COVER
Includes the full-length DVD
movie “Hubble – 15 Years of
Discovery”
This book forms part of the European Space Agency’s 15th anniversary celebration activities for the 1990 launch of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
As an observatory in space, Hubble is one of the most successful scientific projects of all time, both in terms of scientific output and its immediate public appeal.
Hubble has exploited its unique scientific capabilities where no other instruments can compete. It consistently delivers super-sharp images and clean, uncontaminated spectra over the entire near-infrared and ultraviolet regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. This has opened up new scientific territory and resulted in many paradigm-breaking discoveries.
Exquisite quality images have enabled astronomers to gain entirely new insights into the workings of a huge range of different astronomical objects. Hubble has provided the visual overview of the underlying astrophysical processes taking place in these objects, ranging from planets in our Solar System to galaxies in the young Universe.
Astronomy is fortunate in that telescopes not only produce results of great scientific value, but also of eye-catching beauty and artistic potential. This book shows the close relationship between the two at its best.
Hubble’s design remains unique amongst space-based observatories by enabling astronauts to regularly maintain and upgrade it during Space Shuttle Servicing Missions. These have not only kept the telescope at the forefront of scientific capability, but have transformed its performance to heights beyond the dreams of its original designers.
Lars Lindberg Christensen
Lars is a science communication specialist heading the Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre group in Munich, Germany where he is responsible for public outreach and education for the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in Europe.
Lars obtained his Master’s Degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Before assuming his current position, he spent a decade working as a science communicator and technical specialist for Tycho Brahe Planetarium in Copenhagen.
Lars has more than 100 publications to his credit, most of them in popular science communication and its theory. His other productive interests lie in the areas of graphical communication, written communication, technical communication and scientific communication. He is the author of “The Hands-On Guide to Science Communication” (Springer) as well as the co-author of a colourful book on light phenomena in nature. He has produced material for a multitude of different media from star shows, laser shows and slide shows, to web, print, TV and radio. His methodology is focussed on devising and implementing innovative strategies for the production of efficient science communication and educational material. This work involves working with highly skilled graphics people and technicians, some results of which are visible at: www.spacetelescope.org.
Lars is a founding member and secretary of the International Astronomical Union Working Group on “Communicating Astronomy with the Public” (www.communicatingastronomy.org), manager of the world-renowned “ESA/ESO/NASA Photoshop FITS Liberator” project, Outreach & Education Coordinator for the “Astrophysical Virtual Observatory” and is the Executive producer and director of the science documentary movie “Hubble – 15 Years of Discovery”.
Bob Fosbury
Bob works for the European Space Agency as part of ESA's collaboration with NASA on the Hubble project. Carried out in collaboration with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) near Munich in Germany, this work benefits greatly from the unique scientific environment that ESO provides. He started doing this in 1985, more than 5 years before launch and so has been involved in this huge project for quite a while. During the latter part of this period, Bob served on NASA's Ad Hoc Science Working Group and ESA's Study Science Team as they developed the instrument concepts for the James Webb Space Telescope, the next generation of space observatory.
Bob has published over two hundred scientific papers on topics ranging from the outer atmospheres of stars, the nature of quasars and active galaxies to the physics of forming galaxies in the most distant reaches of the Universe. He started his career at the Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO) in Herstmonceux, England in 1969 and was awarded his DPhil by the nearby University of Sussex in 1973. He then became one of the very first Research Fellows at the newly constructed Anglo Australian Observatory 4 metre telescope in New South Wales, Australia before going to ESO while it was based at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. He then had a spell of 7 years as a staff member at the RGO, working on instruments for the new observatory on La Palma in the Canary Islands and on the pioneering Starlink astronomical computer network.
Bob is currently chairman of the ESO Astronomy Faculty, the largest group of professional astronomers in Europe (and Chile), and is active in the close liaison between the ESO and ESA science programmes. He has had a lifelong interest in the study of natural phenomena of all kinds and is particularly interested in atmospheric optics and the origin of natural colour.
