Happy Birthday Hubble

[Cosimo]

Hubble gives us 20 Years of discovery.

From ESA:

From NASA:

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This new Hubble photo is but a small portion of one of the largest seen star-birth regions in the galaxy, the Carina Nebula. Towers of cool hydrogen laced with dust rise from the wall of the nebula. Reminiscent of Hubble's classic image of the Eagle Nebula dubbed the 'Pillars of Creation' this image is even more striking in appearance. Captured here are the top of a three-light-year-tall pillar of gas and the dust that is being eaten away by the brilliant light from nearby bright stars. The pillar is also being pushed apart from within, as infant stars buried inside it fire off jets of gas that can be seen streaming from towering peaks like arrows sailing through the air.
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)

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These two images of a three-light-year-high pillar of star birth demonstrate how observations taken in visible and infrared light by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveal dramatically different and complementary views of an object. Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)

This is a series of close-up views of the complex gas structures in a small portion of the Carina Nebula. The nebula is a cold cloud of predominantly hydrogen gas. It is laced with dust, which makes the cloud opaque. The cloud is being eroded by a gusher of ultraviolet light from young stars in the region. They sculpt a variety of fantasy shapes, many forming tadpole-like structures. In some frames, smaller pieces of nebulosity can be seen freely drifting, such as the 2.3-trillion-mile-long structure at upper right. The most striking feature is a 3.5- trillion-mile-long horizontal jet in the upper left frame. It is being blasted into space by a young star hidden in the tip of the pillar-like structure. A bowshock has formed near the tip of the jet. Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)

Source and more here:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/hubble20th-img.html
http://hubblesite.org/
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope

 

[Cosimo]

One more video to watch, Hubblecast 36:

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[Cosimo]

Some Hubble history, one not to miss, Hubblecast 35:

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[Marine Iguana]

How long Hubble will go on for I know it has had a few upgrades and the space programme is on a slight slow down just wonder how long it will remain useful or its lifespan

 

[Cosimo]

How long Hubble will go on for I know it has had a few upgrades and the space programme is on a slight slow down just wonder how long it will remain useful or its lifespan

There have been five service missions to Hubble.

The final service mission was in May 2009 when Hubble had its batteries replaced, instruments repaired and new ones installed. It can keep going for several more years. The previous batteries lasted 18 years, I don’t know how long the solar panels will last, the instruments may fail, so say ten years, your guess is as good as mine.

It’s not all bad news, Hubble’s successor the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is scheduled launch in 2014. An even bigger one, The Advanced Technology Large Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST) concept could be in space between 2025 and 2035.

There are other observatories which complement Hubble:

Chandra X-ray Observatory
Herschel Space Observatory
Spitzer Space Telescope

These will also have successors so the future is very bright indeed.

 

[modo77]

Fantastic peace of engineering, hope it carries on working for many years yet

 

[Cosimo]

Another goodie to watch:

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More importantly Hubble 3D is now on in London at the Science Museum IMAX until the end of June.