Starry-Eyed Hubble Celebrates 20 Years of Awe and Discovery

I was reminded by Bob in Texas, that Hubble Telescope has been in space looking out into the Universe for 20 years. He sent me the next two links and the YouTube presentation lets you know that we are just a speck in the vastness of space. Here I thought I was something special but there is so much more out there. :-)
- LRK -

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Hubble’s Ultra Deep Field Now in 3D
http://badatsports.com/2009/hubbles-ultra-deep-field-now-in-3d/

Hubble took the deepest look in the darkest patch of sky for a second time with even more sensitive lenses and measurements have predictably found the eternal quote to be true:

This time though it was able to use red shift relations to map the image in 3D.
[Watch the YouTube presentation and fly though space and back into time. - LRK -]
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There is some interesting information on this second link and more links you might like to check out.
- LRK -

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Starry-Eyed Hubble Celebrates 20 Years of Awe and Discovery
http://www.hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2010/13/full/

NASA's best-recognized, longest-lived, and most prolific space observatory zooms past a threshold of 20 years of operation this month. On April 24, 1990, the space shuttle and crew of STS-31 were launched to deploy the Hubble Space Telescope into a low Earth orbit. What followed was one of the most remarkable sagas of the space age. Hubble's unprecedented capabilities made it one of the most powerful science instruments ever conceived by humans, and certainly the one most embraced by the public. Hubble discoveries revolutionized nearly all areas of current astronomical research, from planetary science to cosmology. And, its pictures were unmistakably out of this world.

At times Hubble's starry odyssey played out like a space soap opera, with broken equipment, a bleary-eyed primary mirror, and even a space shuttle rescue/repair mission cancellation. But the ingenuity and dedication of Hubble scientists, engineers, and NASA astronauts have allowed the observatory to rebound time and time again. Its crisp vision continues to challenge scientists with exciting new surprises and to enthrall the public with ever more evocative color images.

NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) are celebrating Hubble's journey of exploration with a stunning new picture, online educational activities, an opportunity for people to explore galaxies as armchair scientists, and an opportunity for astronomy enthusiasts to send in their own personal greetings to Hubble for posterity.

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If I had read my NASA News email post I would have realized that there was something to celebrate. A success story that had its ups and downs. Some of those funding issues like we keep hearing about. And some of the human error that creeps into projects, then finding ways to make it work.

Never give up, never give up, we can make it work, just give me a chance. :-)
Now twenty years old with a renewed life, looking out ever further into space.
- LRK -

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http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/apr/HQ_10-092_Hubble_20th_image.html
J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241
j.d.harrington@nasa.gov

Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore
410-338-4514
villard@stsci.edu
April 23, 2010
RELEASE : 10-092

NASA's Starry-Eyed Hubble Telescope Celebrates 20 Years of Discovery

WASHINGTON -- As the Hubble Space Telescope achieves the major milestone of two decades on orbit, NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute, or STScI, in Baltimore are celebrating Hubble's journey of exploration with a stunning new picture and several online educational activities. There are also opportunities for people to explore galaxies as armchair scientists and send personal greetings to Hubble for posterity.

NASA is releasing a new Hubble photo of a small portion of one of the largest known star-birth regions in the galaxy, the Carina Nebula. Three light-year-tall towers of cool hydrogen laced with dust rise from the wall of the nebula. The scene is reminiscent of Hubble's classic "Pillars of Creation" photo from 1995, but even more striking.

To view the photo, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

NASA's best-recognized, longest-lived and most prolific space observatory was launched April 24, 1990, aboard the space shuttle Discovery during the STS-31 mission. Hubble discoveries revolutionized nearly all areas of current astronomical research from planetary science to cosmology.

Over the years, Hubble has suffered broken equipment, a bleary-eyed primary mirror, and the cancellation of a planned shuttle servicing mission. But the ingenuity and dedication of Hubble scientists, engineers and NASA astronauts allowed the observatory to rebound and thrive. The telescope's crisp vision continues to challenge scientists and the public with new discoveries and evocative images.

"Hubble is undoubtedly one of the most recognized and successful scientific projects in history," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Last year's space shuttle servicing mission left the observatory operating at peak capacity, giving it a new beginning for scientific achievements that impact our society."

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Want to help the Hubble folks?
- LRK -

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http://www.galaxyzoo.org/
Welcome to Galaxy Zoo, where you can help astronomers explore the Universe

Galaxy Zoo: Hubble uses gorgeous imagery of hundreds of thousands of galaxies drawn from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope archive. To understand how these galaxies, and our own, formed we need your help to classify them according to their shapes — a task at which your brain is better than even the most advanced computer. If you're quick, you may even be the first person in history to see each of the galaxies you're asked to classify.

