NASA - Hubble Space Telescope updates

[JaffH_iii]

Just wanted to say thanks for sharing all of this 

[Star One]

Here’s the accompanying video for the above:

[jacqmans]

Hubble finds a planet forming in an unconventional way
04/04/2022

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has directly photographed evidence of a Jupiter-like protoplanet forming through what researchers describe as an "intense and violent process." This discovery supports a long-debated theory for how planets like Jupiter form, called "disk instability."

The new world under construction is embedded in a protoplanetary disk of dust and gas with distinct spiral structure swirling around surrounding a young star that’s estimated to be around 2 million years old. That's about the age of our solar system when planet formation was underway. (The solar system's age is currently 4.6 billion years.)

Researchers were able to directly image newly forming exoplanet AB Aurigae b over a 13-year span using the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and its Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrograph (NICMOS).

In the top right, Hubble’s NICMOS image captured in 2007 shows AB Aurigae b in a due south position compared to its host star, which is covered by the instrument’s coronagraph. The image captured in 2021 by STIS shows the protoplanet has moved in a counterclockwise motion over time.

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2022/04/Hubble_finds_a_planet_forming_in_an_unconventional_way

[JaffH_iii]

Using Hubble Space Telescope data, astronomers discovered a fast developing black hole in the early universe that is thought to represent a vital ""missing link"" between young star-forming galaxies and the first supermassive black holes.
This artist's rendition depicts a supermassive black hole within the dust-shrouded core of a rapidly star-forming ""starburst"" galaxy. Once the dust has settled, it will ultimately become a tremendously brilliant quasar. The dusty black hole was discovered in a Hubble deep-sky study and dates back barely 750 million years after the Big Bang.

[bolun]

Celebrating Hubble’s 32nd Birthday with a Galaxy Grouping

19 April 2022

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is celebrating its 32nd birthday with a stunning look at an unusual close-knit collection of five galaxies, called the Hickson Compact Group 40. This snapshot reflects a special moment in their lifetimes as they fall together before they merge.

https://esahubble.org/news/heic2205/

Image credit: NASA, ESA and STScI

[bolun]

Hubble observations used to answer key exoplanet questions

25 April 2022

Archival observations of 25 hot Jupiters by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have been analysed by an international team of astronomers, enabling them to answer five open questions important to our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres. Amongst other findings, the team found that the presence of metal oxides and hydrides in the hottest exoplanet atmospheres was clearly correlated with the atmospheres' being thermally inverted.

https://esahubble.org/news/heic2206/

Image credit: ESA/Hubble, N. Bartmann

[Targeteer]

https://esahubble.org/news/heic2207/

heic2207 — Photo Release
Global Citizen Science Project Finds Over 1700 Asteroid Trails in Hubble Images

6 May 2022

Combining artificial intelligence with many keen human eyes, astronomers have found 1701 new asteroid trails in archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, consisting of more than 37 000 images that span two decades. The project reflects both Hubble’s value to scientists as an asteroid hunter and how the public can effectively contribute to citizen science initiatives.

On International Asteroid Day in June 2019 an international group of astronomers launched the Hubble Asteroid Hunter, a citizen science project to identify asteroids in archival Hubble data. The initiative was developed by researchers and engineers at the European Science and Technology Centre (ESTEC) and the European Space Astronomy Centre’s Science Data Centre (ESDC), in collaboration with the Zooniverse platform, the world’s largest and most popular citizen science platform, and Google.

The astronomers collectively identified more than 37 000 composite images taken between April 2002 and March 2021 with Hubble’s ACS and WFC3 instruments. With a typical observation time of 30 minutes, asteroid trails appear as curved lines or streaks in these images. Over 11 400 members of the public classified and analysed these images. More than 1000 trails were identified, providing a training set for an automated algorithm based on artificial intelligence. The combination of citizen science and AI resulted in a final dataset containing 1701 trails in 1316 Hubble images. Project participants also tagged various other astronomical objects, such as gravitational lenses, galaxies and nebulae. Volunteers discussed their findings and sought assistance from scientists and other participants via the project’s forum.

Roughly one third of the asteroid trails seen could be identified and attributed to known asteroids in the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre, the largest database of Solar System objects. This left 1031 unidentified trails that are faint and likely to be smaller asteroids than those detected in ground-based surveys. The vast majority of these asteroids are expected to be located in the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter, where asteroids of such small size are as yet poorly studied. These trails could give the astronomers insightful clues about the conditions in the early Solar System when the planets were forming.

The project highlights Hubble’s potential to image faint, previously unknown asteroids and represents a new approach to finding asteroids in astronomical archives spanning decades, which may be effectively applied to other datasets. In addition to illustrating Hubble’s value as an asteroid hunter, it also reinforced the public’s interest in contributing towards scientific endeavours and the value of citizen science efforts.

