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September
9, 2009: Astronomers have declared NASA's Hubble
Space Telescope a fully rejuvenated observatory with the release
of observations from four of its six operating science instruments.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland unveiled the images today
at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.
"This
marks a new beginning for Hubble," said Ed Weiler, associate
administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "The
telescope was given an extreme makeover and now is significantly
more powerful than ever, well-equipped to last into the next
decade."
Above: A selection of images from the rejuvenated
Hubble: more.
View
the complete gallery
Topping
the list of new views are colorful, multi-wavelength pictures
of far-flung galaxies, a densely packed star cluster, an eerie
"pillar of creation," and a "butterfly"
nebula. Hubble's suite of new instruments allows it to study
the universe across a wide swath of the light spectrum, from
ultraviolet all the way to near-infrared. In addition, scientists
released spectroscopic observations that slice across billions
of light-years to probe the cosmic-web structure of the universe
and map the distribution of elements that are fundamental
to life as we know it.
"I
fought for the Hubble repair mission because Hubble is the
people's telescope," said Mikulski, chairwoman of the
Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee
that funds NASA. "I also fought for Hubble because it
constantly rewrites the science textbooks. It has more discoveries
than any other science mission. Hubble is our greatest example
of our astronauts working together with scientists to show
American leadership and ingenuity."
"I
want to salute Team Hubble -- everyone who worked on Hubble
from the Goddard Space Flight Center and Space Telescope Science
Institute scientists in Maryland, to the ground crew at the
Kennedy Space Center, to the Johnson Space Center where the
astronauts train, and to the astronauts who were heroes in
space," she concluded.
The
new instruments are more sensitive to light and, therefore,
will improve Hubble's observing efficiency significantly.
It is able to complete observations in a fraction of the time
that was needed with prior generations of Hubble instruments.
The space observatory today is significantly more powerful
than it ever has been.
Above:
A sample spectrum obtained by Hubble's new Cosmic Origins
Spectrograph (COS). More examples of COS data may be found
here
and here.
The
new results are compelling evidence of the success of the
STS-125 servicing mission in May, which has brought the space
observatory to the apex of its scientific performance. Two
new instruments, the Wide Field Camera 3 and Cosmic Origins
Spectrograph, were installed, and two others, the Advanced
Camera for Surveys and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph,
were repaired at the circuit board level. Mission scientists
also announced that the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object
Spectrometer have been brought back into operation during
three months of calibration and testing.
Right:
Hubble's newly repaired Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph
(STIS) has revealed a stream of charged particles emerging
from doomed star Eta Carina. [more]
 "On
this mission we wanted to replenish the 'tool kit' of Hubble
instruments on which scientists around the world rely to carry
out their cutting-edge research," said David Leckrone,
senior project scientist for Hubble at NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Prior to this servicing
mission, we had only three unique instrument channels still
working, and today we have 13. I'm very proud to be able to
say, 'mission accomplished.' "
Hubble
now enters a phase of full science observations. The demand
for observing time will be intense. Observations will range
from studying the population of Kuiper Belt objects at the
fringe of our solar system to surveying the birth of planets
around other stars and probing the composition and structure
of extrasolar planet atmospheres. There are ambitious plans
to take the deepest-ever near-infrared portrait of the universe
to reveal never-before-seen infant galaxies that existed when
the universe was less than 500 million years old. Other planned
observations will attempt to shed light on the behavior of
dark energy, a repulsive force that is pushing the universe
apart at an ever-faster rate.
Hubble
is back and better than ever. Let the observing begin!
Editor: Dr.
Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA
| more
information |
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For
images and more information about the Hubble Space Telescope,
visit http://www.nasa.gov/hubble
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international
cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency.
Goddard manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science
Institute conducts Hubble science operations. The institute
is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities
for Research in Astronomy Inc. in Washington, and is
an International Year of Astronomy 2009 program partner.
NASA's
Future: US
Space Exploration Policy |
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