More than 250,000 people have taken part in Galaxy Zoo so far, producing a wealth of valuable data and sending telescopes on Earth and in space chasing after their discoveries. The images used in Galaxy Zoo: Hubble are more detailed and beautiful than ever, and will allow us to look deeper into the Universe than ever before. To begin exploring, click the 'How To Take Part' link above, or read 'The Story So Far' to find out what Galaxy Zoo has achieved to date.

Thanks for your help, and happy classifying.

The Galaxy Zoo team.

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Well that is what I have on the Hubble for the moment and I will get back to reading about the "Mars Wars." Then I will do some more research and try to understand why we are not going to the Moon as planned.

Will have more on that later.
(I feel like I am watching an old Saturday Matinee, will the train run over the pretty lady tied to the railroad tracks or will she be saved at the last minute?
Come back next week and see the thrilling ending.)
- LRK -

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Mars wars : the rise and fall of the Space Exploration Initiative /.
Thor Hogan. p. cm. -- (The NASA history series) (NASA SP-2007-4410)
...
history.nasa.gov/sp4410.pdf (107 p. 2.52 MB)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hogan, Thor.
Mars wars : the rise and fall of the Space Exploration Initiative /
Thor Hogan.
p. cm. -- (The NASA history series) (NASA SP-2007-4410)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Space Exploration Initiative (U.S.)
2. Space flight to Mars--Planning--History--20th century.
3. United States. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration--Management--History--20th century.
4. Astronautics and state--United States--History--20th century.
5. United States--Politics and government--1989-1993.
6. Outerspace--Exploration--United States--History--20th century.
7. Organizational change--United States--History--20th century.
I. Title.
TL789.8.U6S62 2007
629.45’530973--dc22
2007008987

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And if you missed the present discussion about funding, or not, for the Constellation program, watch the recent Webcast of the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations where NASA Administrator Bolden was questioned April 22, 2010.
- LRK -

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http://appropriations.senate.gov/

Under Recent Webcasts -
4/22/2010
Video of Hearing on FY 2011 NASA Budg
http://appropriations.senate.gov/webcasts.cfm?method=webcasts.view&id=a5d75507-dc17-4f57-b550-4981ac513b07

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I need to unclench my jaws and take a deep breath. Breath in, breath out.

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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Smithsonian - National Air and Space Museum

Smithsonian - National Air and Space Museum

While visiting the daughter and family in northern Virginia, we went to the Smithsonian near Dulles airport, Washington D.C. and had a nice time.

Extended Summer Hours:
March 29 - September 5
10:00 am - 7:30 pm

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
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http://www.nasm.si.edu/UdvarHazy/
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport is the companion facility to the Museum on the National Mall. The building opened in December, 2003, and provides enough space for the Smithsonian to display the thousands of aviation and space artifacts that cannot be exhibited on the National Mall. The two sites together showcase the largest collection of aviation and space artifacts in the world.The Center was named in honor of its major donor, and features the large Boeing Aviation Hangar in which aircraft are displayed on three levels. Visitors can walk among aircraft and small artifacts indisplay cases located on the floor, and view aircraft hanging from the arched ceiling on elevated skywalks. Many engines, helicopters, ultra-lights, and experimental flying machines are on display in a museum setting for the first time. Among the aviation artifacts on display are the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest jet in theworld; the Boeing Dash 80, the prototype of the 707; the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay; and the deHavilland Chipmunk aerobatic airplane.
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After going to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center we watched Transformer2 on DVD at daughters house in Woodbridge Virginia. It was nice to see the scenes shot at Dulles Smithsonian after having looked at the displays and the SR-71 Black Bird. In the movie the SR-71 turns into a transformer and knocks down a wall getting out. At the museum they have a display of model transformers so you knew what to look for in the movie.

I took a picture of one of Robert McCall's wall paintings. I had bought "The Art of Robert McCall: A Celebration of Our Future in Space(Hardcover)earlier in the month, used like new, from Amazon.com for $34.99. Was nice to see the full size article.

The next day we went into Washington D.C. and saw the cherry trees in bloom and looked through the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
http://www.si.edu/Museums/

There is really too much to see and take in if you are limited by time and I wanted to see the Air and Space museum so we did not battle the crowds for the other museums along the mall. You saw tour busses from all over letting off their passengers. A very popular place to be.

