One of Hubble’s greatest legacies is its deep field images. But as much as we’ve learned from them, the deep field story is only beginning.
As we wrap up #DeepFieldWeek, find out what comes next in this thread ⬇️
When it launches later this year, @NASAWebb’s powerful infrared capabilities will provide deep and extraordinary views of our universe
Webb will detect “baby galaxies” and take us to within a stone’s throw of the Big Bang to observe the early universe: go.nasa.gov/3fDTzQM
Later this decade, @NASARoman will survey the universe and take staggering observations of wide swathes of space. Imagine dozens of Hubble deep fields in a single image!
🧵 Follow along this thread for a mini #DeepFieldWeek history lesson!
First up, we have the original Hubble Deep Field. Imaged in 1995, it took 10 days of exposure time to capture. In it, we could see about 3,000 galaxies! (Portion below)
In 2003 and 2004, Hubble captured a million-second-long exposure to create the Hubble Ultra Deep Field image, which contains about 10,000 galaxies! 🤯
A new camera on Hubble called the Advanced Camera For Surveys made it possible to get such a deep, intricate view.
Later, to create the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field, Hubble revisited the same patch of sky over a decade for a total of 50 days!
One of the coolest parts? The universe is 13.7 billion years old, and this image spans 13.2 billion years of galaxy development.
Just as cars need maintenance, sometimes spacecraft need fixing, too. 🛠️When astronauts work on spacecraft in orbit, it's called space servicing.
Have questions about servicing? Leave a reply in the comments for a Q&A from 12-2 p.m. EDT on 5/14 with astronauts and experts!
💡Fun fact! Astronauts traveled to the Hubble Space Telescope for five servicing missions. Their work is the reason why Hubble has lasted 30 years in space, showing us images of the universe as a more colorful and stranger place than we ever imagined.
Christy Hansen trained the EVA (spacewalk) astronauts who serviced the Hubble Space Telescope and supported them during real-time mission operations on orbit as an EVA flight controller. Christy will be answering some of your questions today!
The Hubble Space Telescope has given us a new image of a nursery for stars in a nearby galaxy to the Milky Way. ✨
Have questions about this new image? Leave them in the comments below! Join Hubble experts later today from 2-4 p.m. EDT for a Q&A.
Hi, I am Elena Sabbi. I am an astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute. Until last year I was a team lead for Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope. I study star formation and stellar evolution. I’ll be answering your questions today!
Hi, I’m Dr. Kenneth Carpenter. I’m the Hubble Space Telescope Operations Project Scientist and the WFIRST Ground System Project Scientist at NASA Goddard. My research specialty is on the outer atmospheres and winds of cool, evolved stars.
Hubble captured a new view of an interstellar comet! That's a comet that came from outside our solar system, in the mysterious region of space between stars. ☄️
Have questions? Join scientists later today from 2-4 p.m. EDT to get them answered!
Dr. Kenneth Carpenter is the Hubble Space Telescope Operations Project Scientist & the WFIRST Ground System Project Scientist @NASAGoddard in Greenbelt, Maryland. His research specialty is on the outer atmospheres & winds of cool, evolved stars. He's here to answer questions!
Max Mutchler is a scientist @stsci in Baltimore, where he has worked on Hubble for almost 30 years. He is an expert on Hubble’s cameras, & specializes in using them to observe Solar System objects. Max is now transitioning to work on @NASAWFIRST, a future space telescope.
So, you heard yesterday that Hubble detected water vapor signatures in the atmosphere of a planet beyond our solar system that resides in the "habitable zone." What does all this mean? Follow along as Senior Project Scientist Dr. Jennifer Wiseman answers some questions. #Thread
How can we determine this planet's atmosphere from so far away and why is this discovery exciting?
Does this finding mean we've discovered life on other planets?
On Friday, the Hubble Space Telescope went into safe mode due to a failed gyro – used to keep the telescope precisely pointed for long periods. Mission experts are taking steps to return Hubble to great science. More updates will follow.
The Hubble team is working to resume science after Hubble entered safe mode due to 1 of 3 gyros failing. Analysis and testing on the backup gyro are ongoing to determine why it is not performing as expected. For more info: nasa.gov/feature/goddar…
Built with multiple redundancies, Hubble had six new gyros installed during Servicing Mission-4 in 2009. Hubble usually uses three gyros at a time for maximum efficiency, but can continue to make scientific observations with even just one gyro.