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Hubble repair mission carrying $70 million CU-Boulder instrument on track for May 11 launch
May 08, 2009A $70 million instrument designed by the University of Colorado at Boulder to probe the evolution of galaxies, stars and intergalactic matter from its perch on the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope is on schedule for its slated May 11 launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard NASA's space shuttle Atlantis.
Originally scheduled for launch in 2004, NASA's Hubble Servicing mission has been beset by delays over the years by causes ranging from the Columbia space shuttle accident to mechanical glitches. But CU-Boulder Professor James Green of the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, principal investigator for $70 million Cosmic Origin Spectrograph, or COS, said from the Kennedy Space Center today things look very good for the launch of Atlantis next Monday at 2:01 p.m. EDT.
""There have been no hiccups this time around and everything is going very smoothly," said Green. We are right on schedule and the team is optimistic about the launch."
The telephone-booth-sized COS, built primarily by CU-Boulder's industrial partner, Ball Aerospace & Technology Corp. of Boulder, should help scientists better understand the "cosmic web" of material believed to permeate the universe, said Green. COS will gather information from ultraviolet light emanating from distant objects, allowing scientists to look back several billion years and reconstruct the physical conditions and evolution of the early universe.
Distant quasars will be used as "flashlights" to track light as it passes through the cosmic web of long, narrow filaments of galaxies and intergalactic gas separated by enormous voids, said Green. Astrophysicists have theorized that a single cosmic web filament may stretch for hundreds of millions of light-years, an astonishing length considering a single light-year is about 5.9 trillion miles.
Light absorbed by material in the web should reveal "fingerprints" of matter like hydrogen, helium and heavier elements, allowing scientists to build up a picture of how the gases are distributed and how matter has changed over time as the universe has aged, Green said.
The spectrograph will break light into its individual components much like a prism, revealing the temperature, density, velocity, distance and chemical composition of galaxies, stars and gas clouds, said Professor Michael Shull of CASA, a co-investigator on COS. The team has chosen hundreds of astronomical targets in all directions of space, which will allow them to build a picture of the way matter is organized in the universe on a grand scale, Shull said.
Shull said one of the earliest COS targets will be a quasar previously looked at by Hubble that is believed to have formed about 5 billion years ago - more than one-third of the way back in time and space to the Big Bang. "This instrument is ten times more sensitive than any previous Hubble ultraviolet instruments, so we are looking forward to studying intergalactic space at this distant epoch in detail."
While matter is thought to have been distributed uniformly throughout space just after the Big Bang, gravity has shaped it into its present filamentary structure known as the cosmic web, said Shull. "Pointing our instrument at hundreds of targets over time will allow us to take a CAT scan of the universe."
COS also will be used to detect young hot stars shrouded in the thick dust clouds they formed in, providing new information on star birth, said CASA Senior Research Associate Cynthia Froning, COS project scientist. Scientists also will point COS at gas surrounding the outer planets of the solar system to glean new clues about planetary evolution.
Green and his COS science team, which is made up of 14 CU-Boulder scientists and engineers and 10 scientists from other institutions, have been allotted 552 orbits of observation time on Hubble. CU-Boulder's CASA is in the process of hiring several dozen postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and undergraduates to work on the project in the coming years, Green said.
University of Colorado at Boulder
The telephone-booth-sized COS, built primarily by CU-Boulder's industrial partner, Ball Aerospace & Technology Corp. of Boulder, should help scientists better understand the "cosmic web" of material believed to permeate the universe, said Green. COS will gather information from ultraviolet light emanating from distant objects, allowing scientists to look back several billion years and reconstruct the physical conditions and evolution of the early universe.
Distant quasars will be used as "flashlights" to track light as it passes through the cosmic web of long, narrow filaments of galaxies and intergalactic gas separated by enormous voids, said Green. Astrophysicists have theorized that a single cosmic web filament may stretch for hundreds of millions of light-years, an astonishing length considering a single light-year is about 5.9 trillion miles.