We walked across the mall to the National Air and Space Museum.

National Air and Space Museum.
-------------------------------------------------------http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/flagship.cfm
The National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. has hundreds of original, historic artifacts on display, including the Wright 1903 Flyer; the Spirit of St. Louis; the Apollo11 command module Columbia; and a Lunar rock sample that visitors can touch.The Museum offers 22 exhibition galleries, the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater, flight simulators, a three-level Museum shop, and a food-court-style restaurant. Docent tours, daily free educational programs, and school group tours and activities are also available.

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The history of human space exploration is detailed in two exhibitions. To learn about the American and Soviet competition, visit Space Race,where artifacts on display include the V2 ballistic missile, a full-size Hubble Space Telescope test vehicle, and the backup Skylab space station that visitors can walk through.

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Gene Nelson, PhD, a lunar-update reader, works as a docent at the National Mall location of the National Air and Space Museum.
http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/flagship.cfm

We met Gene and he gave us a very interesting tour of the Hubble Telescope, the CORONA spy camera satellite and the U-2.

It was great to have a guide to tell you about the behind scenes operations.

-------------------------------------------------------http://smithsonianscience.org/2009/12/new-acquistion-corrective-instruments-from-the-hubble-space-telescope/
New Acquisition: Corrective instruments from the Hubble Space TelescopeThe Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum recently obtained two monumental instruments on loan from NASA’s Goddard Space FlightCenter. The Hubble Space Telescope’s corrective optics spacetelescope axial replacement, COSTAR, and the Hubble’s wide-fieldplanetary camera WFPC2 are both now on view at the National Air andSpace Museum. COSTAR is on display at NASM in the new “Moving Beyond Earth” exhibition and the WFPC2 is on temporary display through January 10 in Space Hall, in front of a full moddle of the HubbleSpace Telescope

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Gene pointed out pit marks from space debris hitting the outer skin ofthe Hubble’s wide-field planetary camera. We also looked at the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement—COSTAR.
http://smithsonianscience.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/WEB11281-2009h.jpg

Gene gave us an indepth overview of the CORONA spacecraft and its camera system. There is film strung from one end to the other to make it possible to take pictures and roll the film up onto reel canisters that could then be dropped and snagged by aircraft as it fell through the air.

-------------------------------------------------------http://www.nasm.si.edu/events/pressroom/presskits/museumkit/siflight.cfm
National Air and Space Museum Press Kit

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1995 The National Air and Space Museum acquires the formerly top-secret "Keyhole" camera from the Corona spacecraft, the world's first spy satellite. Other notable 1995 acquisitions include an Ilyushin Il-2M3 Shturmovik and a flight data recorder, commonly referred to as a "black box." (May)

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-------------------------------------------------------http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19950117000
Camera, Corona, KH-4B
Manufacturer: Itek Corporation
Country of Origin: United States of America
Dimensions:Overall: 5 ft. 8 in. tall x 5 ft. 2 in. wide x 5 ft. 5 in. deep (172.7x 157.5 x 165.1cm)Materials:Metal, glass, polyester filmThe KH-4B was the last and most advanced camera system used in ProjectCorona, America and the world's first photoreconnaissance satelliteprogram. Between August 1960 and May 1972, when the program ended, 145 Corona satellites were launched and they produced over 800,000 usable images of the USSR and other nations. Film return capsules containing the exposed film separated from the spacecraft in orbit, reentered the atmosphere, and were retrieved in midair. The Itek-made KH-4B camera was used from 1967 until the end of the program and under ideal conditions produced a ground resolution of 6 feet. This artifact was reconstructed from spare parts and was transferred to NASM by theNational Reconnaissance Office in 1995.

Transferred from the National Reconnaissance Office.

http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19950117000

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The day was too short and we had a Metro Rail ride to take back to our car in Virginia so had to bid Gene Nelson goodbye.

It was great to put a face to a lunar-update reader. Much thanks Gene.