Next, the project will explore the 1031 streaks of previously unknown asteroids to characterise their orbits and study their properties, such as their sizes and rotation periods. As most of these asteroid streaks were captured by Hubble many years ago, it is not possible to follow them up now to determine their orbits [1]. However, using Hubble, astronomers can use the parallax effect to determine the distance to the unknown asteroids and put constraints on their orbits. As Hubble moves around the Earth, it changes its point of view while observing the asteroid which also moves on its own orbit. By knowing the position of Hubble during the observation and measuring the curvature of the streaks, scientists can determine the distances to the asteroids and estimate the shapes of their orbits. Some of the longer Hubble observations facilitate the measurement of a light curve [2] for the asteroids, from which the team can measure their rotation periods and infer their shapes.
Notes

[1] Compared to the bright stars and Solar System planets which Hubble regularly tracks, most of the asteroids are very faint and move very quickly, making them difficult to spot. As they will have drifted a very long way since first being seen, the likelihood that predictions of their orbits will be exact enough to capture the object in Hubble’s precise field of view is too slim.

[2] A light curve is a plot of the amount of light seen from an object over a period of time. As the amount of light rises and falls, it traces out a curve, which tells astronomers when and by how much the object’s brightness changes. This can tell them about some of the object’s properties. In this case, as the small, irregularly-shaped asteroids rotate and tumble in space, they expose larger or smaller surfaces to the Sun, and the amount of light reflected towards us changes.
More information

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.

The international team of astronomers in this study consists of S. Kruk (European Space Agency and ​​Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), P. G. Martín (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), M. Popescu ( Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy), B. Merín (European Space Agency), M. Mahlke (Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur), B. Carry (Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur), R. Thomson (Google Cloud), S. Karadağ (Google), J. Durán (RHEA for European Space Agency), E. Racero (SERCO for European Space Agency), F. Giordano (SERCO for European Space Agency), D. Baines (Quasar Science Resources for European Space Agency), G. de Marchi (European Space Agency), and R. Laureijs (European Space Agency).

Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, S. Kruk (ESA/ESTEC), Hubble Asteroid Hunter citizen science team, M. Zamani (ESA/Hubble)

[Rondaz]

This is a pic of a section of a solar panel from the Hubble Space Telescope, which was brought back to earth after the repair mission in 1993. The panel had 100s of impact craters, ranging from microns to millimetres in diameter, after 2 years in space.

https://twitter.com/akaschs/status/1534631771693801474

[Star One]

Hubble Measures Potential Isolated Black Hole Roaming The Galaxy:




https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/06/11/nasa-hubble-finds-first-free-floating-black-hole/?sh=53529298653c

[Blackstar]

Upper right graph shows when the gyroscopes start failing.

[redliox]

How much thought has been given to de-orbiting Hubble?  I expect funding lacking whatever the solution.

[Blackstar]

How much thought has been given to de-orbiting Hubble?  I expect funding lacking whatever the solution.

Back in 2003 I went to a presentation where somebody from NASA showed a preliminary design for a de-orbit module for Hubble. So it has been considered from time to time.

[redliox]

How much thought has been given to de-orbiting Hubble?  I expect funding lacking whatever the solution.

Back in 2003 I went to a presentation where somebody from NASA showed a preliminary design for a de-orbit module for Hubble. So it has been considered from time to time.

Makes me wonder on if any commercial vehicles, Cygnus for example, could be adapted.

[edkyle99]

This is a pic of a section of a solar panel from the Hubble Space Telescope, which was brought back to earth after the repair mission in 1993. The panel had 100s of impact craters, ranging from microns to millimetres in diameter, after 2 years in space.

https://twitter.com/akaschs/status/1534631771693801474

Mostly hits from solid rocket motor residue.

 - Ed Kyle

[Eric Hedman]

How much thought has been given to de-orbiting Hubble?  I expect funding lacking whatever the solution.

Back in 2003 I went to a presentation where somebody from NASA showed a preliminary design for a de-orbit module for Hubble. So it has been considered from time to time.

Makes me wonder on if any commercial vehicles, Cygnus for example, could be adapted.

What would be great is if Starship could bring it back.  It should be in a museum after retirement.

[AS_501]

Anyone happen to know roughly how long Hubble will remain in orbit after deactivation?

[deadman1204]

Anyone happen to know roughly how long Hubble will remain in orbit after deactivation?

It'll take several years to deorbit.

[tappa]

NASA and SpaceX are studying a Hubble telescope boost, adding 15 to 20 years of life

NASA announced Thursday that it plans to study the possibility of using SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicle to boost the aging Hubble Space Telescope into a higher orbit.

The study will also look at potential servicing options, although nothing like the detailed instrument replacements and major upgrades performed during Hubble servicing missions with NASA's space shuttle. Rather, engineers from NASA and SpaceX will assess the feasibility of replacing the gyroscopes that control the pointing of the telescope. Only three of the spacecraft's six gyroscopes remain in working order.

