university of arizona hubble space telescope discoveries

`

University of Arizona Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries

From the university with the number one space astronomy program in the nation

A top 20 public research university

University of Arizona leads in space sciences

UA ranked #1 among observational, theoretical, and space astronomy programs in the United States

– National Science Foundation, 2015

University of Arizona leads in space sciences

University of Arizona is a world leader in astronomy, leading or partnering in running over20 unique telescopes across the globe

University of Arizona leads in space sciences

University of Arizona leaders in space systems

University of Arizona is responsible for the discovery

of all near-Earth asteroids & comets52%

Uranus’s atmosphere is created by a mixture of gases

1996: A team that included Erich Karkoschka, UA Lunar and Planetary Lab senior staff scientist, captured images of Uranus’s atmosphere, observing clear and hazy layers created by a mixture of gases.

Using infrared filters, Hubble captured detailed features of three layers of the planet’s atmosphere.

1.2.

3.

World’s first images of Saturn’s moon, Titan

1994: A team of astronomers led by Peter Smith, professor emeritus at the UA, took the world’s first images of Saturn’s moon, Titan. At the time, scientists suspected that Titan’s surface was covered with a global ethane-methane ocean.

The images revealed that, in fact, there was at least some solid surface on Titan.

A rare view of Saturn’s rings

1996: Through research done by then UA senior staff scientist Steve Larson and others, Hubble captured a rare view of Saturn’s rings, seen just after the sun had set below the ring plane.

Credit: Phil Nicholson (Cornell University), Steve Larson (University of Arizona) and NASA/ESA

This perspective is unusual because

This perspective is unusual because

the Earth is slightly above Saturn’s rings

This perspective is unusual because

and the Sun is below them,

the Earth is slightly above Saturn’s rings

This perspective is unusual because

and the Sun is below them, so normally we see the rings fully

illuminated by the Sun.

the Earth is slightly above Saturn’s rings

8-year mission to measure

the expanding universe

1999: Hubble completed an eight-year mission to measure the expanding universe, co-led by Robert Kennicutt, then UA professor of astronomy.

The team found that a galaxy appears to be moving

The team found that a galaxy appears to be moving 160 thousand miles per hour faster for every 3.3 light-years away from Earth.

The team used the Hubble telescope to observe

18 galaxies out to 65 million light-years.

First views of a dust ring around a star

1999: The Hubble Space Telescope gave astronomers their first views of a dust ring around a star and a dark gap dividing an immense dust disk around another star. UA astronomer for Steward Observatory Glenn Schneider was on the team that captured these images.

UA found direct proof of dark matter

2006

A team including Steward Observatory astronomer Dennis Zaritsky and led by then University of Arizona astronomer Doug Clowe,

found direct proof of dark matter using Hubble Space Telescope.

Images credit (top right); ESA/XMM-Newton/F. Gastaldello (INAF/IASF, Milano, Italy)/CFHTLS (bottom left); X-ray: NASA, ESA, CXC, M. Bradac (University of California, Santa Barbara), and S. Allen (Stanford University) (bottom right). These colliding galaxy clusters show a clear separation between the normal matter (in pink) and the gravitational effects (in blue).

Images of Vesta & Ceres

helped astronomers plan for the Dawn spacecraft’s tour of these asteroids

2007: Hubble took images of

asteroids, Vesta and Ceres, that helped astronomers prepare for a spacecraft visit. UA astronomer Mark Sykes was on the team that captured the images.

The images of Vesta and Ceres showed two of the most massive asteroids in the asteroid belt,

The images of Vesta and Ceres showed two of the most massive asteroids in the asteroid belt, a region between Mars and Jupiter, and helped astronomers plan for the Dawn spacecraft’s tour of these asteroids.

Atmospheric features on Uranus are revealed in images taken with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and the Advanced Camera for Surveys aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

Erich Karkoschka from the University of Arizona took the Uranus image that is now a US Postal Service stamp

At first glance, Jupiter looks like it has

a mild case of the measles.

Closer inspection with Hubble reveals that these spots are actually a rare alignment of three of Jupiter’s largest moons – Io, Ganymede, & Callisto – across the planet's face.

Erich Karkoschka from the University of Arizona took the Jupiter image that is now a US Postal Service stamp

a giant star-forming region

2000: This image shows a giant star-forming region in the southern sky known as the Carina Nebula and combines the light from three different filters. Nathan Smith, UA associate professor of astronomy, contributed to the composite.

The picture is a composite of several exposures made in February 2000 with the Curtis Schmidt telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile.

The color is also representative of the temperature in the ionized gas: blue is relatively hot and red is cooler.

The picture is a composite of several exposures made in February 2000 with the Curtis Schmidt telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile.

The Carina Nebula composite image shows the light from 3 different filters, which traces emission from:

oxygen – blue

hydrogen – green

sulfur – red

In the Carina Nebula, oxygen is shown in blue.The blue has been enhanced for the color blind.

In the Carina Nebula, hydrogen is shown in green.The green has been enhanced for the color blind.

In the Carina Nebula, sulfur is shown in red.The red has been enhanced for the color blind.

University of Arizona designed NICMOS to capture unique views of the Universe.

1997: Hubble’s Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer, or NICMOS, was installed on the space telescope with the UA’s Rodger Thompson as its principal investigator.

In order for its detectors to function properly, NICMOS needed to be kept very cold.

To do this, NICMOS was encased in a thermos-like container filled with solid nitrogen ice. It was expected that the solid nitrogen ice would last approximately four years. However, the ice evaporated about twice as fast as planned and was depleted after only 23 months of NICMOS operations. In 1999, with its supply of ice exhausted, NICMOS became dormant.

Determined not to be defeated, NASA scientists and engineers devised a plan to restore NICMOS to life. They turned to a new mechanical cooling technology, jointly developed by NASA and the U.S. Air Force.

The mechanical cooler, a cryogenic refrigerator, operates on principles similar to a home refrigerator. It pumps ultra-cold neon gas through the internal plumbing of the instrument. The NICMOS cooling system keeps the technology at about -321 degrees Fahrenheit (as is necessary). It’s also virtually vibration-free, an important aspect for Hubble since vibrations can affect image quality in much the same way that a shaky camera produces blurred pictures.

After more than 3 years of being down and out, NICMOS was put back to work in 2002, debuting new and breathtaking views of galaxies in several stages of development.

The photo on the right, of the Cone Nebula (NGC 2264), is one of the photos NICMOS snapped in 2002. The NICMOS images were taken on 11 May 2002. Credits for NICMOS image: NASA, ESA, the NICMOS Group (STScI, ESA) and the NICMOS Science Team (Univ. of Arizona) Credits for ACS image: NASA, ESA, H. Ford ( JHU), G. Illingworth (UCSC/LO), M.Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), the ACS Science Team, and ESA

Interested in the future of ground & space telescopes?

Giant Magellan Telescope (ground) James Webb Space Telescope (space)

University of Arizona Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries