Looking Up – Bob Eklund

Image taken by Hubble Telescope
Image taken by Hubble Telescope

Hubble Makes One Millionth Science Observation

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has crossed another milestone in its space odyssey of exploration and discovery. On Monday, July 4, the Earth-orbiting observatory logged its one millionth science observation during a search for water in an exoplanet’s atmosphere 1,000 light-years away.

“For 21 years Hubble has been the premier space science observatory, astounding us with deeply beautiful imagery and enabling ground-breaking science across a wide spectrum of astronomical disciplines,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, who was the pilot aboard the space shuttle mission that carried Hubble to orbit. “The fact that Hubble met this milestone while studying a faraway planet is a remarkable reminder of its strength and legacy.”

Although Hubble is best known for its stunning imagery of the cosmos, the millionth observation is a spectroscopic measurement, where light is divided into its component colors. These color patterns can reveal the chemical composition of cosmic sources.

Hubble’s millionth exposure is of the planet HAT-P-7b, a gas giant planet larger than Jupiter orbiting a star hotter than our Sun in the constellation of Cygnus the Swan. HAT-P-7b, also known as Kepler 2b, was studied by NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler observatory after its initial discovery by ground-based observations. The Hubble telescope now is being used to analyze the chemical composition of the planet’s atmosphere.

“We are looking for the spectral signature of water vapor. This is an extremely precise observation and it will take months of analysis before we have an answer,” said Drake Deming of the University of Maryland and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. “Hubble demonstrated it is ideally suited for characterizing the atmospheres of exoplanets, and we are excited to see what this latest targeted world will reveal.”

“This exciting set of observations in search of water vapor on a planet orbiting another star is laying the foundation for how we plan to use the James Webb Space Telescope’s more powerful vision to look for liquid water on nearby planets—the necessary precursor to extraterrestrial life,” said Matt Mountain, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which conducts Hubble science operations.

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched April 24, 1990, aboard space shuttle Discovery. The discoveries of this orbiting observatory have revolutionized nearly all areas of astronomical research—from planetary science to cosmology. To date, the Hubble has collected more than 50 terabytes of data (the archive of that data is available to scientists and the public, at: hla.stsci.edu/).

The James Webb Space Telescope, intended as the successor to the Hubble, is expected to be launched by 2018.

Hubble’s odometer reading of 1,000,000 includes every observation of astronomical targets since its launch, plus observations used to calibrate its suite of instruments. Hubble made the millionth observation using its Wide Field Camera 3, a visible- and infrared-light imager that includes an on-board spectrometer. It was installed by astronauts during the Hubble Servicing Mission 4 in May 2009.

“The Hubble keeps amazing us with groundbreaking science,” said Senator Barbara Mikulski, the chairwoman of the Senate Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds NASA. “I championed the mission to repair and renew Hubble, not just to get one million science observations, but also to inspire millions of children across the planet to become our next generation of stargazers, scientists, astronauts, and engineers.”

You can contact Bob Eklund at [email protected], or visit his websites at www.bobeklund.com and firststarbook.com.

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