Astronomers Unveil Colorful Hubble Photo Gallery
Ron Baalke
CONTACT: Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
(Phone: 410-338-4514)
Donna Weaver
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
(Phone: 410-338-4493)
Keith Noll
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
(Phone: 410-338-1828
PRESS RELEASE NO.: STScI-PR98-28
ASTRONOMERS UNVEIL COLORFUL HUBBLE PHOTO GALLERY
A vibrant celestial photo album of some of NASA Hubble Space Telescope's
most stunning views of the universe is being unveiled today on the
Internet.
Called the Hubble Heritage Program, this Technicolor gallery is being
assembled by a team of astronomers at Hubble's science operations
center, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, MD.
The Hubble Heritage program is intended to provide the public with some
of the very best celestial views the Space Telescope has to offer.
A "newly processed" Hubble "picture of the month" will be shared with
the public on an ongoing basis at a dedicated web site:
http://heritage.stsci.edu. A new image will be posted on the first
Thursday of every month.
The STScI team is sifting through Hubble telescope's treasure trove of
space images to uncover some of the most striking pictures ever taken by
the orbiting observatory.
The Hubble images were originally taken for astronomical research. The
images are digitally stored on optical disks in the Hubble archives for
other scientists to retrieve for further research.
Aside from scientific value, the images offer compelling views of the
universe's infinite wonders. They include all types of astronomical
phenomena, from nearby planets, to colorful nebulae, to remote galaxies.
The first batch of pictures released today includes a view into the
star-studded hub of our galaxy; Saturn in "natural color"; a
stellar-wind sculpted bubble carved by a massive hot star; and an
overhead view of a magnificent spiral galaxy, dubbed "sunny side up."
Since its launch in 1990 the Hubble Space Telescope has taken pictures
of over 10,000 celestial objects. The most scientifically interesting
observations have been released to news organizations routinely. A large
number of pictures have not previously been presented to the public.
The task of selecting images for the Hubble Heritage project involves
more than just flipping through Hubble's 5.4-terabyte scrapbook of over
130,000 space pictures. Beautiful color pictures have been meticulously
assembled by skilled image processing specialists at STScI.
The images selected from the archive are originally black and white and
must be combined with other pictures of the same object, taken through
different filters. Photographic film, home video cameras, and even the
human eye reconstruct color views in a similar manner.
The Institute's image processing specialists carefully selected colors
to bring out the most detail in the pictures. These aesthetic pictures
can also yield new insights into the nature of a celestial object.
The team continues working away on Hubble images, and assembling
enticing new views of celestial wonders for the public.
"These images communicate, at a visceral level, the awe and
excitement that we experience when exploring the universe with
Hubble. It is our chance to repay the public that supports us," says
Heritage program scientist Keith Noll.
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The Space Telescope Science Institute is operated by the Association of
Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) for NASA, under
contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. The
Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between
NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
EDITOR'S NOTE: Images and photo captions associated with this release
are available on the Internet at:
http://heritage.stsci.edu and
http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/1998/28 or via links in
http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/latest.html or
http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pictures.html.
GIF and JPEG images are available via anonymous ftp to oposite.stsci.edu
in /pubinfo/gif/9828.gif and /pubinfo/jpeg/9828.jpg
/pubinfo/gif/9829.gif and /pubinfo/jpeg/9829.jpg
/pubinfo/gif/9830.gif and /pubinfo/jpeg/9830.jpg
/pubinfo/gif/9831.gif and /pubinfo/jpeg/9831.jpg.
Higher resolution digital versions (300 dpi JPEG) of the release photos
are available at http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/1998/28.
TIFF files are available at
http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/tiff/1998/9828.tif.
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PHOTO CAPTIONS
FOR RELEASE: October 21, 1998
PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC98-28
HUBBLE SERVES UP A GALAXY
What may first appear as a sunny side up egg is actually NASA Hubble
Space Telescope's face-on snapshot of the small spiral galaxy NGC 7742.
But NGC 7742 is not a run-of-the-mill spiral galaxy. In fact, this
spiral is known to be a Seyfert 2 active galaxy, a type of galaxy that
is probably powered by a black hole residing in its core. The core of
NGC 7742 is the large yellow "yolk" in the center of the image. The
lumpy, thick ring around this core is an area of active starbirth. The
ring is about 3,000 light-years from the core. Tightly wound spiral arms
also are faintly visible. Surrounding the inner ring is a wispy band of
material, which is probably the remains of a once very active stellar
breeding ground.
Credit: Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)
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FOR RELEASE: October 21, 1998
PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC98-29
SATURN, IN NATURAL COLORS
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has provided images of Saturn in many
colors, from black-and-white, to orange, to blue, green, and red. But in
this picture, image processing specialists have worked to provide a
crisp, extremely accurate view of Saturn, which highlights the planet's
pastel colors. Bands of subtle color - yellows, browns, grays -
distinguish differences in the clouds over Saturn, the second largest
planet in the solar system.
Saturn's high-altitude clouds are made of colorless ammonia ice. Above
these clouds is a layer of haze or smog, produced when ultraviolet light
from the sun shines on methane gas. The smog contributes to the planet's
subtle color variations. One of Saturn's moons, Enceladus, is seen
casting a shadow on the giant planet as it passes just above the ring
system.
The flattened disk swirling around Saturn is the planet's most
recognizable feature, and this image displays it in sharp detail. This
is the planet's ring system, consisting mostly of chunks of water ice.
Although it appears as if the disk is composed of only a few rings, it
actually consists of tens of thousands of thin "ringlets." This picture
also shows the two classic divisions in the ring system. The narrow
Encke Gap is nearest to the disk's outer edge; the Cassini division, is
the wide gap near the center.
Scientists study Saturn and its ring system to gain insight into the
birth of our solar system.
Credit: Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)
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FOR RELEASE: October 21, 1998
PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC98-30
A SKY FULL OF GLITTERING JEWELS
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has given us a keyhole view towards the
heart of our Milky Way Galaxy, where a dazzling array of stars reside.
Most of the view of our galaxy is obscured by dust. Hubble peered into
the Sagittarius Star Cloud, a narrow, dust-free region, providing this
spectacular glimpse of a treasure chest full of stars. Some of these
gems are among the oldest inhabitants of our galaxy. By studying the
older stars that pack our Milky Way's hub, scientists can learn more
about the evolution of our galaxy.
Many of the brighter stars in this image show vivid colors.
A star's color reveals its temperature, one of its most "vital
statistics." Knowing a star's temperature and the power of the star's
radiation allow scientists to make conclusions about its age and mass.
Most blue stars are young and hot, up to ten times hotter than our Sun.
They consume their fuel much faster and live shorter lives than our Sun.
Red stars come in two flavors: small stars and "red giants". Smaller red
stars generally have a temperature about half that of our Sun, consuming
their fuel slowly and thus, live the longest. "Red giant" stars are at
the end of their lives because they have exhausted their fuel. Although
many "red giant" stars may have been ordinary stars like our Sun, as
they die they swell up in size, become much cooler, and are much more
luminous then they were during the majority of their stellar life.
Credit: Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)
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FOR RELEASE: October 21, 1998
PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC98-31
BLOWING COSMIC BUBBLES
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals an expanding shell of
glowing gas surrounding a hot, massive star in our Milky Way Galaxy.
This shell is being shaped by strong stellar winds of material and
radiation produced by the bright star at the left, which is 10 to 20
times more massive than our Sun. These fierce winds are sculpting the
surrounding material - composed of gas and dust - into the curve-shaped
bubble. Astronomers have dubbed it the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635). The
nebula is 10 light-years across, more than twice the distance from Earth
to the nearest star. Only part of the bubble is visible in this
image. The glowing gas in the lower right-hand corner is a dense region
of material that is getting blasted by radiation from the Bubble
Nebula's massive star. The radiation is eating into the gas, creating
finger-like features. This interaction also heats up the gas, causing it
to glow.
Scientists study the Bubble Nebula to understand how hot stars interact
with the surrounding material.
Credit: Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)