Thanks for looking up with me.- LRK -

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
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The WOW Factor - Reading between the pixels of the Hubble's latest images

The WOW Factor - Reading between the pixels of the Hubble's latest images
By Joel Achenbach
Sunday, December 6, 2009

Dr. Gene Nelson sent me a link to an article in the Washington Post about the Hubble Telescope.
It is 4 long html pages and gives us something to think about. We have these WOW moments when we look at the Hubble images. Then again, having seen a lot of them, we may be in danger of burnout.
http://hubblesite.org/
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/

At the beginning of the Apollo missions it was all news and excitement, then things dropped to sound bytes. We are again at the Moon, will this too become sound bytes?
Check out the article.
- LRK -
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/30/AR2009113003590.html
The Wow Factor
Reading between the pixels of the Hubble's latest images

By Joel Achenbach
Sunday, December 6, 2009

By this point, we've all seen so many pretty Hubble pictures that we're in danger of pretty-Hubble-picture burnout. We've seen exploding stars galore. We've seen majestic pillars of gas that are spawning new solar systems. We've seen galaxies colliding, galaxies getting ripped apart, galaxies becoming mired in their own ennui. We've seen Mars and Jupiter and Saturn in such stark close-ups that we can detect the cosmetic surgery scars.

We've seen quasars, pulsars, brown dwarfs, exoplanets, globular clusters and assorted nebulosities. It feels as if we've seen it all. Literally. The whole cosmos, soup to nuts. It kind of makes you wonder if we'll run out of new things to discover. Here's a real headline on a November news release from Stanford: "High-precision measurements confirm cosmologists' standard view of the universe." All figured out; everyone go home now.

So, you can just imagine the challenge that NASA's Hubble Space Telescope scientists faced earlier this year. In May, astronauts aboard the space shuttle Atlantis flew to the Hubble and, defying a stuck bolt that nearly derailed the mission, removed an old camera and replaced it with a better one. They fixed two other instruments, even though these things were not designed for orbital maintenance. Crew members installed new gyroscopes and batteries. After five spacewalks and much derring-do, Hubble was, in effect, a brand-new space telescope.

But what to look at next? The Hubble people had to pick targets to demonstrate the revamped telescope's abilities. They would call these images the Early Release Observations, or ERO (at NASA, everything has an abbreviation). They wanted to produce pictures with lots of (their term) Wow Factor.

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Dr. Nelson has been looking at the WFPC-2 which was recently retrieved from the Hubble Space Telescope and is at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) for a short time. He has seen many visible pits where space debris has struck the radiator surface while it was deployed. WFPC-2 will be on exhibit at NASM for about 2 months, then it will travel to JPL Maybe if you are in the Washington D.C. area you have a chance to visit NASM.

At the top of the above article there is a link to comments and Dr. Nelson posted one. There are a lot more of them now but I will leave you with what he wrote.
- LRK -

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/30/AR2009113003590_Comments.html#
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The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) on the Mall had a special day-long symposium regarding the Hubble Legacy on 18 November 2009.
http://www.nasm.si.edu/events/eventDetail.cfm?eventID=1636

As a symposium attendee, I appreciated the thought-provoking presentations and panel discussions. There are some special artifacts from the Hubble Space Telescope including COSTAR and the Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) that are on special exhibition at the NASM. Some of them will only be there until the end of December, 2009. Be sure and schedule a visit before then. The new "Moving Beyond Earth" Gallery has two of the three new Hubble artifacts - and plenty of "Wow!" with some innovative large scale moving graphics.

(The Hubble Legacy Symposium was made possible by financial support from the Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.)
12/5/2009 9:49:59 PM
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Step back, take a breath, and prepare for a New Year and many more WOW events.
Don't let the excitement wane.
Give it away and watch it come back.

There is much, much, more to learn.
WOW!
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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PILOT OF FINAL SHUTTLE MISSION TO HUBBLE SET FOR SATELLITE INTERVIEWS

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http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/apr/HQ_M09-060.html
MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-060

PILOT OF FINAL SHUTTLE MISSION TO HUBBLE SET FOR SATELLITE INTERVIEWS

HOUSTON -- NASA astronaut Gregory C. Johnson, a native of Seattle, will be available for live interviews via satellite from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, April 21. Johnson will make his first trip into space as the pilot of space shuttle Atlantis during STS-125, the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Launch is targeted for May 12 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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We are finally getting going up to service the Hubble Telescope for the last time.
Later we should launch the Webb telescope.
- LRK -

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http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Apr142009/snt20090413129971.asp
Time to bid adieu to Hubble
The Guardian
The Hubble telescope has expanded our vision of the universe. Soon its replacement will unleash a torrent of new discoveries, writes Inayat Bunglawala
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Hope there will be money for both.
- LRK -

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http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, infrared-optimized space telescope, scheduled for launch in 2013. JWST will find the first galaxies that formed in the early Universe, connecting the Big Bang to our own Milky Way Galaxy. JWST will peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own Solar System. JWST's instruments will be designed to work primarily in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum, with some capability in the visible range.
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Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
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