Hubble Turns 15!

[Madame Butterfly 0]

NASA's Bright Star, Hubble Turns 15

 

By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hubble Space Telescope Monday celebrates 15 years of service as astronomy's most renowned and beloved instrument.

 

"Hubble has been arguably the greatest telescope of all time," says astronomer Steve Maran, author of Astronomy for Dummies.

 

The anniversary comes amid renewed hopes for the survival of Hubble, which has fans among scientists, legislators and amateur skywatchers. Without new batteries and stabilizing gyroscopes, the craft will fail after 2007, engineers predict. But NASA's new chief, Michael Griffin, says he will reconsider a shuttle rescue mission that earlier had been ruled too risky.

 

NASA's space shuttle Discovery set Hubble into orbit on April 25, 1990. Astronauts corrected a flaw in the telescope's main mirror in 1992. Later shuttle missions increased the scope's capabilities.

 

As a result, Hubble has made major discoveries in every area of astronomy, generating the data for the authors of more than 4,700 technical papers since 1991.

 

 

 

"The amazing thing about Hubble is that it is a frontline scientific instrument that grows stronger every year," says astronomer Bruce Margon of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which manages Hubble for NASA.

 

Hubble's early observations settled long-standing disagreements over the approximate age of the universe, now estimated at 13.7 billion years. The telescope also surprised astronomers by finding that super-sized black holes, millions of times heavier than the sun, lurk at the center of most galaxies.

 

In recent years, Hubble has kept on making groundbreaking observations of ancient galaxies, nearby planet-building dust disks and distant exploding stars whose motions suggest the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate.

 

"Hubble has become a unique cultural icon, which was unexpected," Margon says. "Hubble's lasting legacy will not be based on astronomical facts, but in the way it has opened up science to the public."

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[Kor37 9]

They want to do to Hubble just like they did to Enterprise. Get rid of it just when its getting really good....lol

[Madame Butterfly 0]

They had an exhibit about 3 years ago at the Adler in Chicago of the photographs of the images that Hubble had captured.

 

It was so awe inspiring.

 

I spent the entire day there just looking those images over and over again.

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Edited April 26, 2005 by Madame Butterfly

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Edited April 26, 2005 by Madame Butterfly

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[Odie 0]

I have always loved the Hubble's pictures.

[LoveMalePecs1 0]

Congrats to the Hubble Telescope on turning 15 years old.

 

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and on it's 17th year it burns up in the Atmosphere

[Yillara Skye 1]

and on it's 17th year it burns up in the Atmosphere  :)

That truly stinks. Reading the article on, I think, AOL yesterday they had a poll on what we thought should be done...meaning should they send a shuttle so an upgrade and repairs to be done to the Hubble, or just leave it alone. I voted it should be maintained... I really wish they would not abandon the telescope.

 

And thanks for posting the pics.. the Hubble has produced such beautiful images over the years

 

This one is one of my favorites.

[Odie 0]

I wonder if its cheaper to maintain it or is it more effective to send another one up?

[Yillara Skye 1]

I wonder if its cheaper to maintain it or is it more effective to send another one up? 

321152[/snapback]

Good question. I guess it all depends on what is needed to maintain it.

[A l t e r E g o 9]

 

If it has it taught us all it can then I say deorbit it but if not then I believe just like a car or a house it's cheaper to maintain than replace. We have BILLONS invested in that thing, even if they built a new one repairs for it would eventually be needed right?

 

I wonder if some other nation would buy it and take over it's care and missions?

 

With the lapse in missions after the Columbia disaster all the shuttle programs are VERY much behind schedule. I read at NASA the main reason they wanted to abandon it is missions to complete building the ISS need to take precedent now.

 

Stunning photos MB.

[Yillara Skye 1]

With the lapse in missions after the Columbia disaster all the shuttle programs are VERY much behind schedule. I read at NASA the main reason they wanted to abandon it is missions to complete building the ISS need to take precedent now.

Good point. And with the upcoming mission pushed back to May 22nd now, it is even further behind than before.

[Odie 0]

 

If it has it taught us all it can then I say deorbit it but if not then I believe just like a car or a house it's cheaper to maintain than replace. We have BILLONS invested in that thing, even if they built a new one repairs for it would eventually be needed right?

 

When they designing and building it was years before they put it into orbit. Normally its cheaper, but with military nothing really makes sense on how the equipment is taken care of. Most likey the budget for the maintance has been cut to where is no longer cost effective. It happens all the time since I have been in the Navy. The older ships can be very hard to find parts, because its either no longer made or business has closed operations.

I wonder if some other nation would buy it and take over it's care and missions?

 

Most likely that will not happen. There are very few countries that can afford the up keep.

 

With the lapse in missions after the Columbia disaster all the shuttle programs are VERY much behind schedule. I read at NASA the main reason they wanted to abandon it is missions to complete building the ISS need to take precedent now.

