Hubble Deep Field and the Distant Universe describes this watershed event in the history of astronomy. Aimed at an audience including amateur astronomers, science historians, researchers, HST aficionados and students interested in science, this book recounts the development of space astronomy, the progression of decisions and events that led to the distant universe exploration of Williams and the Hubble Deep Field team, and it describes the momentous image that has enabled astronomers to piece together the evolution of the largest structures in the universe.
Hubble Deep Field and the Distant Universe describes a watershed event in the history of astronomy, in addition to recounting the development of space astronomy. Aimed at a wide-ranging audience including amateur astronomers, science historians, researchers, Hubble Space Telescope (HST) aficionados and students interested in science, this book recounts the progression of events that led to the deep field exploration of Robert Williams and the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) team. Giving a fascinating insight into the processes by which astronomical research projects are carried out and unique discoveries are made by HST, this book describes the momentous image that has enabled astronomers to piece together the evolution of the largest structures in the universe.
A series of photos taken from space more than 20 years ago revealed thousands of unknown galaxies in a tiny patch of "empty" space. Called the Hubble Deep Field, the amazing image is made up of hundreds of photos combined into one. It was taken over the course of 10 days from the Hubble Space Telescope and has prompted astronomers and other scientists to speculate about universe's size, shape, and age. How long ago did the first galaxies appear? Have they always looked like they do today, or have their shapes evolved over time? And will they, along with the universe itself, go on expanding forever? The Hubble Deep Field has helped to answer some of these questions.
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has operated continuously since 1990. During that time, four space shuttle-based service missions were launched, three of which added major observational capabilities. A fifth â€" SM-4 â€" was intended to replace key telescope systems and install two new instruments. The loss of the space shuttle Columbia, however, resulted in a decision by NASA not to pursue the SM-4 mission leading to a likely end of Hubble's useful life in 2007-2008. This situation resulted in an unprecedented outcry from scientists and the public. As a result, NASA began to explore and develop a robotic servicing mission; and Congress directed NASA to request a study from the National Research Council (NRC) of the robotic and shuttle servicing options for extending the life of Hubble. This report presents an assessment of those two options. It provides an examination of the contributions made by Hubble and those likely as the result of a servicing mission, and a comparative analysis of the potential risk of the two options for servicing Hubble. The study concludes that the Shuttle option would be the most effective one for prolonging Hubble's productive life.
The Hubble Deep Field (HDF) is the deepest optical image of the Universe ever obtained. It is the result of a 150-orbit observing programme with the Hubble Space Telescope. It provides a unique resource for researchers studying the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies. This timely volume provides the first comprehensive overview of the HDF and its scientific impact on our understanding in cosmology. It presents articles by a host of world experts who gathered together at an international conference at the Space Telescope Science Institute. The contributions combine observations of the HDF at a variety of wavelengths with the latest theoretical progress in our understanding of the cosmic history of star and galaxy formation. The HDF is set to revolutionize our understanding in cosmology. This book therefore provides an indispensable reference for all graduate students and researchers in observational or theoretical cosmology.
In the spirit of National Geographic’s top-selling Orbit, this large-format, full-color volume stands alone in revealing more than 200 of the most spectacular images from the Hubble Space Telescope during its lifetime, to the very eve of the 2008 final shuttle mission to the telescope. Written by two of the world’s foremost authorities on space history, Hubble: Imaging Space and Time illuminates the solar system’s workings, the expansion of the universe, the birth and death of stars, the formation of planetary nebulae, the dynamics of galaxies, and the mysterious force known as "dark energy." The potential impact of this book cannot be overstressed: The 2008 servicing mission to install new high-powered scientific instruments is especially high profile because the cancellation of the previous mission, in 2004, caused widespread controversy. The authors reveal the inside story of Hubble’s beginnings, its controversial early days, the drama of its first servicing missions, and the creation of the dynamic images that reach into the deepest regions of visible space, close to the time when the universe began. A wealth of astonishing images leads us to the very edge of known space, setting the stage for the new James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2013. Find the stunning panoramic of Carina Nebula, detailing star birth as never before; a jet from a black hole in one galaxy striking a neighboring galaxy; a jewel-like collection of galaxies from the early years of the universe; and a giant galaxy cannibalizing a smaller galaxy. Timed for the 2008 shuttle launch and coinciding with the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first telescope, Hubble: Imaging Space and Time accompanies a high-profile exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum and will be featured on the popular NASM website.
What are time and space? When and how did the universe begin - and how will it end? Why has such a rich variety of celestial objects come into being? And was life an inevitable development in the cosmos?The answers to our most profound questions lie in the depths of space. To look here is, in effect, to look back in time, as we see light emitted long ago from distant stars and galaxies. As we stare deep into space, we also gaze deep into the past - back towards the beginning of the universe itself.Now Deep Space allows us to see, with our own eyes, the mysterious objects and phenomena that inhabit the far reaches of the cosmos and the earliest times of existence. Each of this book's ten chapters explains one big idea in humanity's study of the origins and evolution of the universe. These fundamental concepts include the big bang and the expanding universe; the formation of stars and planets; the anatomy and lifecycle of a galaxy; the existence of black holes and supermassive black holes; gravity and Einstein's Theory of Relativity; dark matter and dark energy; the cosmic web; and theories of how the universe will end. These cornerstones in our understanding of the universe are clearly introduced by Dr Stuart Clark's straightforward commentary, and are exemplified by over 250 of the very latest and clearest images of the cosmos, provided by the Hubble Space Telescope and other, even more advanced, viewing technologies.
Chasing Hubble's Shadows is an account of the continuing efforts of astronomers to probe the outermost limits of the observable universe. The book derives its title from something the great American astronomer Edwin Hubble once wrote: "Eventually, we reach the dim boundary—the utmost limits of our telescopes. There, we measure shadows, and we search among ghostly errors of measurement for landmarks that are scarcely more substantial." The quest for Hubble's "shadows"—those unimaginably distant, wispy traces of stars and galaxies that formed within the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang—takes us back, in effect, to the beginning of time as we are able to perceive it, when the first discrete stellar objects appeared out of what has lately come to be known as the "cosmic dark age." The information that is being gleaned from these dim sources—chiefly with the aid of Hubble's namesake, the Hubble Space Telescope—promises to yield clues to many cosmic puzzles, including the nature of the mysterious "dark energy" that is now believed to pervade all of space.
