlas

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Morphologies, masses, and structures - oh, my! This beautiful clump of glowing gas, dark dust and glittering stars is the spiral galaxy NGC 4248, located about 24 million light-years away in the constellation of Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs). This image was produced by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope as it embarked upon compiling the first Hubble ultraviolet “atlas,” for which the telescope targeted 50 nearby star-forming galaxies. The collection spans all kinds of different morphologies, masses, and structures. Studying this sample can help us to piece together the star-formation history of the Universe. By exploring how massive stars form and evolve within such galaxies, astronomers can learn more about how, when, and where star formation occurs, how star clusters change over time, and how the process of forming new stars is related to the properties of both the host galaxy and the surrounding interstellar medium (the gas and dust that fills the space between individual stars). This galaxy was imaged with observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

NASA’s Hubble Sees Martian Moon Orbiting the Red Planet

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

While photographing Mars, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured a cameo appearance of the tiny moon Phobos on its trek around the Red Planet. Discovered in 1877, the diminutive, potato-shaped moon is so small that it appears star-like in the Hubble pictures. Phobos orbits Mars in just 7 hours and 39 minutes, which is faster than Mars rotates. The moon’s orbit is very slowly shrinking, meaning it will eventually shatter under Mars’ gravitational pull, or crash onto the planet. Hubble took 13 separate exposures over 22 minutes to create a time-lapse video showing the moon’s orbital path. Credit: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI) NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Hubble Spies Spooky Shadow on Jupiter's Giant Eye

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-10-28

This trick that the planet is looking back at you is actually a Hubble treat: An eerie, close-up view of Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system. Hubble was monitoring changes in Jupiter’s immense Great Red Spot (GRS) storm on April 21, 2014, when the shadow of the Jovian moon, Ganymede, swept across the center of the storm. This gave the giant planet the uncanny appearance of having a pupil in the center of a 10,000 mile-diameter “eye.” For a moment, Jupiter “stared” back at Hubble like a one-eyed giant Cyclops. Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Hubble Spies Spooky Shadow on Jupiter's Giant Eye (color)

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-10-28

This trick that the planet is looking back at you is actually a Hubble treat: An eerie, close-up view of Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system. Hubble was monitoring changes in Jupiter’s immense Great Red Spot (GRS) storm on April 21, 2014, when the shadow of the Jovian moon, Ganymede, swept across the center of the storm. This gave the giant planet the uncanny appearance of having a pupil in the center of a 10,000 mile-diameter “eye.” For a moment, Jupiter “stared” back at Hubble like a one-eyed giant Cyclops. Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Measurement of Hubble constant: non-Gaussian errors in HST Key Project data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Singh, Meghendra; Gupta, Shashikant; Pandey, Ashwini

2016-08-01

Assuming the Central Limit Theorem, experimental uncertainties in any data set are expected to follow the Gaussian distribution with zero mean. We propose an elegant method based on Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic to test the above; and apply it on the measurement of Hubble constant which determines the expansion rate of the Universe. The measurements were made using Hubble Space Telescope. Our analysis shows that the uncertainties in the above measurement are non-Gaussian.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009690 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut John Grunsfeld, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and astronaut Andrew Feustel (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009683 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut John Grunsfeld, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and astronaut Andrew Feustel (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld and MS5 Feustel during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009721 (18 May 2009) --- Astronauts John Grunsfeld (left) and Andrew Feustel, both STS-125 mission specialists, participate in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and Feustel installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS5 Feustel during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-010122 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut Andrew Feustel, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Feustel and astronaut John Grunsfeld (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009712 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut John Grunsfeld, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and astronaut Andrew Feustel (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009713 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut John Grunsfeld, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and astronaut Andrew Feustel (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS5 Feustel during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-010103 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut Andrew Feustel, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Feustel and astronaut John Grunsfeld (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld and MS5 Feustel during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009718 (18 May 2009) --- Astronauts John Grunsfeld (bottom) and Andrew Feustel, both STS-125 mission specialists, participate in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and Feustel installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld and MS5 Feustel during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009706 (18 May 2009) --- Astronauts John Grunsfeld (left) and Andrew Feustel, both STS-125 mission specialists, participate in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and Feustel installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS5 Feustel during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-010047 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut Andrew Feustel, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Feustel and astronaut John Grunsfeld (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009599 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut John Grunsfeld, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and astronaut Andrew Feustel (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009688 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut John Grunsfeld, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and astronaut Andrew Feustel (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009595 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut John Grunsfeld, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and astronaut Andrew Feustel (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009591 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut John Grunsfeld, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and astronaut Andrew Feustel (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009717 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut John Grunsfeld, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and astronaut Andrew Feustel (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS5 Feustel during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009877 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut Andrew Feustel, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Feustel and astronaut John Grunsfeld (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld and MS5 Feustel during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009667 (18 May 2009) --- Astronauts John Grunsfeld (left) and Andrew Feustel, both STS-125 mission specialists, participate in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and Feustel installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld and MS5 Feustel during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009603 (18 May 2009) --- Astronauts John Grunsfeld (left) and Andrew Feustel, both STS-125 mission specialists, participate in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and Feustel installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009696 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut John Grunsfeld, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and astronaut Andrew Feustel (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

