DOCSLIB.ORG

Number 28 Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Number 28 Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility January 2001 Number 28 Page 1 Number 28 January 2001 This 140 nm ultraviolet image of Jupiter was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on 26 November 1998 (Credit: NASA; ESA & John T. Clarke, Univ. of Michigan) when Jupiter was at a distance of 700 million km from Earth. In addition to the main auroral oval, centred on the magnetic north pole, and a pattern of more diffuse emission inside the polar cap, unique features are the ‘magnetic footprints’ of three of Jupiter’s satellites, Io, Ganymede and Europa. Space Telescope ST-ECF Newsletter ST-ECF European Coordinating Facility Page 2 ST–ECF Newsletter European news As the ESA contribution to HST moves away Group and, in September, by the Space Science Advisory from hardware provision, support for another Committee that NGST be selected as the next ‘Flexi-mission’ project has been agreed for the ST-ECF. in ESA’s future plan for implementation between 2008 and Following the successful provision of a 2013. This selection was endorsed by the Science Programme software package for extraction of NICMOS Committee at its meeting in October. grism spectra (NICMOSLook, see ST-ECF Newsletter 24, p. 7, This approval has allowed ESA to follow up the industry 1997), support for the spectroscopic modes of the ACS will studies it funded during 1999 with new investigations also be provided. ACS has both grisms and prisms: the Wide focussed on the specific European contributions to the Field Camera, with a coverage of 3.4' × 3.4', is fitted with a mission. In November, a study of the 1–5µm near-IR multi- grism offering 40Å/pixel resolution (5500–11000Å) over the object spectrograph to be provided by ESA was awarded to a full WFC field; the High resolution Camera (26'' × 29'') consortium headed by Astrium (Munich) and Laboratoire provides 30Å/pix grism spectra and prism spectra with a d’Astronomie Spatiale (Marseille). This study is to concentrate maximum resolution of 2.6Å/pixel at 1600Å; the Solar Blind on the spectrograph concept recommended by the ad hoc Channel (31'' × 35'') has two prisms with 1.4 and 1.7Å/pixel Science Working Group (ASWG) on the basis of the science maximum resolution, with one prism excluding the programme described in the Design Reference Mission. The geocoronal Lyman-α line. The ST-ECF/ACS project is larger concept assumes a microelectronic mechanical system in scope than the NICMOS one covering all aspects of the ACS (MEMS) shutter or mirror array as its slit selector mechanism. grism and prism modes for the lifetime of the instrument, With the possibility that MEMS technology may not mature in including ground and in-flight calibration, user support and time for NGST, ESA is also in the process of soliciting a study documentation, provision of calibration files, and of course of alternatives to MEMS for generating reconfigurable front pipeline software to extract the spectra. The first output of this end slit masks. This second industrial study is scheduled to project is an imaging and spectrum simulator, called SLIM, start in March. which is described in this Newsletter. Ground calibration of The mid-infrared capability of NGST will be provided as a the spectrometric modes of ACS is just beginning and the data 50/50 collaboration between NASA and the ESA member will be analysed to determine how important is the fringing of states, with some contribution from the Canadian Space the detectors to the accurate extraction of spectra. Following Agency (CSA). A mid-infrared partnership planning group analysis of these data, the extraction software will be imple- met during 2000 and recommended that an international mented (in Python) to be run in pipeline mode but also steering committee be formed to coordinate the instrument tunable for more interactive use. design. Membership of the Mid-Infrared Steering Committee The Cycle 10 Call for Proposals in September 2000 showed (MISC) is currently being competitively solicited by the slightly lower European input, with 19.9% by number of agencies (see the ESA URL given above). The partnership proposals and 17.7% by number of GO orbits, compared with concept envisages the European team, funded from national higher figures in previous cycles. Overall, however, the contributions, developing the instrument optical and me- number of submitted proposals was almost identical to chanical structure with the US team developing the detectors Cycle 9. The allocation was announced in December and the and associated electronics and the cryocooling system. success rate for European GO orbits was also slightly lower The ASWG, which started in September 1997 and held its than previous cycles at about 16%, but still above the 15% ESA last meeting in mid-summer 2000, is being replaced by an contribution level. There were two proposals in the 50–99 Interim Science Working Group (ISWG) —see orbit category and a large snapshot proposal to build an http://ngst.gsfc.nasa.gov/project/Groups/SciWG/ archive of images of sites of core-collapse supernovæ in — whose task will be to continue providing scientific guid- nearby galaxies. However in contrast to Cycle 9, of the 14% of ance to the project until the US instrument AO is released in Large (> 100 orbit) proposals with a European PI, none were 2002. The membership was selected last September from over granted time. These are trends which could cause some 100 applicants. The group is chaired by Marcia Rieke from the concern but may perhaps be attributable to the absence of the University of Arizona and includes Mark McCaughrean (AIP) Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the cryo-cooled and Ewine van Dishoeck (Leiden) as European members. NICMOS, which were expected for Cycle 10 but are now As the technological requirements for NGST are clarified scheduled for installation during Servicing Mission 3B, and as the costing estimates become more firmly based, the expected for November 2001. NGST project has recently undertaken a detailed reassessment The pace of cross-telescope collaboration has been of the spacecraft design parameters in preparation for the accelerated by the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey issue of the ‘Requests for Proposals’ for the NGST prime (GOODS) proposal which was accepted as a SIRTF Legacy contract in the spring of 2001. This exercise involved examin- programme. HST is involved in this program inasmuch as the ing the size and temperature of the telescope, some design HDF’s will be observed by other instruments. See choices for the instruments and the division of responsibilities http://www.stsci.edu/science/goods/ among the three agencies and the prime contractors. The main for more detail. There is substantial European involvement in result of this process has been the relaxation of the require- GOODS in the form of ground-based observations with ments on the diameter, the areal density and the temperature Gemini and ESO telescopes and which are integral to this of the primary mirror. A reduction in aperture from 8m to study of the high redshift universe. somewhere between 6 and 7m allows a stiffer mirror which Since its opening in April last year the Hubble European can be more satisfactorily tested on the ground under gravity. Information Centre has produced a steady stream of press Allowing the mirror to operate at a slightly higher tempera- releases of HST science: see the note at the end of this News- ture than would be achieved by pure passive cooling permits letter. active thermal control using heaters. Together, these options Jeremy Walsh render unnecessary the planned flight validation experiment Nexus (a 2–3 m test telescope proposed to operate at L2) which has consequently been cancelled. Several events during 2000 have advanced ESA’s The latest NASA mission update document can be significant rôle in the NGST project. In July, the obtained at: ESA NGST Study Science Team (SST) submitted a http://www.ngst.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/doc?Id=793 proposal to ESA for European participation in NGST — this Study Report is available at: Peter Jakobsen (ESTEC) & Robert Fosbury http://astro.estec.esa.nl/NGST It was strongly recommended by the Astronomy Working January 2001 Number 28 Page 3 SLIM — grism simulator for the ACS Norbert Pirzkal & Anna Pasquali LIM is a program developed at the ST-ECF to simulate ❏ Photometric zero points are computed on-the-fly using the Sdirect and slitless spectroscopic images. It was created to input list of filters and throughputs and a spectrum of Vega. generate both geometrically and photometrically realistic data ❏ Arbitrary, nth order polynomial descriptions of the disper- appropriate to the slitless spectroscopic modes of the Ad- sion relations can be used, allowing both near-linear (grism) vanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). It is based on our current and highly non-linear (prism) simulations to be generated. knowledge of the instrument parameters, the simulated data Field dependence can be included. being needed to test future slitless spectroscopy extraction ❏ Does not require any a priori sampling of the input spec- software. ACS is scheduled for launch during SM3B late in trum or throughput files. 2001. Figure 1 (a - left) direct WFC image (b) grism WFC image. Color composite direct image (F435W, F606W, F814W) and corresponding grism (G800L) image of a simulated ACS/WFC image of an HDF-N like field. Integration times are 1000s per filter. PA = 90° PA = 45° ❏ Produces Wide Field Camera (WFC) simulations that agree 15,000 15,000 V = 20 V = 20 photometrically within 1% with the ACS exposure time 10,000 10,000 calculator. 5000 5000 Simulation examples SLIM can be used to generate entire fields such as the one 0 0 shown in Figures 1a and 1b where 1000s simulations of an HDF-N like field are shown.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Future of Spaceimaging
