Hubble - 20 yrs of amazing images
Discussion
Today is the 20th anniversary of Hubble's first light, when it took its very first picture.
The open Cluster NGC 3532
Even with the myriad of problems Hubble had (and has), it showed that images from Hubble were much better resolved than anything imaged from the ground.
Its main mirror was ground to the wrong 'proscription', the solar panels caused it to wobble every time it crossed the day/night terminator, its guidance system couldn't lock on to targets it was supposed to image, the stabilizing gyros were Saturn 5 technology brought out of storage, and weren't even hardened against radiation. The main computer had only 48k of memory; the high-gain antenna had restricted movement due to a badly installed cable....
Most of these problems were eventually sorted, either by ingenious work-arounds from the ground, or the repair missions (or by just ignoring the problem!), and thank God they were, for Hubble has produced some of the most amazing images ever taken.
And my favourites..
The Deep Field image, looking to as near the edge of the Universe as we've ever seen, and back in time to only a few billion years after the Big Bang.
An Einstein Ring
And the famous 'Pillars of Creation'
Happy Birthday Hubble!
The open Cluster NGC 3532
Even with the myriad of problems Hubble had (and has), it showed that images from Hubble were much better resolved than anything imaged from the ground.
Its main mirror was ground to the wrong 'proscription', the solar panels caused it to wobble every time it crossed the day/night terminator, its guidance system couldn't lock on to targets it was supposed to image, the stabilizing gyros were Saturn 5 technology brought out of storage, and weren't even hardened against radiation. The main computer had only 48k of memory; the high-gain antenna had restricted movement due to a badly installed cable....
Most of these problems were eventually sorted, either by ingenious work-arounds from the ground, or the repair missions (or by just ignoring the problem!), and thank God they were, for Hubble has produced some of the most amazing images ever taken.
And my favourites..
The Deep Field image, looking to as near the edge of the Universe as we've ever seen, and back in time to only a few billion years after the Big Bang.
An Einstein Ring
And the famous 'Pillars of Creation'
Happy Birthday Hubble!
Schmeeky][thumb said:
|http://thumbsnap.com/t88Pig1S[/thumb]The Deep Field image, looking to as near the edge of the Universe as we've ever seen, and back in time to only a few billion years after the Big Bang.
Ultra Deep Field shot in High Res: http://www.hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/relea...
Schmeeky said:
Ho. Ly. Crap. There's Thor at the top holding a lightning bolt! :OAbsolutely stunning pictures.
It makes me wonder, when looking at the pictures of those galaxies, how many developed civilisations and what weird and wonderful creatures may be lurking on planets circling around those hundred and thousands of suns.
The universe is such a spectacular place, I really wish there was the impetus to spend our money on exploring it and reaching out as far as we can rather than trying to blow each other up and having wars over differing ideologies and silly religions.
There is so much to learn and explore out there. Unfortunately though, we seem to live in world more obsessed with celebrity diet challenge, Jeremy Kyle and being 'owed' things for nothing because they 'deserve' it. As a civilisation we slowly seem to be losing the will to go out and experience new things, and the idea of being the best and working hard to succeed in these fields is being eroded and replaced with 'everyone is equal' and the 'lowest common denominator'.
We are capable of so much, but we seem to do so little.
It makes me wonder, when looking at the pictures of those galaxies, how many developed civilisations and what weird and wonderful creatures may be lurking on planets circling around those hundred and thousands of suns.
The universe is such a spectacular place, I really wish there was the impetus to spend our money on exploring it and reaching out as far as we can rather than trying to blow each other up and having wars over differing ideologies and silly religions.
There is so much to learn and explore out there. Unfortunately though, we seem to live in world more obsessed with celebrity diet challenge, Jeremy Kyle and being 'owed' things for nothing because they 'deserve' it. As a civilisation we slowly seem to be losing the will to go out and experience new things, and the idea of being the best and working hard to succeed in these fields is being eroded and replaced with 'everyone is equal' and the 'lowest common denominator'.
We are capable of so much, but we seem to do so little.
bob1179 said:
It makes me wonder, when looking at the pictures of those galaxies, how many developed civilisations and what weird and wonderful creatures may be lurking on planets circling around those hundred and thousands of suns.
I think there must be many many other civilizations out there - the chances of us being alone in the universe are vanishingly small, given that there's so much real estate out there! Makes you wonder what they're like! Saint-like angels or evil monsters? Would it be possible to find any common ground, or even communicate effectively? Would they have morals and ethics like ours? Would they love their offspring? More importantly, would they love hooning around in wheeled vehicles?!bob1179 said:
The universe is such a spectacular place, I really wish there was the impetus to spend our money on exploring it and reaching out as far as we can rather than trying to blow each other up and having wars over differing ideologies and silly religions.
I think we're doing alright on the exploring front - there's just the change of emphasis from manned exploration to robotic probe exploration. IIRC Pluto is the only planet not yet visited by a man-made vehicle. I would dearly love for there to be more focus on manned travel though. Schmeeky said:
bob1179 said:
It makes me wonder, when looking at the pictures of those galaxies, how many developed civilisations and what weird and wonderful creatures may be lurking on planets circling around those hundred and thousands of suns.