Martin Kornmesser
Martin got his degree in graphics design in Munich in 1989. In those days, computers were not yet the favourite tools of graphic designers and, through the nineties, Martin actively pioneered the exploration of the fascinating and newly emerging world of computer graphics.
In 1990 Martin Kornmesser was the co-founder of the company ART-M, where he created illustrations, wall-paintings and all kinds of graphics design before joining ESA's Hubble Space Telescope outreach group in 1999.
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HUBBLE
15 YEARS OF DISCOVERY
By Lars Lindberg Christensen & Bob Fosbury
Illustrations and Layout by Martin Kornmesser
This book is dedicated to all the hard working people in the USA and Europe who have made the Hubble Space Telescope an incredible scientific success
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caption:
The Sombrero Galaxy
The Sombrero galaxy is one of the Universe's most stately and photogenic galaxies. The galaxy's hallmark is a brilliant white, bulbous core encircled by thick dust lanes comprising the spiral structure of the galaxy.
Credits:
NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
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Table of Contents
Foreword by Malcolm Longair 5
Preface 7
Introduction 9
1 The Hubble Story 11
2 Hubble Up Close 21
3 Planetary Tales 29
4 The Lives of Stars 39
5 Cosmic Collisions 59
6 Monsters in Space 71
7 Gravitational Illusions 81
8 Birth and Death of the Universe 89
9 Looking to the end of time 97
10 Hubble Gallery 105
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FOREWORD
The Hubble Space Telescope has undoubtedly had a greater public impact than any other space astronomy mission ever. The images included in this beautiful volume are quite staggering in what they reveal about the Universe we live in and have already become part of our common scientific and cultural heritage.
But what about the science impact? It is no exaggeration to say that the scientific output of the mission has far exceeded the most optimistic expectations of all those involved in the planning and execution of the project. When I joined the project in 1977, I had to describe the astronomy programme I would carry out with the Hubble once it was in operation in orbit. Seventeen years later when I received my first data, I was quite staggered by the quality of the images and also by the totally new science which they revealed about the ways in which relativistic jets can illuminate the environments of active galaxies. This is a repeated theme in essentially all areas explored by the Telescope. The images are not only beautiful, but are full of spectacular new science, much of it undreamed of by the astronomers involved. A good example is the discovery of protostellar discs seen in silhouette against the bright background of the Orion Nebula. Another is the ability to discover distant star forming galaxies by imaging in a number of wavebands. The observation of distant supernovae has enabled the present acceleration of the Universe as a whole to be measured – an undoubted triumph. And then there are the spectacular images of the Hubble Deep and Ultra-Deep Fields which have revealed what are almost certainly young galaxies in the process of forming the galaxies and larger scale structures we observe about us today. But these are only a few random samples of the wealth of scientific knowledge which has accrued from the mission. Every picture tells a wonderful story which has already been built into our picture of the evolving Universe.
What are the lessons to be learned from this spectacular success? The route to new understanding is through the ability to observe the Universe in new ways with techniques, that extend observational capability by a factor of 10 or more. In the case of the Hubble Space Telescope, the gains in angular resolution, or sharpness, and corresponding sensitivity, as well as the remarkable stability of the instruments in the remote environment of space, have given it unprecedented power to uncover new astrophysics. The results are a wonderful tribute to the dedicated efforts of many scientists, astronomers, engineers, managers and administrators, as well as to the vision of NASA and ESA in enabling the Hubble Space Telescope to come about. Long may this vision and the ability to inspire the public imagination continue as an essential means of deepening our understanding of the Universe.
Malcolm Longair
4 April 2005
caption:
NGC 346
Hubble's exquisite sharpness has plucked out an underlying population of infant stars embedded in the nebula NGC 346 that are still forming from gravitationally collapsing gas clouds.
Credits:
NASA, ESA and A. Nota (STScI/ESA)
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PREFACE
This book takes a closer look at what may be the world's most successful scientific project, 15 years after the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. In many ways the science from Hubble is a journey through time and space.
We would like to thank Stefania Varano, Stuart Clark and Anne Rhodes who all worked on the film manuscript that laid the foundation for important parts of this book.
Unless otherwise noted, the images in this book were taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and should be credited to NASA, ESA and the individual scientists (see www.spacetelescope.org for the exact details).
The DVD mounted on the back contains the movie "Hubble – 15 Years of Discovery" that ESA has produced in collaboration with partners all over Europe. It is an 83 minute journey through the history, the troubled early life and the ultimate scientific successes of Hubble. The soundtrack was especially composed for the movie. In addition there are more than 60 minutes of bonus material. The narration is available in three languages: English, German and Greek. There are subtitles in 15 languages: Bulgarian, Dansk, Deutsch, Greek, Español, Français, Italiano, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Portugués, Russian, Suomi and Svenska. More information about Hubble can be found on ESA's Hubble Internet site: www.spacetelescope.org
Lars Lindberg Christensen and Bob Fosbury
Munich, 8 April 2005
Caption:
The Cone Nebula
Radiation from hot, young stars (located beyond the top of the image) has slowly eroded the nebula over millions of years. Ultraviolet light heats the edges of the dark cloud, releasing gas into the relatively empty region of surrounding space.
Credits:
NASA, Holland Ford (JHU), the ACS Science Team and ESA
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Introduction
On 24 April 2005 the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope will exceed its original estimated lifetime of 15 years in orbit around the Earth. Hubble has been hugely successful in many different areas of astronomy. How does it differ from other famous telescopes?
Hubble orbits 600 km above the Earth's surface, placing it well above our image-distorting atmosphere. It can be upgraded to take advantage of the latest developments in instrumentation and software. The telescope is designed to take high-resolution images and accurate spectra by concentrating light to form sharper images than are possible from the ground, where the atmospheric 'twinkling' of the stars limits the clarity. Therefore, despite its relatively modest aperture of 2.4 metres, Hubble is more than able to compete with ground-based telescopes that have light-collecting (i.e. mirror) areas 10 or even 20 times larger.
As well as being able to take sharper wide-field images, the other huge advantage Hubble has over ground-based telescopes is its ability to observe the near-infrared and ultraviolet light that is otherwise filtered away or masked by the atmosphere before it can reach the ground.
In many areas of astronomical investigation, Hubble has pushed the limit of our knowledge far, far beyond anything possible before its launch.
Caption:
NGC 1300
NGC 1300 is considered to be prototypical of barred spiral galaxies. Barred spirals differ from normal spiral galaxies in that the arms of the galaxy do not spiral all the way into the centre, but are connected to the two ends of a straight bar of stars containing the nucleus at its centre.
Credits:
NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
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1 The Hubble Story
Hubble finally allowed astronomers to realise their dream of escaping the distorting effects of the Earth’s atmosphere to make their observations. Achieving an operational observatory in space was no small task: it took decades of planning and construction in a project of such scale and cost that it demanded international collaboration and the work of many dedicated engineers and scientists. The concept of a telescope that could be upgraded and serviced regularly by astronauts has resulted in capabilities and scientific discoveries far beyond the expectations of the designers.
Caption:
Hubble in Dock
The Hubble Space Telescope in the Shuttle's payload bay during Servicing Mission 3A.
Credits:
NASA
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For many years astronomers
longed for an observatory in space
Hubble has vastly improved our view of the skies, sharpened our perception of the Universe, and allowed us to penetrate ever deeper toward the furthest edges of time and space.
Looking at the night sky we see the familiar twinkle of starlight; light that has travelled enormous distances to reach us. But the stars themselves do not flicker. The Universe is gloriously transparent, allowing light from distant stars and galaxies to travel unchanged across space for thousands, millions, even billions of years. Then, in the last few microseconds before the light reaches our eyes, the fine details in the view of those stars and galaxies are snatched away. This is because, as light passes through our atmosphere, the ever changing blankets of air, water vapour and dust, blur the image that finally reaches us.
To solve this problem, astronomers around the world longed for an observatory in space for many years. As early as 1923, the famed German rocket scientist Hermann Oberth suggested a space-based telescope. However, it was decades before technology caught up with the dream. The American astronomer Lyman Spitzer proposed a more realistic plan for a space telescope in 1946.