    (NASA-CR-198818) THE FUTURE OF N95-31364 SPACE IMAGING. REPORT OF A COMMUNITY-BASED STUDY OF AN ADVANCED CAMERA FOR THE HUBBLE Unclas SPACE TELESCOPE Final Technical Report (Space Telescope Science Inst.) 150 p G3/89 0055789 TheFuture of SpaceImaging hen Lyman Spitzer first proposed a great, earth-orbiting telescope in I946, the nudear energy source of stars had been known for just six years. Knowledge of galaxies beyond our own and the understanding that our universe is expanding were only about twenty years of age in the human consciousness. The planet Pluto was seventeen. Quasars, black holes, gravitational lenses, and detection of the Big Bang were still in the future--together with much of what constitutes our current un- derstanding of the solar system and the cosmos beyond it. In I993, forty- seven years after it was conceived in a forgotten milieu of thought, the Hubble Space Telescope is a reality. Today, the science of the Hubble attests to the forward momentum of astronomical exploration from ancient times. The qualities of motion and drive for knowledge it exemplifies are not fixed in an epoch or a generation: most of the astronomers using Hubble today were not born when the idea of it was first advanced, and many were in the early stages of their education when the glass for its mirror was cast, The commitments we make today to the future of the Hubble observatory will equip a new genera- tion of young men and women to explore the astro- nomical frontier at the start of the 2I st century.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report 2011
    ESO European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere Annual Report 2011 ESO European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere Annual Report 2011 presented to the Council by the Director General Prof. Tim de Zeeuw The European Southern Observatory ESO, the European Southern Observa­ tory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe. It ESO/J. PérezESO/J. is supported by 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil1, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Several other countries have expressed an interest in membership. Created in 1962, ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground­based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astro­ nomical research. ESO operates three unique world­class Star trails over ESO’s La Silla Observatory. observing sites in the Atacama Desert region of Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. ESO’s first site is at La Silla, a 2400­metre­high mountain 600 kilo­ in visible light, is the flagship facility of images of celestial objects as faint as metres north of Santiago de Chile. It is European astron omy. Paranal is situated magnitude 30 have been obtained in equipped with several optical telescopes about 130 kilo metres south of Antofagasta a one­hour exposure. This corresponds with mirror diameters of up to 3.6 metres. in Chile, 12 kilometres inland from the to seeing objects that are four billion Pacific coast in one of the driest areas in times fainter than those seen with the The 3.5­metre New Technology Tele­ the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Instrument Handbook V7.0
    Version 7.0 October 2004 Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer Instrument Handbook for Cycle 14 Space Telescope Science Institute 3700 San Martin Drive Baltimore, Maryland 21218 [email protected] Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration User Support For prompt answers to any question, please contact the STScI Help Desk. • E-mail: [email protected] • Phone: (410) 338-1082 (800) 544-8125 (U.S., toll free) World Wide Web Information and other resources are available on the NICMOS World Wide Web site: • URL: http://www.stsci.edu/hst/nicmos Revision History Version Date Editors 1.0 June 1996 D.J. Axon, D. Calzetti, J.W. MacKenty, C. Skinner 2.0 July 1997 J.W. MacKenty, C. Skinner, D. Calzetti, and D.J. Axon 3.0 June 1999 D. Calzetti, L. Bergeron, T. Böker, M. Dickinson, S. Holfeltz, L. Mazzuca, B. Monroe, A. Nota, A. Sivaramakrishnan, A. Schultz, M. Sosey, A. Storrs, A. Suchkov. 4.0 May 2000 T. Böker, L. Bergeron, D. Calzetti, M. Dickinson, S. Holfeltz, B. Monroe, B. Rauscher, M. Regan, A. Sivaramakrishnan, A. Schultz, M. Sosey, A. Storrs 4.1 May 2001 A. Schultz, S. Arribas, L. Bergeron, T. Böker, D. Calzetti, M. Dickinson, S. Holfeltz, B. Monroe, K. Noll, L. Petro, M. Sosey 5.0 October 2002 S. Malhotra, L. Mazzuca, D. Calzetti, S. Arribas, L. Bergeron, T. Böker, M. Dickinson, B. Mobasher, K. Noll, L. Petro, E. Roye, A. Schultz, M. Sosey, C. Xu 6.0 October 2003 E. Roye, K. Noll, S.
    [Show full text]
  • An Exploratory Study of Credibility Issues in Astronomy Press Releases Research & Applications
    An Exploratory Study of Credibility Issues in Astronomy Press Releases Research & Applications Lars Holm Nielsen Nanna Torpe Jørgensen Lars Lindberg Christensen Roskilde University Kim Jantzen ESA/Hubble ESA/Hubble Roskilde University E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Summary Key Words Current developments in the media marketplace and an increased need for visibility to secure funding are leading inevitably to faster, simpler and more Credibility aggressive science communication. This article presents the results of an Hype exploratory study of potential credibility problems in astronomy press releases, Science Communication their causes, consequences and possible remedies. The study consisted of Astronomy eleven open-ended interviews with journalists, scientists and public information Visibility Press Releases officers. Results suggest that credibility issues are central to communication, deeply integrated into the workflow and can have severe consequences for the actors (especially the scientist), but are an unavoidable part of the communication process. Many scientists have the impression that sci- studies about this important, but rather elusive, Introduction ence reporting is inaccurate and that science topic are difficult to find in the literature. Science communication operates in the mod- news is often overstated (Shortland and Gre- ern media marketplace and competes for gory 1991, p. 8; Dunwoody 1986, p. 11). This How widespread are credibility problems in head lines with politics, business, sports, crime perception has, in the case of astronomy, been astronomy press releases? What factors cause and large commercial communicators such as shown to be false by Shaefer et al. (1999), who these credibility problems? What are their con- the entertainment industry.
    [Show full text]
  • NICMOS Data Handbook
    Version 5.0 January, 2002 NICMOS Data Handbook Hubble Division 3700 San Martin Drive Baltimore, Maryland 21218 [email protected] Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration User Support For prompt answers to any question, please contact the STScI Help Desk. • E-mail: [email protected] • Phone: (410) 338-1082 (800) 544-8125 (U.S., toll free) World Wide Web Information and other resources are available on the Web site: • URL: http://hst.stsci.edu/nicmos. NICMOS Revision History Version Date Editors 3.0 October 1997 Daniela Calzetti 4.0 December 1999 Mark Dickinson 5.0 January 2002 Mark Dickinson, NICMOS Editor Bahram Mobasher, Chief Editor Contributors STScI NICMOS Group (past & present members), including: Santiago Arribas, Eddie Bergeron, Torsten Boeker, Howard Bushouse, Daniela Calzetti, Luis Colina, Mark Dickinson, Sherie Holfeltz, Lisa Mazzuca, Bahram Mobasher, Keith Noll, Antonella Nota, Erin Roye, Chris Skinner, Al Schultz, Anand Sivaramakrishnan, Megan Sosey, Alex Storrs, Anatoly Suchkov, Chun Xu ST-ECF: Wolfram Freudling. Citation In publications, refer to this document as: Dickinson, M. E. et al. 2002, in HST NICMOS Data Handbook v. 5.0, ed. B. Mobasher, Baltimore, STScI Send comments or corrections to: Hubble Division Space Telescope Science Institute 3700 San Martin Drive Baltimore, Maryland 21218 E-mail:[email protected] Table of Contents Preface .................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Instrument Overview .................. 1-1 1.1 Instrument Overview ................................................. 1-1 1.2 Detector Readout Modes ......................................... 1-4 1.2.1 MULTIACCUM......................................................... 1-5 1.2.2 ACCUM.................................................................... 1-5 1.2.3 BRIGHTOBJ ............................................................ 1-6 1.2.4 RAMP .....................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • An IRAF Package for the Quantitative Morphology Analysis of Distant Galaxies
    Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems VII ASP Conference Series, Vol. 145, 1998 R. Albrecht, R. N. Hook and H. A. Bushouse, eds. GIM2D: An IRAF package for the Quantitative Morphology Analysis of Distant Galaxies Luc Simard UCO/Lick Observatory, Kerr Hall, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, Email: [email protected] Abstract. This paper describes the capabilities of GIM2D, an IRAF package for the quantitative morphology analysis of distant galaxies. GIM2D automatically decomposes all the objects on an input image as the sum of a S´ersic profile and an exponential profile. Each decompo- sition is then subtracted from the input image, and the results are a “galaxy-free” image and a catalog of quantitative structural parameters. The heart of GIM2D is the Metropolis Algorithm which is used to find the best parameter values and their confidence intervals through Monte- Carlo sampling of the likelihood function. GIM2D has been successfully used on a wide range of datasets: the Hubble Deep Field, distant galaxy clusters and compact narrow-emission line galaxies. 1. Introduction GIM2D (Galaxy IMage 2D) is an IRAF package written to perform detailed bulge/disk decompositions of low signal-to-noise images of distant galaxies. GIM2D consists of 14 tasks which can be used to fit 2D galaxy profiles, build residual images, simulate realistic galaxies, and determine multidimensional galaxy selection functions. This paper gives an overview of GIM2D capabili- ties. 2. Image Modelling The first component (“bulge”) of the 2D surface brightness used by GIM2D to model galaxy images is a S´ersic (1968) profile of the form: Σ(r)=Σexp b[(r/r )1=n 1] (1) e {− e − } where Σ(r) is the surface brightness at r.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to the HST Data Handbooks
    Version 8.0 May 2011 Introduction to the HST Data Handbooks Space Telescope Science Institute 3700 San Martin Drive Baltimore, Maryland 21218 [email protected] Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration User Support For prompt answers to any question, please contact the STScI Help Desk. • Send E-mail to: [email protected]. • Phone: 410-338-1082. • Within the USA, you may call toll free: 1-800-544-8125. World Wide Web Information and other resources are available on the Web site: • URL: http://www.stsci.edu Revision History Version Date Editors 8.0 May 2011 Ed Smith Technical Editors: Susan Rose & Jim Younger 7.0 January 2009 HST Introduction Editors: Brittany Shaw, Jessica Kim Quijano, & Mary Elizabeth Kaiser HST Introduction Technical Editors: Susan Rose & Jim Younger 6.0 January 2006 HST Introduction Editor: Diane Karakla HST Introduction Technical Editors: Susan Rose & Jim Younger. 5.0 July 2004 Diane Karakla and Jennifer Mack, Editors, HST Introduction. Susan Rose, Technical Editor, HST Introduction. 4.0 January 2002 Bahram Mobasher, Chief Editor, HST Data Handbook Michael Corbin, Jin-chung Hsu, Editors, HST Introduction 3.1 March 1998 Tony Keyes 3.0, Vol. II October 1997 Tony Keyes 3.0, Vol. I October 1997 Mark Voit 2.0 December 1995 Claus Leitherer 1.0 February 1994 Stefi Baum Contributors The editors are grateful for the careful reviews and revised material provided by Azalee Boestrom, Howard Bushouse, Stefano Casertano, Warren Hack, Diane Karakla and Matt Lallo. Citation In publications, refer to this document as: Smith, E., et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Future of Hubble Data NASA Award for ST-ECF Staff Finding Solar
    ST-ECF December 2006 NEWSLETTER 41 Future of Hubble Data Finding Solar System Bodies NASA Award for ST-ECF Staff NNL41_15.inddL41_15.indd 1 113/12/20063/12/2006 110:54:450:54:45 HUBBLE’S BEQUEST TO ASTRONOMY Robert Fosbury & Lars Lindberg Christensen Although the Hubble Space Telescope is currently in its 17th year of operation, it is not yet time for its obituary. Far from it: Hubble has been granted a new lease of life with the recent announcement by Michael Griffi n, NASA’s Chief Administrator, that Servicing Mission 4 (SM4) is scheduled for 2008. The purpose of this article is to refl ect a little on what Hubble has already achieved and, rather more importantly, to remind ourselves what still needs to be done to ensure that the full legacy of this great project can be properly realised. Following musings on the advantages of a telescope in space by lesson from Hubble, however, is that the ability to maintain and refi t Hermann Oberth in the 1920s and by Lyman Spitzer in the 1940s, an observatory in space can multiply its scientifi c productivity and serious studies of a “Large Space Telescope” were started by NASA effective lifetime by large factors. Were it not for the success of Ser- in 1974. In 1976 NASA formed a partnership with ESA to carry to vicing Mission 1, the HST would still be regarded as the embarrassing low Earth orbit a large optical/ultraviolet telescope on the Space disaster it nearly became when spherical aberration was discovered Shut tle.
    [Show full text]
  • Iron Emission in Z~ 6 Qsos
    To appear in ApJ Letters Iron Emission in z ≈ 6 QSOs1 Wolfram Freudling Space Telescope – European Coordinating Facility European Southern Observatory Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2 85748 Garching Germany [email protected] Michael R. Corbin Science Programs, Computer Sciences Corporation Space Telescope Science Institute 3700 San Martin Dr. Baltimore, MD 21218 [email protected] and Kirk T. Korista Western Michigan University Physics Department arXiv:astro-ph/0303424v1 18 Mar 2003 1120 Everett Tower Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5252 [email protected] ABSTRACT We have obtained low-resolution near infrared spectra of three QSOs at 5.7 <z< 6.3 using the NICMOS instrument of the Hubble Space Telescope. The spectra cover the rest-frame ultraviolet emission of the objects between λrest ≈ 1600 A˚ - 2800 A.˚ The Fe II emission-line complex at 2500 A˚ is clearly detected in two of the objects, and possibly detected in the third. The strength –2– of this complex and the ratio of its integrated flux to that of Mg II λ2800 are comparable to values measured for QSOs at lower redshifts, and are consistent with Fe/Mg abundance ratios near or above the solar value. There thus appears to be no evolution of QSO metallicity to z ≈ 6. Our results suggest that massive, chemically enriched galaxies formed within 1 Gyr of the Big Bang. If this chem- ical enrichment was produced by Type Ia supernovae, then the progenitor stars formed at z ≈ 20 ± 10, in agreement with recent estimates based on the cosmic microwave background. These results also support models of an evolutionary link between star formation, the growth of supermassive black holes and nuclear activity.
    [Show full text]
  • Not Yet Imagined: a Study of Hubble Space Telescope Operations
    NOT YET IMAGINED A STUDY OF HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OPERATIONS CHRISTOPHER GAINOR NOT YET IMAGINED NOT YET IMAGINED A STUDY OF HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OPERATIONS CHRISTOPHER GAINOR National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Communications NASA History Division Washington, DC 20546 NASA SP-2020-4237 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Gainor, Christopher, author. | United States. NASA History Program Office, publisher. Title: Not Yet Imagined : A study of Hubble Space Telescope Operations / Christopher Gainor. Description: Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Communications, NASA History Division, [2020] | Series: NASA history series ; sp-2020-4237 | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “Dr. Christopher Gainor’s Not Yet Imagined documents the history of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST) from launch in 1990 through 2020. This is considered a follow-on book to Robert W. Smith’s The Space Telescope: A Study of NASA, Science, Technology, and Politics, which recorded the development history of HST. Dr. Gainor’s book will be suitable for a general audience, while also being scholarly. Highly visible interactions among the general public, astronomers, engineers, govern- ment officials, and members of Congress about HST’s servicing missions by Space Shuttle crews is a central theme of this history book. Beyond the glare of public attention, the evolution of HST becoming a model of supranational cooperation amongst scientists is a second central theme. Third, the decision-making behind the changes in Hubble’s instrument packages on servicing missions is chronicled, along with HST’s contributions to our knowledge about our solar system, our galaxy, and our universe.
    [Show full text]
  • The ESA–NASA Agreements on HST and NGST
    November 1998 Number 25 Page 1 Number 25 November 1998 Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility ST-ECF Newsletter Page 2 ST–ECF Newsletter Editorial rom the first issue in March 1985, the Editorial policy for ideally suited to this function and capable of transmitting Fthe ST-ECF Newsletter has been directed towards keeping information in formats not available on paper. Should the the community informed about the status of the HST project Web be our sole medium for informing our community? In and, in particular, about technical developments which spite of its convenience and flexibility, we think not. support the scientific use of the Observatory. Scientific results There is a clear need to inform about the HST in general were only reported when they illustrated the application of a and its evolution towards the Next Generation Space newly-developed technique or capability. The aim was to Telescope — a project which has gathered such enormous produce a publication which could be found open on the desk momentum during the last three of years. In particular, the of somebody writing an HST observing proposal or reducing European involvement in these Observatories has been under data. active negotiation, the results of which need to be We believe that this policy was correct and that the disseminated. Such topics are suited to a paper Newsletter Newsletter fulfilled this function. As an example, one could and that is one of our justifications for not succumbing point to the series of articles on image restoration — first entirely to the attractions of the WWW. triggered by the spherical aberration problem but later This new version of the ST-ECF Newsletter will appear developed into a broadly applicable suite of algorithms with twice a year, around May and November, and will be more application throughout astronomy and beyond.
    [Show full text]
  • NICMOS and the VLT
    NICMOS and the VLT A New Era of High Resolution Near Infrared Imaging and Spectroscopy An International Workshop held in Pula, Sardinia, Italy May 26-27, 1998 Edited by Wolfram Freudling and Richard Hook PDF version by Norbert Pirzkal ESO Conference and Workshop Proceedings No.55 EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, D-85748 Garching, Germany c Copyright 1998 by the European Southern Observatory ISBN 3-923524-58-7 Cover Illustration: The background image used on the cover is taken from a photograph by Bob Fosbury showing the bay in Sardinia close to where the conference took place. It is reproduced at far lower resolution than the original. The upper insert is one of the ESO VLT firstlight images and is a true colour view of the core of the globular cluster Messier 4. It was constructed from 2 minute exposures taken on 22nd May 1998 and reaches a limiting B magnitude of about 24 in 0.53 arcsec seeing. More details of the VLT first light are given on page 2. The lower insert is taken from the paper of Peletier et al. (page 162) and shows multi-colour NICMOS/WFPC2 imaging of the bulges of nearby galaxies. It is used by permission of the authors. Contents iii Contents Preface...................................... vi Conference participants . ............................ vii Conference photograph . ............................ x Part 1. VLT Status and Instruments VLTFirstLight.................................. 2 ESO Representatives Near IR Astronomy with the ESO VLT ...................... 6 A. Moorwood CONICA: The high resolution near-infrared camera for the ESO VLT ..... 10 P. Bizenberger, R. Lenzen, H. Bellemann, C. Storz, A.
    [Show full text]