I think there must be many many other civilizations out there - the chances of us being alone in the universe are vanishingly small, given that there's so much real estate out there! Makes you wonder what they're like! Saint-like angels or evil monsters? Would it be possible to find any common ground, or even communicate effectively? Would they have morals and ethics like ours? Would they love their offspring? More importantly, would they love hooning around in wheeled vehicles?!bob1179 said:
The universe is such a spectacular place, I really wish there was the impetus to spend our money on exploring it and reaching out as far as we can rather than trying to blow each other up and having wars over differing ideologies and silly religions.
I think we're doing alright on the exploring front - there's just the change of emphasis from manned exploration to robotic probe exploration. IIRC Pluto is the only planet not yet visited by a man-made vehicle. I would dearly love for there to be more focus on manned travel though. As for exploration, I would love to see more money spent on it, but I realise that in our current dire economic climate we are lucky to be spending what we are now.
Isn't there a mission on it's way towards Pluto as we speak? It left before they reduced it to 'dwarf planet' status, but it is ongoing. I think it is due to arrive in something like 2015 (though I could be wrong). I have always been fascinated by Pluto. I can't wait to see some clear pictures of it!
Edited by bob1179 on Thursday 20th May 14:13
Carl Sagan explain why the chance of life out there huge and infinitesimally small at the same time!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB_v99FSTYc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB_v99FSTYc
no1special said:
Absolutely amazing!!!
Thanks for posting that.
Gets me thinking about things though....whats at 'the end' of the universe???
The current thinking is the universe doesn't have an "end" as such. It's quite mind boggling to me. I'm currently studying towards a physics degree and in one of my astrophysics lectures, (yes I know, a university student actually going to lectures. It does happen... occasionally...), I learnt that soon we'll be able to see back to around a few hundred thousand years after the big bang once they get the right hardware up there to replace hubble. Before that there was no "light" in the universe, just the building blocks of matter. Which is why machines such as the LHC provide such a valuable insight into the birth of the universe.Thanks for posting that.
Gets me thinking about things though....whats at 'the end' of the universe???
Amazingly awesome.
Which means I have absolutly no shame at in posting this....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcBV-cXVWFw
Which is my all time favourite Youtube video.
"The Hubble Deep Field - The most Important Image Ever Taken"
ETA: Had to edit the link as someone has put that fat bloke dancing in the middle of it
ARRRGGGGHHH - He's in this one too. Ignore the video between 1.30 and 1.50. The rest of the video is awesome. Do stick with it!
Which means I have absolutly no shame at in posting this....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcBV-cXVWFw
Which is my all time favourite Youtube video.
"The Hubble Deep Field - The most Important Image Ever Taken"
ETA: Had to edit the link as someone has put that fat bloke dancing in the middle of it
ARRRGGGGHHH - He's in this one too. Ignore the video between 1.30 and 1.50. The rest of the video is awesome. Do stick with it!
Edited by Dan_1981 on Thursday 20th May 14:44
perdu said:
dammit I cant see any pictures
I hate bloody Firefox, its a crock of doodollop
I expect I'll be able to see them tomorrow
bloody maddening
anyway
Hubble has been bloody marvellous
I wonder how good Hubble 2 or 3 could be
I remember reading somewhere a proposal to built an optical array of telescopes on the dark side of the moon. No sunlight and atmosphere to disrupt immages and an unparalleled view of the universe. I doubt it would happen in my lifetime, but an array of telescopes over an area of several kilometers would be yield amazing pictures and see further than anything before it.I hate bloody Firefox, its a crock of doodollop
I expect I'll be able to see them tomorrow
bloody maddening
anyway
Hubble has been bloody marvellous
I wonder how good Hubble 2 or 3 could be
caz4213 said:
no1special said:
Absolutely amazing!!!
Thanks for posting that.
Gets me thinking about things though....whats at 'the end' of the universe???
The current thinking is the universe doesn't have an "end" as such. It's quite mind boggling to me. I'm currently studying towards a physics degree and in one of my astrophysics lectures, (yes I know, a university student actually going to lectures. It does happen... occasionally...), I learnt that soon we'll be able to see back to around a few hundred thousand years after the big bang once they get the right hardware up there to replace hubble. Before that there was no "light" in the universe, just the building blocks of matter. Which is why machines such as the LHC provide such a valuable insight into the birth of the universe.Thanks for posting that.
Gets me thinking about things though....whats at 'the end' of the universe???
According to string theorists, the Universe may have up to 11 dimensions, but it's OK because the extra 7 dimensions are rolled up very small and we can't 'see' them. Bit like how a hosepipe can be described as a 2D object (any point on the surface can be described by how far along it and how far round it), but seen from far away you can only see the length, as the radius is 'rolled up' too small to see.
This is the point where my brain waves a little white flag and goes back to thinking about boobies...
itsnotarace said:
Ultra Deep Field shot in High Res: http://www.hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/relea...
Thanks for the link. I'll have a proper check later, but does anyone know if I can simply put that on a canvas or if it can be bought from the website?Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff