Hubble Heritage Gallery
Dateline: 10/30/98
"Humanity must rise above the Earth, to the top of the atmosphere and beyond, for only thus will we fully understand the world in which we live." - Socrates
Sometimes, a project of our government produces truely amazing results. I think NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is one of those.
For example, back in January of 1998, with its lens pointed toward the handle
of the Big Dipper, the shutter of Hubble's
Near Infrared Camera clicked open. Thirty-six hours
later, when the shutter finally closed, the camera had captured this:
Space
Telescope Science Institute
Pictures of galaxies located near the edge of our universe. Some of the points of light in the photo to the left may be 12 Billion light-years away. Truly a galaxy far, far away, Luke.
Since it was placed into orbit on April 25th, 1990 by the crew of Space Shuttle Discover, Hubble's 2.4-meter reflecting telescope and many other exploratory instruments have been gathering the most spectacular images of our universe, near and far, ever seen.
Saturn, Space Telescope Science
Institute
Now, on one fascinating new Web site, the scientists, engineers, and astronomers
who manage the Hubble mission for NASA -- the
Space Telescope Science
Institute (STSI) -- present a monthly montage of the best of the Hubble
photo collection.
On the first Thursday of each month, the Hubble Heritage Project presents a new set of images presenting a striking view of the cosmos.
October's features on the Heritage gallery include Saturn, galaxy NG 7742, Sagittarius Star Cloud, and the beautiful Bubble Nebula (NGC 7365). For faster download, you may want to start on the Heritage Project Index page. Each featured object includes large and small .jpg images, plus a complete page of information, like this one on the Bubble Nebula.
Bubble
Nebula - Space Telescope Science Institute
You can also download the Hubble photographs and use them freely in reports and projects. And if you have a problem with the download or questions about the photos, STSI even provides technical assistance and information.
NASA expects Hubble to remain in service until around 2007 when they anticipate the launch of the New Generation Space Telescope (NGST) under the direction of the Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA has big plans for the NGST, not the least of which hopes to examine the very origins of the universe.
But, is it really important? Do we really need to know, to see? Who cares?
"Space is for everybody; It's not for the few people in science or math, or a select group of astronauts. That's our new frontier out there and it's everybody's."
Christa McAuliffe, Teacher and Space Shuttle Challenger Astronaut.
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Hey, this stinking link won't work!
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