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Science 18-year-old Hubble takes star pix of "pillars of creation"
Science 18-year-old Hubble takes star pix of "pillars of creation" | 18-year-old Hubble takes star pix of "pillars of creation" |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Wednesday, 13 August 2008 | |
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Science DiscussionsNASA announced on Monday, August 11, 2008, that the Hubble Space Telescope—on that day, in its eighteenth year of exploring the universe and on its 100,000th orbit around the Earth—was honored for its many accomplishments. Specifically, Hubble was aimed at a region in space within the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy where huge numbers of stars are being created. Hubble entered its 100,000th orbit about the Earth on the morning of August 11, 2008. At that time, Hubble took an image of the star cluster NGC 2074 within the Tarantula nebula, to commemorate the accomplishments it has made to science and astronomy for mankind. To see the photo taken during Hubble's 100,000th orbit of Earth, visit: “NASA Hubble.” The NASA news release “Hubble Unveils Colorful Star Birth Region on 100,000th Orbit” described the event, “The region is a firestorm of raw stellar creation, perhaps triggered by a nearby supernova explosion. It lies about 170,000 light-years away and is one of the most active star-forming regions in our local group of galaxies.” The release continued in its description, “The image reveals dramatic ridges and valleys of dust, serpent-head "pillars of creation," and gaseous filaments glowing fiercely under torrential ultraviolet radiation. The region is on the edge of a dark molecular cloud that is an incubator for the birth of new stars.” And, “The high-energy radiation blazing out from clusters of hot young stars is sculpting the wall of the nebula by slowly eroding it away. Another young cluster may be hidden beneath a circle of brilliant blue gas.” U.S. senator Barbara A. Mikulski, of Maryland, who is the chairperson of the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee (which funds NASA) described the event: "This morning, the greatest scientific instrument since Galileo's telescope has reached another great milestone - its 100,000th orbit around the Earth. Hubble has given us amazing insight into the origins of our universe, and I'm so proud of the men and women at Goddard and the Space Telescope Science Institute for their contributions and dedication to these great discoveries. The entire world is looking forward to the Hubble servicing mission in October 2008, when Hubble will get new scientific instruments, new batteries and new gyroscopes. The servicing mission will extend Hubble's life and give it a more powerful view of our universe. Hubble is the telescope that could, and its best years are ahead of it!" [NASA] Part of the design, development, and operational work for Hubble was (and is) performed by the scientists and engineers at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the Space Telescope Science Institute, in Baltimore, Maryland. Please read page two for additional information on Hubble, and its upcoming servicing mission by NASA astronauts. |
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