Science Highlights

Slide 1: 

NASA’s Great Observatories “an astronomical Mount Rushmore” Spitzer Chandra Compton Hubble

Gains in orbit : 

Gains in orbit No atmospheric blurring Wider accessible wavelength range Instrumental stability No clouds/daylight (timing)

Slide 3: 

HUBBLE Past …future?

Some HST Science highlights : 

Some HST Science highlights Structures of distant galaxies

Some HST Science highlights : 

Some HST Science highlights Structures of distant galaxies Hubble constant from Cepheid variable stars

Some HST Science highlights : 

Some HST Science highlights Structures of distant galaxies Hubble constant from Cepheid variable stars Black holes in (almost all) galactic nuclei

Some HST Science highlights : 

Some HST Science highlights Structures of distant galaxies Hubble constant from Cepheid variable stars Black holes in (almost all) galactic nuclei Protoplanetary material near young stars

Some HST Science highlights : 

Some HST Science highlights Structures of distant galaxies Hubble constant from Cepheid variable stars Black holes in (almost all) galactic nuclei Protoplanetary material near young stars Gravitational lenses

Some HST Science highlights : 

Some HST Science highlights Structures of distant galaxies Hubble constant from Cepheid variable stars Black holes in (almost all) galactic nuclei Protoplanetary material near young stars Gravitational lenses Intergalactic gas and its history Stuff scattered all the way through the textbooks

And just lately… : 

And just lately… Planets in middle-aged star clusters GOODS Nearby galaxy cluster surveys Host galaxies and scattered quasar light

Supernova progenitor in M51 : 

Supernova progenitor in M51

Slide 13: 

(Li et al.)

Gravitational microlensing in NGC 3314 : 

Gravitational microlensing in NGC 3314

Instrument history : 

Instrument history 1990: FGS HSP FOS GHRS FOC WF/PC 1993: FGS CoSTAR FOS GHRS FOC WFPC2 : FGS CoSTAR NICMOS STIS FOC WFPC2 2002: FGS CoSTAR NICMOS STIS ACS WFPC2 2008? COS, WFC3

Hubble status, August 2006 : 

Hubble status, August 2006 Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph dead (only high-res/small-region spectrometer) 3 of 6 gyros (RSUs) functional (3 normally needed, 2-gyro mode now in use with restricted pointing) Battery capacity decreasing (useless circa 2010) Estimated 50% failure time on above: 2008 Instrument/transmitter power cycling now reduced by rescheduling/eliminating parallel imaging Advanced Camera suffered power-supply short, now operating normally on redundant components

Shuttle status : 

Shuttle status “Safe haven” would mean standby orbiter Limited remaining flights earmarked to ISS Need for independent orbital inspection Will Hubble be a victim of the Vision? Orbital mechanics: 28.5-degree inclination, getting heaviest payloads highest from Cape Canaveral, restricts options now

Servicing non-options : 

Servicing non-options Prohibitive energy requirements to co-orbit with ISS in reach of astronauts 28-degree orbit out of reach from Baikonur Ion thrusters would take the whole estimated telescope lifetime for orbit change ~2015-30 estimated deorbit without boosting

Final (SM4) servicing mission : 

Final (SM4) servicing mission 2 STS flights have had “acceptable” foam shedding COS, WFC3, STIS repair, batteries, gyros Now manifested as STS-125 (last non-ISS flight) Deorbit module status unclear Target: early 2008

Next up: JWST : 

Next up: JWST

James Webb Space Telescope : 

James Webb Space Telescope Launch 2013, on Ariane V, to L2 region 6.5m deployable primary 0.6-20 microns (far red to mid-IR) Key problems: formation of galaxies, first stars, maybe planets Spacecraft weight/mirror area ratio roughly that of Hubble mirror alone!

Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory : 

Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory

Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory : 

Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory Deployed April 1991 by Atlantis crew. Deorbited mid-2000. Distribution, distance of gamma-ray bursts Gamma-ray blazars, relativistic beaming Microquasars Radioisotopes in interstellar medium Successors: Swift, INTEGRAL, GLAST

Slide 27: 

And at other wavelengths… Chandra and its complement XMM-Newton

The galactic-center black hole and its attendants : 

The galactic-center black hole and its attendants

Hot gas between galaxies : 

Hot gas between galaxies

The chemistry of a supernova : 

The chemistry of a supernova

Fireball impact in Supernova 1987A : 

Fireball impact in Supernova 1987A

The history of black holes – a Chandra deep field : 

The history of black holes – a Chandra deep field

Strong evidence for dark matter : 

Strong evidence for dark matter

Slide 34: 

“Bullet” galaxy cluster 1E0657-56 Optical: Hubble/Magellan

Slide 35: 

Blue: dark matter from lensing

Slide 36: 

Pink: hot gas from Chandra

Spitzer Space Telescope : 

Spitzer Space Telescope

Spitzer Space Telescope : 

Spitzer Space Telescope Warm launch, radiative cooling Cryogen management, 3 years of 5+ so far Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit 2 cameras, 2 spectrographs, 3.6-160 mm Shortest-wavelength cameras could operate indefinitely

Temperatures of extrasolar planets : 

Temperatures of extrasolar planets Direct detection of IR from two “hot Jupiters” during eclipses, two wavelengths give temperature estimates

Looking into dusty star cradles : 

Looking into dusty star cradles

Slide 44: 

Distant galaxy clusters – the most massive galaxies formed quickly and simultaneously

Slide 48: 

Across the spectrum - now FarIR MidIR nearIR opt UV farUV X-ray gamma Spitzer Hubble Chandra GALEX FUSE INTEGRAL WMAP Akari

Multispectral Greatest Hits : 

Multispectral Greatest Hits Intergalactic gas Starburst galaxies High-redshift galaxies Evaporating planets Protoplanetary disks Growth of black holes Complexity of stardeath Gamma-ray bursts Supernova chemistry Quasar jets Stripped galaxies Pregalactic lumps Galaxy history Relativistic jets

A panchromatic view -spiral galaxy M81 : 

A panchromatic view -spiral galaxy M81 ROSAT GALEX Kitt Peak Spitzer VLA

A new Universe to explore : 

A new Universe to explore The full electromagnetic spectrum Open international competition for observations Public data archives (without mailing tapes!) The beginnings of the Virtual Observatory But astronomers think about facilities differently from NASA and ESA…

More just as great : 

More just as great ESA’s XMM-Newton Practically everybody’s INTEGRAL On the runway: SOFIA Almost on the pad: ESA’s Herschel And of course – NASA/ESA JWST On the ground and meant to stay there: ALMA, GMT, LSMT, ELT, OWL…

SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) – NASA/DLR : 

SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) – NASA/DLR

Slide 56: 

International Gamma-Ray Laboratory (INTEGRAL)

Slide 57: 

It really is international: ESA mission Russian launch NASA communication

Slide 59: 

Al-26 mass: 2.8 solar masses Massive SN rate: 1.9/century

Slide 60: 

ESA Herschel Space Telescope 3.5m Far-IR optimized Ariane 5 launch (w/Planck) 2007? L2 halo orbit

Slide 61: 

Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)

Slide 62: 

GLAST burst monitors at MSFC right before shipping to Phoenix for integration

Slide 63: 

Across the spectrum - soon FarIR MidIR nearIR opt UV farUV X-ray gamma Spitzer Hubble? Chandra and XMM GALEX? FUSE? INTEGRAL Planck Herschel Swift SIM? TPF? JWST GLAST