[Targeteer]

https://esawebb.org/news/weic2215/

weic2215 — Photo Release
Webb and Hubble Capture Detailed Views of DART Impact
First Time Webb, Hubble Make Simultaneous Observations of the Same Target

29 September 2022

Two of the great observatories, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, have captured views of a unique experiment to smash a spacecraft into a small asteroid. NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impact observations mark the first time that Webb and Hubble were used to simultaneously observe the same celestial target.

On 27 September 2022 at 01:14 CEST, DART intentionally crashed into Dimorphos, the asteroid moonlet in the double-asteroid system of Didymos. It was the world’s first test of the kinetic impact technique using a spacecraft to deflect an asteroid by modifying the object’s orbit. DART is a test for defending Earth against potential asteroid or comet hazards.

The observations are more than just an operational milestone for each telescope—there are also key science questions relating to the makeup and history of our solar system that researchers can explore when combining the capabilities of these observatories.

Observations from Webb and Hubble together will allow scientists to gain knowledge about the nature of the surface of Dimorphos, how much material was ejected by the collision, and how fast it was ejected. Additionally, observing the impact across a wide array of wavelengths between Webb and Hubble will reveal the distribution of particle sizes in the expanding dust cloud, helping to determine whether it threw off lots of big chunks or mostly fine dust. Combining this information will help scientists to understand how effectively a kinetic impact can modify an asteroid’s orbit.
Webb Captures Impact Site Before and After Collision

Webb took one observation of the impact location before the collision took place, then several observations over the next few hours. Images from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) show a tight, compact core, with plumes of material appearing as wisps streaming away from  the centre of where the impact took place.

Observing the impact with Webb presented the flight operations, planning, and science teams with very unique challenges. Because of the asteroid’s speed of travel across the sky, the teams worked in the weeks leading up to the impact to enable and test a method of tracking asteroids moving over 3 times faster than the original speed limit set for Webb.

Scientists also plan to observe the asteroid in the coming months using Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec). Spectroscopic data will provide researchers with insight into the asteroid’s chemical composition.

Webb observed the impact over five hours total and captured 10 images. The data were collected as part of Webb’s Cycle 1 Guaranteed Time Observation Program 1245 led by Heidi Hammel of Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA).
Hubble Images Show Movement of Ejecta After Impact

Hubble also managed to capture observations of the moonlet ahead of the impact, then again 15 minutes after DART met the surface of Dimorphos. Images from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 show the impact in visible light. Ejecta from the impact appear as rays stretching out from the body of the asteroid. The bolder, fanned-out spike of ejecta to the left of the asteroid is where DART impacted.

Some of the rays appear to be curved slightly, but astronomers need to take a closer look to determine what this could mean. In the Hubble images, astronomers estimate that the brightness of Didymos increased by 3 times after impact, and are also particularly intrigued by how that brightness then held steady, even eight hours after impact.

Hubble will monitor Dimorphos ten more times over the next three weeks. These regular, relatively long-term observations as the ejecta cloud expands and fades over time will paint a more complete picture of the cloud’s expansion from the ejection to its disappearance.

Hubble captured 45 images in the time immediately before and following DART’s impact with Dimorphos. The Hubble data was collected as part of Cycle 29 General Observers Program 16674.
Follow Up with ESA’s Hera Mission

Due to launch in October 2024, ESA’s Hera mission will perform a detailed post-impact survey of the target asteroid Dimorphos. Hera will turn the grand-scale experiment into a well-understood and repeatable planetary defence technique that might one day be carried out for real.

Just like Webb and Hubble, NASA’s DART and ESA’s Hera missions are a great example of what international collaboration can achieve: the two missions are supported by the same teams of scientists and astronomers, and take place through an international collaboration called AIDA – the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment.

NASA and ESA worked together in the early 2000s to develop asteroid monitoring systems, but recognised there was a missing link in the chain from asteroid threat identification to ways of addressing that threat. In response NASA oversaw the DART mission while ESA developed the Hera mission to gather additional data on DART’s impact. With the Hera mission, ESA is assuming even greater responsibility for protecting our planet and ensuring that Europe plays a leading role in the common effort to tackle asteroid risks. As Europe’s flagship planetary defender, Hera is supported through the Agency’s Space Safety programme, part of the Operations Directorate. Read about future plans to be proposed at ESA’s Council at Ministerial Level this November.
More information

The James Webb Space Telescope is an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.

Webb is the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. Under an international collaboration agreement, ESA provided the telescope’s launch service, using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace. ESA also provided the workhorse spectrograph NIRSpec and 50% of the mid-infrared instrument MIRI, which was designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) in partnership with JPL and the University of Arizona.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI
Links

    Collection of Webb’s First Images
    ESA Webb Seeing Farther Interactive Brochure
    Hera Mission
    DART Mission
    ESA’s Vision for Space Safety
    Release on STScI website
    Release on NASA website

[gongora]

Discussion of the proposed Polaris mission can be found in the Polaris program thread:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=55803.0;topicseen