 

That's the problem with NASA. Too much to do and not enough time to do it. They are different ways to get into space and still kept up with the ISS.

Stunning photos MB.

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I agree!

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Edited April 27, 2005 by Madame Butterfly

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[trekz 7]

With all the billions that are spent on other things, one would think the time and money could be found to maintain and repair this amazing scientific tool. Let's hope public opinion will cause NASA (and/or other government officials) to reconsider letting Hubble burn up.

[Odie 0]

With all the billions that are spent on other things, one would think the time and money could be found to maintain and repair this amazing scientific tool.  Let's hope public opinion will cause NASA (and/or other government officials) to reconsider letting Hubble burn up.

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One would think so, but I really don't think that would happen.

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Appeal to save Hubble telescope

By Pallab Ghosh

BBC News science correspondent

 

 

 

 

The man in charge of the Hubble space telescope's science missions has appealed to Nasa's new administrator to find the money for one last servicing mission to the observatory.

 

Dr Stephen Beckwith told BBC News that the cost of such a mission would amount to "loose change" for the US space agency and would lead to many important scientific discoveries.

 

This week marks Hubble's 15th year in space. Already, its stunning pictures have transformed our understanding of the cosmos.

 

 

Among its many considerable achievements, the telescope has enabled us to work out the age of the Universe and confirm the existence of black holes.

 

But this remarkable piece of orbiting hardware needs regular maintenance and unless it is serviced soon, it will probably stop working in about three years' time.

 

Currently, Nasa is not prepared to risk a human shuttle flight to do this upgrade work and is reserving funds sufficient only to bring the telescope down safely at the end of its mission - whenever that comes.

 

But Dr Beckwith, the director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which operates Hubble, believes that is a poor decision.

 

"Hubble's budget represents less than one-and-a-half percent of what Nasa spends yearly on space - I think it's loose change.

 

"I think the costs of keeping Hubble alive should not be a major factor for the agency given the high profile that Hubble has in both science and good publicity.

 

"Hubble is the best mission in Nasa's fleet right now. It's producing beautiful science that the public loves and it makes us all look just great."

 

Political priority

 

Nasa's problem, however, is that its political priority is to develop President Bush's ambitious aim of sending people back to the Moon and then on to Mars.

 

So when the shuttle does return to flight, all missions will be directed to making up time in building the International Space Station - as a first step towards the human exploration of the near Solar System.

 

This means less money for basic science programmes. Nasa's argument has been that it should spend its more limited resources on building and sending up new observatories, such as the James Webb Telescope.

 

 

The JWT should launch early in the next decade and will concentrate on viewing the Universe at infrared wavelengths.

 

But Dr Beckwith argued that it was a false economy to scrap Hubble now.

 

"Certainly, we do want to build new missions and we will build bigger and better telescopes. The question of when you stop using a telescope is tied to whether it's still in its prime or over the hill.

 

"Hubble is still in its prime. In fact, with two new instruments planned for its next servicing mission, it will be better than ever once it's serviced."

 

Dr Beckwith feels that the telescope still has plenty of science miles left.

 

Cosmic acceleration

 

He sees two particularly fruitful areas of study. The first is continued observations on the expansion of the Universe and, in particular, its acceleration.

 

Hubble helped show that the acceleration is in response to some unknown force dubbed "dark energy". Dr Beckwith said he viewed this finding as "probably the most important discovery in physics in 100 years".

 

Another few years of research, he believes, and we could have very good ideas about dark energy's role in the cosmos.

 

Dr Beckwith also thinks Hubble is uniquely placed to search for extrasolar planets - planets outside our Solar System - and to assess their potential to support life.

 

"It's the only observatory that's been able to study the atmospheric chemistry of an extrasolar planet - so we're beginning to study the chemistry of these planets and that's absolutely essential to find out if life can exist on them."

 

But there is some hope for Hubble fans. Nasa's new administrator, Dr Mike Griffin, has promised to review the decision not to service the telescope - provided the return to flight of the shuttle proceeds according to plan.

 

Hubble may yet get its upgrade and its life extension.

[Yillara Skye 1]

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OMG!!!!!! B) I love this one! B)

[Odie 0]

I really do hope there is life for Hubble. The pictures are great. I don't want to see it go away anytime soon.

[Madame Butterfly 0]

321425[/snapback]

OMG!!!!!! B) I love this one! B)

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That one is color changed so that the three eclipses can be seen on the planet.

[Yillara Skye 1]

321425[/snapback]

OMG!!!!!! B) I love this one! B)

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That one is color changed so that the three eclipses can be seen on the planet.

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Kinda figured that one, it is just beautiful with the changes. Reminds me of a similar image of Saturn, that I have on my computer

 

Nat'l Geographic-Exploring Space Wallpapers

Edited April 28, 2005 by Yillara_Soong

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Official Hubble Site

 

http://hubblesite.org/