Light absorbed by material in the web should reveal "fingerprints" of matter like hydrogen, helium and heavier elements, allowing scientists to build up a picture of how the gases are distributed and how matter has changed over time as the universe has aged, Green said.
The spectrograph will break light into its individual components much like a prism, revealing the temperature, density, velocity, distance and chemical composition of galaxies, stars and gas clouds, said Professor Michael Shull of CASA, a co-investigator on COS. The team has chosen hundreds of astronomical targets in all directions of space, which will allow them to build a picture of the way matter is organized in the universe on a grand scale, Shull said.
Shull said one of the earliest COS targets will be a quasar previously looked at by Hubble that is believed to have formed about 5 billion years ago - more than one-third of the way back in time and space to the Big Bang. "This instrument is ten times more sensitive than any previous Hubble ultraviolet instruments, so we are looking forward to studying intergalactic space at this distant epoch in detail."
While matter is thought to have been distributed uniformly throughout space just after the Big Bang, gravity has shaped it into its present filamentary structure known as the cosmic web, said Shull. "Pointing our instrument at hundreds of targets over time will allow us to take a CAT scan of the universe."
COS also will be used to detect young hot stars shrouded in the thick dust clouds they formed in, providing new information on star birth, said CASA Senior Research Associate Cynthia Froning, COS project scientist. Scientists also will point COS at gas surrounding the outer planets of the solar system to glean new clues about planetary evolution.
Green and his COS science team, which is made up of 14 CU-Boulder scientists and engineers and 10 scientists from other institutions, have been allotted 552 orbits of observation time on Hubble. CU-Boulder's CASA is in the process of hiring several dozen postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and undergraduates to work on the project in the coming years, Green said.
University of Colorado at Boulder
Hubble Space Telescope Current Events and Hubble Space Telescope News RSSGoddard team develops new carriers for space station
In a partnership that exemplifies One NASA, engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. teamed up with engineers at NASA's Johnson and Kennedy Space Centers to design, build, and test five new ExPRESS Logistics Carriers, or ELCs, which will be delivered to the International Space Station.
'Dropouts' pinpoint earliest galaxies
Astronomers, conducting the broadest survey to date of galaxies from about 800 million years after the Big Bang, have found 22 early galaxies and confirmed the age of one by its characteristic hydrogen signature at 787 million years post Big Bang.
Opening up a colorful cosmic jewel box
Star clusters are among the most visually alluring and astrophysically fascinating objects in the sky. One of the most spectacular nestles deep in the southern skies near the Southern Cross in the constellation of Crux.
Scientists use world's fastest supercomputer to model origins of the unseen universe
Understanding dark energy is the number one issue in explaining the universe, according to Salman Habib, of the Laboratory's Nuclear and Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology group.
Rebirth of an icon: Hubble's first images since Servicing Mission 4
Astronomers today declared the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope a fully rejuvenated observatory ready for a new decade of exploration, with the release of observations from four of its six operating science instruments.
Astronomers discover stars in early galaxies had a need for speed
A team of astronomers has measured the motions of stars in a very distant galaxy for the first time and discovered they are whizzing around at astonishingly high speeds-about one million miles per hour, or twice the speed at which the Sun circles our own Milky Way galaxy.
Dark Energy From the Ground Up: Make Way for BigBOSS
Several ways have been proposed to examine dark energy, in hopes of finding out just what it is. One of them, "supernovae" for short, certainly works: it's how dark energy was discovered in the first place. Other independent techniques, such as weak gravitational lensing and baryon acoustic oscillation, also promise great power but are as yet unproven.
Hubble captures rare Jupiter collision
The checkout and calibration of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has been interrupted to aim the recently refurbished observatory at a new expanding spot on the giant planet Jupiter.
NASA celebrates Chandra X-Ray Observatory's 10th anniversary
Ten years ago, on July 23, 1999, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched aboard the space shuttle Columbia and deployed into orbit.
Jupiter pummeled, leaving bruise the size of the Pacific Ocean
Something slammed into Jupiter in the last few days, creating a dark bruise about the size of the Pacific Ocean.
More Hubble Space Telescope Current Events and Hubble Space Telescope News Articles
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Hubble: Imaging Space and Time by David Devorkin (Author), Robert Smith (Author) In the spirit of National Geographic’s top-selling Orbit, this large-format, full-color volume stands alone in revealing more than 200 of the most spectacular images from the Hubble Space Telescope during its lifetime, to the very eve of the 2008 final shuttle mission to the telescope. Written by two of the world’s foremost authorities on space history, Hubble: Imaging Space and Time illuminates the solar system’s workings, the expansion of the universe, the birth and death of stars, the formation of planetary nebulae, the dynamics of galaxies, and the mysterious force known as "dark energy." The potential impact of this book cannot be overstressed: The 2008 servicing mission to install new high-powered scientific instruments is especially high profile because the... |
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#S Hubble space telescope Furuta Choco Egg Astronaut/NASA Series Miniature Model by Furuta Japan One brand new Furuta Choco Egg Series Astronaut Vol. 1 No. S Hubble space telescope - this is the rare secret item for this series. This miniature model is fully painted with excellent details. Please note that this miniature plastic model requires some simple assembly and it contains small parts which are not suitable for small children (choking hazard!). Also, this item will be shipped with its original capsule in unassembled condition with its corresponding instruction sheet. Outer box and chocolate will not be included. |
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The Visible Universe: A Visual Journey Through Space and Back in Time. NASA - Hubble Space Telescope Starring: Super Nova Directed By: David DeMarcos Also With: David DeMarcos (Producer) NTSC North American Format Updated 2009 - Includes:
The Visible Universe presents a visual journey through space and back in time using the greatest optical instruments ever created in the history of man. The Hubble Space Telescope, SOHO, Trace, Spitzer, and other instruments have afforded us an insight to the farthest reaches of the Cosmos. Carl Sagan The producer hopes that this progressive music video will entertain and inspire our children to further... |
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Hubble Space Telescope 2010 Standard Wall Calendar 12 X 12 by 2010 Wyman Publishing Hubble Space Telescope Wall Calendar: This calendar is filled with stunning images of the universe that surrounds us, captured by the marvelous Hubble Telescope. This is a visual treat and is perfect for those studying space, novice or advanced, and all those who simply appreciate the beauty of the heavens above us. Each month includes a small descriptor of the image featured. |
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The Universe in a Mirror: The Saga of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Visionaries Who Built It by Robert Zimmerman (Author) The Hubble Space Telescope has produced the most stunning images of the cosmos humanity has ever seen. It has transformed our understanding of the universe around us, revealing new information about its age and evolution, the life cycle of stars, and the very existence of black holes, among other startling discoveries. The Universe in a Mirror tells the story of this telescope and the visionaries responsible for its extraordinary accomplishments. Robert Zimmerman takes readers behind the scenes of one of the most ambitious scientific instruments ever sent into space. After World War II, astronomer Lyman Spitzer and a handful of scientists waged a fifty-year struggle to build the first space telescope capable of seeing beyond Earth's atmospheric veil. Zimmerman shows how many of... |
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The Visible Universe: A Visual Journey Through Space and Back in Time. NASA - Hubble Space Telescope Directed By: David Alexander DeMarcos Also With: Waterline Productions (Producer) |
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The Hubble Space Telescope - Poster (Size: 24" x 36") by Posterstoponline |
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Space Views From the Hubble Telescope 2010 Wall Calendar Publisher: Pomegranate by Hubble Telescope 2010 Space from the Hubble Telescope 2010 Wall Calendar : Not since Galileo turned his telescope toward the heavens in 1610 has any event so changed our understanding of the universe as the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope. Orbiting 600 kilometers (375 miles) above Earth, Hubble provides stunning views of the universe that cannot be made using ground-based telescopes or other satellites. |
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