STS-125 MS3 Grunsfeld during EVA5

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-18

S125-E-009593 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut John Grunsfeld, STS-125 mission specialist, participates in the mission?s fifth and final session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Grunsfeld and astronaut Andrew Feustel (out of frame), mission specialist, installed a battery group replacement, removed and replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor and three thermal blankets (NOBL) protecting Hubble?s electronics.

Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission scientific instrument protective enclosure design requirements and contamination controls

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, Patricia A.; Hughes, David W.; Hedgeland, Randy J.; Chivatero, Craig J.; Studer, Robert J.; Kostos, Peter J.

1994-01-01

The Scientific Instrument Protective Enclosures were designed for the Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Missions to provide a beginning environment to a Scientific Instrument during ground and on orbit activities. The Scientific Instruments required very stringent surface cleanliness and molecular outgassing levels to maintain ultraviolet performance. Data from the First Servicing Mission verified that both the Scientific Instruments and Scientific Instrument Protective Enclosures met surface cleanliness level requirements during ground and on-orbit activities.

Hubble Space Telescope secondary mirror vertex radius/conic constant test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parks, Robert

1991-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope backup secondary mirror was tested to determine the vertex radius and conic constant. Three completely independent tests (to the same procedure) were performed. Similar measurements in the three tests were highly consistent. The values obtained for the vertex radius and conic constant were the nominal design values within the error bars associated with the tests. Visual examination of the interferometric data did not show any measurable zonal figure error in the secondary mirror.

STS-109 MS Linnehan on aft flight deck with laser rangefinder

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-03

STS109-346-011 (3 March 2002) --- Astronaut Richard M. Linnehan, STS-109 mission specialist, uses a laser ranging device designed to measure the range between two spacecraft. Linnehan positioned himself on the cabin's aft flight deck as the Space Shuttle Columbia approached the Hubble Space Telescope. A short time later, the STS-109 crew captured and latched down the giant telescope in the vehicle's cargo bay for several days of work on the Hubble.

Technicians assembly the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) mockup at JSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

At JSC's Mockup and Integration Laboratory (MAIL) Bldg 9A, technicians install a high gain antenna (HGA) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) mockup. On the ground a technician operates the controls for the overhead crane that is lifting the HGA into place on the Support System Module (SSM) forward shell. Others in a cherry picker basket wait for the HGA to near its final position so they can secure it on the mockup.

STS-31 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) solar array panel deploy aboard OV-103

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-04-25

Held in appendage deploy position by Discovery's, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103's, remote manipulator system (RMS), the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST's) starboard solar array (SA) bistem cassette is released from its stowed position on the Support System Module (SSM) forward shell. The spreader bar & bistem begin to unfurl the SA wing. View was taken by an STS-31 crewmember through an overhead window & is backdropped against the surface of the Earth.

AEGIS-X: Deep Chandra Imaging of the Central Groth Strip

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nandra, K.; Laird, E. S.; Aird, J. A.; Salvato, M.; Georgakakis, A.; Barro, G.; Perez-Gonzalez, P. G.; Barmby, P.; Chary, R.-R.; Coil, A.; Cooper, M. C.; Davis, M.; Dickinson, M.; Faber, S. M.; Fazio, G. G.; Guhathakurta, P.; Gwyn, S.; Hsu, L.-T.; Huang, J.-S.; Ivison, R. J.; Koo, D. C.; Newman, J. A.; Rangel, C.; Yamada, T.; Willmer, C.

2015-09-01

We present the results of deep Chandra imaging of the central region of the Extended Groth Strip, the AEGIS-X Deep (AEGIS-XD) survey. When combined with previous Chandra observations of a wider area of the strip, AEGIS-X Wide (AEGIS-XW), these provide data to a nominal exposure depth of 800 ks in the three central ACIS-I fields, a region of approximately 0.29 deg2. This is currently the third deepest X-ray survey in existence; a factor ∼ 2-3 shallower than the Chandra Deep Fields (CDFs), but over an area ∼3 times greater than each CDF. We present a catalog of 937 point sources detected in the deep Chandra observations, along with identifications of our X-ray sources from deep ground-based, Spitzer, GALEX, and Hubble Space Telescope imaging. Using a likelihood ratio analysis, we associate multiband counterparts for 929/937 of our X-ray sources, with an estimated 95% reliability, making the identification completeness approximately 94% in a statistical sense. Reliable spectroscopic redshifts for 353 of our X-ray sources are available predominantly from Keck (DEEP2/3) and MMT Hectospec, so the current spectroscopic completeness is ∼38%. For the remainder of the X-ray sources, we compute photometric redshifts based on multiband photometry in up to 35 bands from the UV to mid-IR. Particular attention is given to the fact that the vast majority the X-ray sources are active galactic nuclei and require hybrid templates. Our photometric redshifts have mean accuracy of σ =0.04 and an outlier fraction of approximately 5%, reaching σ =0.03 with less than 4% outliers in the area covered by CANDELS . The X-ray, multiwavelength photometry, and redshift catalogs are made publicly available.

FRONTIER FIELDS CLUSTERS: DEEP CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF THE COMPLEX MERGER MACS J1149.6+2223

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ogrean, G. A.; Weeren, R. J. van; Jones, C.

2016-03-10

The Hubble Space Telescope Frontier Fields cluster MACS J1149.6+2223 is one of the most complex merging clusters, believed to consist of four dark matter halos. We present results from deep (365 ks) Chandra observations of the cluster, which reveal the most distant cold front (z  =  0.544) discovered to date. In the cluster outskirts, we also detect hints of a surface brightness edge that could be the bow shock preceding the cold front. The substructure analysis of the cluster identified several components with large relative radial velocities, thus indicating that at least some collisions occur almost along the line of sight.more » The inclination of the mergers with respect to the plane of the sky poses significant observational challenges at X-ray wavelengths. MACS J1149.6+2223 possibly hosts a steep-spectrum radio halo. If the steepness of the radio halo is confirmed, then the radio spectrum, combined with the relatively regular ICM morphology, could indicate that MACS J1149.6+2223 is an old merging cluster.« less

Frontier Fields Clusters: Deep Chandra Observations of the Complex Merger MACS J1149.6+2223

DOE PAGES

Ogrean, G. A.; Weeren, R. J. van; Jones, C.; ...

2016-03-04

The Hubble Space Telescope Frontier Fields cluster MACS J1149.6+2223 is one of the most complex merging clusters, believed to consist of four dark matter halos. Here, we present results from deep (365 ks) Chandra observations of the cluster, which reveal the most distant cold front (z = 0.544) discovered to date. In the cluster outskirts, we also detect hints of a surface brightness edge that could be the bow shock preceding the cold front. The substructure analysis of the cluster identified several components with large relative radial velocities, thus indicating that at least some collisions occur almost along the linemore » of sight. The inclination of the mergers with respect to the plane of the sky poses significant observational challenges at X-ray wavelengths. MACS J1149.6+2223 possibly hosts a steep-spectrum radio halo. Lastly, if the steepness of the radio halo is confirmed, then the radio spectrum, combined with the relatively regular ICM morphology, could indicate that MACS J1149.6+2223 is an old merging cluster.« less

Calibration of HST wide field camera for quantitative analysis of faint galaxy images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ratnatunga, Kavan U.; Griffiths, Richard E.; Casertano, Stefano; Neuschaefer, Lyman W.; Wyckoff, Eric W.

1994-01-01

We present the methods adopted to optimize the calibration of images obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera (WFC) (1991-1993). Our main goal is to improve quantitative measurement of faint images, with special emphasis on the faint (I approximately 20-24 mag) stars and galaxies observed as a part of the Medium-Deep Survey. Several modifications to the standard calibration procedures have been introduced, including improved bias and dark images, and a new supersky flatfield obtained by combining a large number of relatively object-free Medium-Deep Survey exposures of random fields. The supersky flat has a pixel-to-pixel rms error of about 2.0% in F555W and of 2.4% in F785LP; large-scale variations are smaller than 1% rms. Overall, our modifications improve the quality of faint images with respect to the standard calibration by about a factor of five in photometric accuracy and about 0.3 mag in sensitivity, corresponding to about a factor of two in observing time. The relevant calibration images have been made available to the scientific community.

Understanding Supermassive Black Hole Growth Mechanisms in the SSA22 Protocluster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonine, Brett; Lehmer, Bret

2018-01-01

The SSA22 protocluster is a collection of galaxies at redshift z = 3.09, corresponding to a look back time of 11.6 billion years. Observations of the protocluster allow for the investigation of galaxy properties of such protocluster environments in the early universe, potentially giving insight into the formation and evolution of galaxy clusters visible in the local universe (e.g., the Coma Cluster). Compared to other field galaxies at a similar redshift, a larger fraction of galaxies in SSA22 have been found to possess active galactic nuclei (AGN). This enhanced AGN activity suggests a relationship between the environment within the cluster and the growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs). I will clarify the role that the protocluster environment at z = 3.09 plays in enhancing the growth of SMBHs in the cluster. To accomplish this, we are analyzing recently obtained WFC3 F160W data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in SSA22, and equivalent archival CANDELS data in the Hubble Deep Field-North, to compare the merger rates and stellar mass distributions of galaxies in the SSA22 protocluster and in the field. Our goal is to assess the relative role that mergers play in enhancing the SMBH growth observed in over-dense regions in the z = 3 Universe.

Galaxy NGC 3079

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

A lumpy bubble of hot gas rises from a cauldron of glowing matter in a distant galaxy, as seen by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

The new images, taken by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, are online at http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/2001/28 and http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/wfpc. The camera was designed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Galaxy NGC 3079, located 50 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major, has a huge bubble in the center of its disc, as seen in the image on the left. The smaller photo at right shows a close-up of the bubble. The two white dots are stars.

Astronomers suspect the bubble is being blown by 'winds,' or high-speed streams of particles, released during a burst of star formation. The bubble's lumpy surface has four columns of gaseous filaments towering above the galaxy's disc. The filaments whirl around in a vortex and are expelled into space. Eventually, this gas will rain down on the disc and may collide with gas clouds, compress them and form a new generation of stars.

Theoretical models indicate the bubble formed when winds from hot stars mixed with small bubbles of hot gas from supernova explosions. Radio telescope observations indicate those processes are still active. Eventually, the hot stars will die, and the bubble's energy source will fade away.

The images, taken in 1998, show glowing gas as red and starlight as blue/green. Results appear in the July 1, 2001 issue of the Astrophysical Journal. More information about the Hubble Space Telescope is at http://www.stsci.edu. More information about the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 is at http://wfpc2.jpl.nasa.gov.

The Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md., manages space operations for Hubble for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Lessons Learned from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Contamination Control Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, Patricia A.; Townsend, Jacqueline A.; Hedgeland, Randy J.

2004-01-01

Over the past two decades, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Contamination Control Program has evolved from a ground-based integration program to a space-based science-sustaining program. The contamination controls from the new-generation Scientific Instruments and Orbital Replacement Units were incorporated into the HST Contamination Control Program to maintain scientific capability over the life of the telescope. Long-term on-orbit scientific data has shown that these contamination controls implemented for the instruments, Servicing Mission activities (Orbiter, Astronauts, and mission), and on-orbit operations successfully protected the HST &om contamination and the instruments from self-contamination.

Lessons Learned from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Contamination Control Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, Patricia A.; Townsend, Jacqueline A.; Hedgeland, Randy J.

2004-01-01

Over the past two decades, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Contamination Control Program has evolved from a ground-based integration program to a space-based science-sustaining program. The contamination controls from the new-generation Scientific Instruments and Orbital Replacement Units were incorporated into the HST Contamination Control Program to maintain scientific capability over the life of the telescope. Long-term on-orbit scientific data has shown that these contamination controls implemented for the instruments, Servicing Mission activities (Orbiter, Astronauts, and mission), and on-orbit operations successfully protected the HST from contamination and the instruments from self-contamination.

EVA 2 - MS Newman and Massimino over Australia

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-05

STS109-E-5610 (5 March 2002) --- Astronauts James H. Newman, attached to the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm of the Space Shuttle Columbia, and Michael J. Massimino (barely visible against the Hubble Space Telescope near center frame) work on the telescope as the shuttle flies over Australia. This day's space walk went on to see astronauts Newman and Massimino replace the port solar array on the Hubble. On the previous day astronauts John M. Grunsfeld and Richard M. Linnehan replaced the starboard solar array on the giant telescope. The image was recorded with a digital still camera.

Micrometeoroid Impacts on the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2: Larger Particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kearsley, A. T.; Grime, G. W.; Webb, R. P.; Jeynes, C.; Palitsin, V.; Colaux, J. L.; Ross, D. K.; Anz-Meador, P.; Liou, J. C.; Opiela, J.;

Hubble space telescope six-battery test bed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pajak, J. A.; Bush, J. R., Jr.; Lanier, J. R., Jr.

1990-01-01

A test bed for a large space power system breadboard for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was designed and built to test the system under simulated orbital conditions. A discussion of the data acquisition and control subsystems designed to provide for continuous 24 hr per day operation and a general overview of the test bed is presented. The data acquisition and control subsystems provided the necessary monitoring and protection to assure safe shutdown with protection of test articles in case of loss of power or equipment failure over the life of the test (up to 5 years).

KSC-08pd2125

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-24

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the payload bay doors on space shuttle Atlantis are nearly closed. The payload bay has been thoroughly cleaned and is ready to receive the carriers transporting the instruments and equipment needed to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8 on the STS-125 mission to service Hubble. The mission crew will perform history-making, on-orbit “surgery” on two important science instruments aboard the telescope. After capturing the telescope, two teams of spacewalking astronauts will perform the repairs during five planned spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

A TREETOPS simulation of the Hubble Space Telescope-High Gain Antenna interaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sharkey, John P.

1987-01-01

Virtually any project dealing with the control of a Large Space Structure (LSS) will involve some level of verification by digital computer simulation. While the Hubble Space Telescope might not normally be included in a discussion of LSS, it is presented to highlight a recently developed simulation and analysis program named TREETOPS. TREETOPS provides digital simulation, linearization, and control system interaction of flexible, multibody spacecraft which admit to a point-connected tree topology. The HST application of TREETOPS is intended to familiarize the LSS community with TREETOPS by presenting a user perspective of its key features.

Improving time-delay cosmography with spatially resolved kinematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shajib, Anowar J.; Treu, Tommaso; Agnello, Adriano

2018-01-01

Strongly gravitational lensed quasars can be used to measure the so-called time-delay distance DΔt, and thus the Hubble constant H0 and other cosmological parameters. Stellar kinematics of the deflector galaxy play an essential role in this measurement by: (i) helping break the mass-sheet degeneracy; (ii) determining in principle the angular diameter distance Dd to the deflector and thus further improving the cosmological constraints. In this paper we simulate observations of lensed quasars with integral field spectrographs and show that spatially resolved kinematics of the deflector enables further progress by helping break the mass-anisotropy degeneracy. Furthermore, we use our simulations to obtain realistic error estimates with current/upcoming instruments like OSIRIS on Keck and NIRSPEC on the James Webb Space Telescope for both distances (typically ∼6 per cent on DΔt and ∼10 per cent on Dd). We use the error estimates to compute cosmological forecasts for the sample of nine lenses that currently have well-measured time delays and deep Hubble Space Telescope images and for a sample of 40 lenses that is projected to be available in a few years through follow-up of candidates found in ongoing wide field surveys. We find that H0 can be measured with 2 per cent (1 per cent) precision from nine (40) lenses in a flat Λcold dark matter cosmology. We study several other cosmological models beyond the flat Λcold dark matter model and find that time-delay lenses with spatially resolved kinematics can greatly improve the precision of the cosmological parameters measured by cosmic microwave background data.

STS-103 Crew at Breakfast, Suiting, Departing O&C

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) team is preparing for NASA's third scheduled service call to Hubble. This mission, STS-103, will launch from Kennedy Space Center aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. The seven flight crew members for STS-103 are: Commander Curtis L. Brown (his sixth flight), Pilot Scott J. Kelly and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy (his third flight) will join space walkers Steven L. Smith (his third flight), C. Michael Foale (his fifth flight), John M. Grunsfeld (his third flight) and ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier (his fourth flight). This current video presents a live footage of the seven STS-103 crewmembers eating breakfast, suiting, and departing the O&C (Operations and Checkout) before the 6:50 p.m. lift-off.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility make final adjustments to the Flight Support System (FSS) for STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. The FSS is reusable flight hardware that provides the mechanical, structural and electrical interfaces between HST, the space support equipment and the orbiter for payload retrieval and on-orbit servicing. Liftoff aboard Discovery is targeted Feb. 11 with a crew of seven.

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-01-16

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in KSC's Vertical Processing Facility make final adjustments to the Flight Support System (FSS) for STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. The FSS is reusable flight hardware that provides the mechanical, structural and electrical interfaces between HST, the space support equipment and the orbiter for payload retrieval and on-orbit servicing. Liftoff aboard Discovery is targeted Feb. 11 with a crew of seven.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A model of the Hubble Space Telescope is one of the exhibits during Space Congress Week, held April 29-May 2, 2003, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Space Congress is an international conference that gathers attendees from the scientific community, the space industry workforce, educators and local supporting industries. This year’s event commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Kennedy Space Center and the Centennial of Flight. The theme for the Space Congress was “Linking the Past to the Future: A Celebration of Space.”

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-04-30

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A model of the Hubble Space Telescope is one of the exhibits during Space Congress Week, held April 29-May 2, 2003, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Space Congress is an international conference that gathers attendees from the scientific community, the space industry workforce, educators and local supporting industries. This year’s event commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Kennedy Space Center and the Centennial of Flight. The theme for the Space Congress was “Linking the Past to the Future: A Celebration of Space.”

Physical Properties of Spectroscopically Confirmed Galaxies at z >= 6. I. Basic Characteristics of the Rest-frame UV Continuum and Lyα Emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Linhua; Egami, Eiichi; Mechtley, Matthew; Fan, Xiaohui; Cohen, Seth H.; Windhorst, Rogier A.; Davé, Romeel; Finlator, Kristian; Kashikawa, Nobunari; Ouchi, Masami; Shimasaku, Kazuhiro

2013-08-01

We present deep Hubble Space Telescope near-IR and Spitzer mid-IR observations of a large sample of spectroscopically confirmed galaxies at z >= 6. The sample consists of 51 Lyα emitters (LAEs) at z ~= 5.7, 6.5, and 7.0, and 16 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at 5.9 <= z <= 6.5. The near-IR images were mostly obtained with WFC3 in the F125W and F160W bands, and the mid-IR images were obtained with IRAC in the 3.6 μm and 4.5 μm bands. Our galaxies also have deep optical imaging data from Subaru Suprime-Cam. We utilize the multi-band data and secure redshifts to derive their rest-frame UV properties. These galaxies have steep UV-continuum slopes roughly between β ~= -1.5 and -3.5, with an average value of β ~= -2.3, slightly steeper than the slopes of LBGs in previous studies. The slope shows little dependence on UV-continuum luminosity except for a few of the brightest galaxies. We find a statistically significant excess of galaxies with slopes around β ~= -3, suggesting the existence of very young stellar populations with extremely low metallicity and dust content. Our galaxies have moderately strong rest-frame Lyα equivalent width (EW) in a range of ~10 to ~200 Å. The star formation rates are also moderate, from a few to a few tens of solar masses per year. The LAEs and LBGs in this sample share many common properties, implying that LAEs represent a subset of LBGs with strong Lyα emission. Finally, the comparison of the UV luminosity functions between LAEs and LBGs suggests that there exists a substantial population of faint galaxies with weak Lyα emission (EW < 20 Å) that could be the dominant contribution to the total ionizing flux at z >= 6. Based in part on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained from the data archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. Based in part on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a contract with NASA. Based in part on data collected at Subaru Telescope and obtained from SMOKA, which is operated by the Astronomy Data Center, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

Landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-125 Mission

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-24

STS125-S-066 (24 May 2009) --- The STS-125 crew pose for a photo near Space Shuttle Atlantis on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California following their landing which ended the STS-125 mission to repair and upgrade NASA?s Hubble Space Telescope. From the left are astronauts Mike Massimino, mission specialist; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Scott Altman, commander; Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good, all mission specialists. The main landing gear touched down at 8:39:05 a.m. (PDT) on May 24, 2009. Nose gear touchdown was at 8:39:15 a.m. Wheel-stop was at 8:40:15 a.m., bringing the mission?s elapsed time to 12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes, 9 seconds. Landing opportunities on May 22, May 23 and May 24 were waved off due to weather concerns at NASA?s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttle?s primary landing site. Through five spacewalks, Hubble was refurbished and upgraded with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014.

KSC-08pd2088

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the high bay of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center mate the Hubble vertical platform to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier for the Hubble Space Telescope. The Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, is one of four carriers supporting hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the telescope. SLIC is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC, and the Flight Support System, or FSS, have also arrived at Kennedy. The Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment carrier will be delivered in early August. The carriers will be prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the Hubble servicing mission, targeted for launch Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2089

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the high bay of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center secure the Hubble vertical platform to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier for the Hubble Space Telescope. The Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, is one of four carriers supporting hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the telescope. SLIC is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC, and the Flight Support System, or FSS, have also arrived at Kennedy. The Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment carrier will be delivered in early August. The carriers will be prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the Hubble servicing mission, targeted for launch Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2087

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the high bay of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center move the Hubble vertical platform toward the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier for the Hubble Space Telescope, to which it will be mated. The Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, is one of four carriers supporting hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the telescope. SLIC is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC, and the Flight Support System, or FSS, have also arrived at Kennedy. The Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment carrier will be delivered in early August. The carriers will be prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the Hubble servicing mission, targeted for launch Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-08pd2086

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the high bay of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center move the Hubble vertical platform toward the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier for the Hubble Space Telescope, to which it will be mated. The Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, is one of four carriers supporting hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the telescope. SLIC is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC, and the Flight Support System, or FSS, have also arrived at Kennedy. The Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment carrier will be delivered in early August. The carriers will be prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the Hubble servicing mission, targeted for launch Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Absolute Flux Calibration of the IRAC Instrument on the Spitzer Space Telescope Using Hubble Space Telescope Flux Standards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bohlin, R. C.; Gordon, K. D.; Rieke, G. H.; Ardila, D.; Carey, S.; Deustua, S.; Engelbracht, C.; Ferguson, H. C.; Flanagan, K.; Kalirai, J.; Meixner, M.; Noriega-Crespo, A.; Su, K. Y. L.; Tremblay, P.-E.

2011-05-01

The absolute flux calibration of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be based on a set of stars observed by the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. In order to cross-calibrate the two facilities, several A, G, and white dwarf stars are observed with both Spitzer and Hubble and are the prototypes for a set of JWST calibration standards. The flux calibration constants for the four Spitzer IRAC bands 1-4 are derived from these stars and are 2.3%, 1.9%, 2.0%, and 0.5% lower than the official cold-mission IRAC calibration of Reach et al., i.e., in agreement within their estimated errors of ~2%. The causes of these differences lie primarily in the IRAC data reduction and secondarily in the spectral energy distributions of our standard stars. The independent IRAC 8 μm band-4 fluxes of Rieke et al. are about 1.5% ± 2% higher than those of Reach et al. and are also in agreement with our 8 μm result.

New Cosmic Horizons: Space Astronomy from the V2 to the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leverington, David

2001-02-01

Preface; 1. The sounding rocket era; 2. The start of the space race; 3. Initial exploration of the Solar System; 4. Lunar exploration; 5. Mars and Venus; early results; 6. Mars and Venus; the middle period; 7. Venus, Mars and cometary spacecraft post-1980; 8. Early missions to the outer planets; 9. The Voyager missions to the outer planets; 10. The Sun; 11. Early spacecraft observations of non-solar system sources; 12. A period of rapid growth; 13. The high energy astronomy observatory programme; 14. IUE, IRAS and Exosat - spacecraft for the early 1980s; 15. Hiatus; 16. Business as usual; 17. The Hubble Space Telescope.

KSC-98pc1038

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-09-04

Workers watch as the Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST)is lowered onto a workstand in the Space Shuttle Processing Facility. To the right can be seen the Rack Insertion Device and Leonardo, a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. The HOST platform, one of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry three other payloads: the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

The Hubble Space Telescope Scientific Instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, J. V.

1986-01-01

The paper describes the status of the five Scientific Instruments (SI's) to be flown on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) which is planned to be launched by the Space Transportation System in the last half of 1986. Concentration is on the testing experience for each of the instruments both at the instrument level and in conjunction with the other instruments and subsystems of the HST. Since the Acceptance/Flight Qualification Program of the HST is currently underway a description of the test and verification plans to be accomplished prior to shipment to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and pre-launch tests plans prior to launch are provided. The paper concludes with a brief description of anticipated orbital performance.

EVA 2 activity on Flight Day 5 to service the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-02-15

STS082-742-047 (11-21 Feb. 1997) --- On Flight Day 5, astronaut Joseph R. Tanner (left) holds a 500 pound piece of hardware as he stands on the end of the Space Shuttle Discovery's Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm, as tethered astronaut Gregory J. Harbaugh works nearby. The piano-shaped object held aloft by Tanner is actually the Fine Guidance Sensor 1 (FGS-1), which Tanner had just removed from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Harbaugh is inspecting the FGS' bay to set the stage for the two to insert the replacement hardware. EDITOR'S NOTE: For orientation purposes, the picture should be held with Space Shuttle's OMS pods at top.

Correlation of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Space Telescope Imaging Spectrometer (STIS) On-Orbit Data with Pre-launch Predictions and Ground Contamination Controls

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, Patricia A.

2003-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) was deployed on-orbit in February 1997. The contamination program for STIS was stringently controlled as the five-year end-of-life deposition was set at 158, per optical element. Contamination was controlled through materials selection, extensive vacuum outgassing certifications, cleaning techniques, and environmental controls. In addition to ground contamination controls, on-orbit contamination controls were implemented for both the HST servicing mission activities and early post-servicing mission checkout. The extensive contamination control program will be discussed and the STIS on-orbit data will be correlated with the prelaunch analytical predictions.

KSC-08pd2126

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-07-24

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a worker from United Space Alliance gives the signal that the payload bay doors on space shuttle Atlantis are closed. The payload bay has been thoroughly cleaned and is ready to receive the carriers transporting the instruments and equipment needed to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8 on the STS-125 mission to service Hubble. The mission crew will perform history-making, on-orbit “surgery” on two important science instruments aboard the telescope. After capturing the telescope, two teams of spacewalking astronauts will perform the repairs during five planned spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Atomic and molecular data for space astronomy - Needs, analysis, and availability; 21st IAU General Assembly, Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 23-Aug. 1, 1991, Selected Papers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Peter L. (Editor); Wiese, Wolfgang L. (Editor)

1992-01-01

The present volume on atomic and molecular spectroscopic data for space astrophysics discusses scientific problems and laboratory data needs associated with the Hubble Space Telescope, atomic data needed for far ultraviolet astronomy with HUT and FUSE and for analysis of EUV and X-ray spectra, and data for observations of interstellar medium with the Hubble Space Telescope. Attention is also given to atomic and molecular data for analysis of IR spectra from ISO and SIRTF, atomic data from the opacity project, sources of atomic spectroscopic data for astrophysics, and summary of current molecular data bases.

The Hubble Space Telescope high speed photometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vancitters, G. W., Jr.; Bless, R. C.; Dolan, J. F.; Elliot, J. L.; Robinson, E. L.; White, R. L.

1988-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope will provide the opportunity to perform precise astronomical photometry above the disturbing effects of the atmosphere. The High Speed Photometer is designed to provide the observatory with a stable, precise photometer with wide dynamic range, broad wavelenth coverage, time resolution in the microsecond region, and polarimetric capability. Here, the scientific requirements for the instrument are examined, the unique design features of the photometer are explored, and the improvements to be expected over the performance of ground-based instruments are projected.

High-resolution imaging of the Pluto-Charon system with the Faint Object Camera of the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Albrecht, R.; Barbieri, C.; Adorf, H.-M.; Corrain, G.; Gemmo, A.; Greenfield, P.; Hainaut, O.; Hook, R. N.; Tholen, D. J.; Blades, J. C.

1994-01-01

Images of the Pluto-Charon system were obtained with the Faint Object Camera (FOC) of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) after the refurbishment of the telescope. The images are of superb quality, allowing the determination of radii, fluxes, and albedos. Attempts were made to improve the resolution of the already diffraction limited images by image restoration. These yielded indications of surface albedo distributions qualitatively consistent with models derived from observations of Pluto-Charon mutual eclipses.

STS-109 MS Linnehan with laser range finder on aft flight deck

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-02

STS109-E-5003 (3 March 2002) --- Astronaut Richard M. Linnehan, mission specialist, uses a laser ranging device designed to measure the range between two spacecraft. Linnehan positioned himself on the cabin's aft flight deck as the Space Shuttle Columbia approached the Hubble Space Telescope. A short time later, the STS-109 crew captured and latched down the giant telescope in the vehicle's cargo bay for several days of work on the Hubble. The image was recorded with a digital still camera.

STS-109 MS Linnehan with laser range finder on aft flight deck

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-02

STS109-E-5002 (3 March 2002) --- Astronaut Richard M. Linnehan, mission specialist, uses a laser ranging device designed to measure the range between two spacecraft. Linnehan positioned himself on the cabin's aft flight deck as the Space Shuttle Columbia approached the Hubble Space Telescope. A short time later, the STS-109 crew captured and latched down the giant telescope in the vehicle's cargo bay for several days of work on the Hubble. The image was recorded with a digital still camera.