astrokido
space wanderer
Reged: 06/09/08
Posts: 661
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
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The recent HST upgrade with it's new WFC3 camera is producing far more detailed images than before. A close-up of a portion of M83 with incredible detail was released today, see:
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2009/29/image/b/
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- Gill C. - Celestron Cometron CO-100, 10x25, 20x80, Binochair, Nikon D40
The Night Sky Atlas: www.nightskyatlas.com
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star drop
Guilty as Charged
Reged: 02/02/08
Posts: 16211
Loc: Snow Plop, WNY
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That stunning image makes one wonder how much more science Hubble is capable of doing.
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Ted
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scopethis
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/30/08
Posts: 629
Loc: Kingman, Ks
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Looks like quite a few extremely large star clusters visible in the outer arm. And what could that fairly large "tan orb" be; just to the right (zoom in) of the core center?
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star drop
Guilty as Charged
Reged: 02/02/08
Posts: 16211
Loc: Snow Plop, WNY
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On the left side of the image there is something that looks like a partially resolved globular cluster.
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Ted
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Dain
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/24/05
Posts: 1596
Loc: N.Y. Adirondack Mnts. NGC 4565...
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Wow! I see a buncha' globluar clusters all over the place. That image is craaaazzy! Very pretty indeed.
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Best,
Dain
Adirondack Mountains (my true dark sky site)
@ Cedar River Flow
Local Site
Clear Skies?
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blb
sage
Reged: 11/25/05
Posts: 214
Loc: Piedmont NC
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Totaly awsome!
Clear Skies, Buddy
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C-11, C-6, XT10i Dob, ETX125PE, TV102, & AT66
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wfj
sage
Reged: 01/10/08
Posts: 259
Loc: California, Santa Cruz County
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Look at the HII regions - some of them seem surrounded in a "bubble" or shockwave. In the lower corner, there appears to be a cluster of O,A,B stars, possibly giants, surrounding region otherwise depleted of resource.
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stevecoe
"Astronomical Tourist"
Reged: 04/24/04
Posts: 2637
Loc: Arizona, USA
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Please, please, please let the newly repaired HST operate at this level of detail for another 5 or 6 years. What it could do would be amazing indeed.
And, there will be nothing else like it for many years to come. There just are no plans for a visual light orbital telescope from either NASA or ESA. Maybe someone else? If we can cooperate on the ISS, why not a Hubble replacement?
Thanks for alerting us to this image;
Steve Coe
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TeleVue 102 refractor on CGEM mount
10 inch f/4.7 Newtonian
Author "Deep Sky Observing" Springer-Verlag
Author "Nebulae and How to Observe Them" Springer
Canon Xt astrocamera with Hutech modification
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glava2005
member
Reged: 04/12/09
Posts: 86
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Quote:
There just are no plans for a visual light orbital telescope from either NASA or ESA. Maybe someone else? If we can cooperate on the ISS, why not a Hubble replacement?
there is just no need for a visual light space born observatory since most of the details on the workings of celestial objects can be seen in other wave lenghts and astronomers have bigger plans then just pretty pictures.. like getting a shot of the 1st galaxies to have ever formed or planetary systems in formation...
and there is about 5-6 major ground based telescopes in production and in planning that will have 30 - 40 meter mirrors + new adaptive optics which make sending a scope to space kinda useless for now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF77kP5V1E4
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Sky-Watcher ED80
TS Astro5 mount
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stevecoe
"Astronomical Tourist"
Reged: 04/24/04
Posts: 2637
Loc: Arizona, USA
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I cannot disagree more. I know that there is less scientific need for a visual scope that makes pretty pictures, but lots of people who pay taxes like those pretty pictures. Lots of people who do not own, and have no plans to own a telescope, go to that website and enjoy the pretty pictures.
Clear skies;
Steve Coe
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TeleVue 102 refractor on CGEM mount
10 inch f/4.7 Newtonian
Author "Deep Sky Observing" Springer-Verlag
Author "Nebulae and How to Observe Them" Springer
Canon Xt astrocamera with Hutech modification
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glava2005
member
Reged: 04/12/09
Posts: 86
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Hubble archive online has an overwhelming amount of pictures acessible for download... far more then the average Joe might want. there are even some amateur astro photographers that have almost surpassed Hubble in terms of picture beauty.
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Sky-Watcher ED80
TS Astro5 mount
Edited by glava2005 (11/06/09 10:47 PM)
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scopethis
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/30/08
Posts: 629
Loc: Kingman, Ks
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Beauty? yes. DETAIL--NO.
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star drop
Guilty as Charged
Reged: 02/02/08
Posts: 16211
Loc: Snow Plop, WNY
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I agree with keeping the Hubble Space Telescope operating at least until a larger one is placed in space.
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Ted
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Hrundi
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/06/08
Posts: 1230
Loc: Estonia
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It is both false to assume that ground based photos cannot be as pretty as space based ones, and that other wavelengths are not as interesting as the ones hubble is operating in.
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wfj
sage
Reged: 01/10/08
Posts: 259
Loc: California, Santa Cruz County
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Quote:
It is both false to assume that ground based photos cannot be as pretty as space based ones, and that other wavelengths are not as interesting as the ones hubble is operating in.
Not the point. We've had many "Hubble alternatives", much larger scopes, and the promise of AO. Hubble still stands out.
It is likewise expected to continue for the rest of Hubble's operational life.
It fills a unique role.
However, that is not necessarily what a professional astrophysicist needs - doesn't need a pretty picture just solid data. Which is why 99% of all professional observations never get seen widely - they are meant to be a point on a graph in a paper.
Hubble is a subset of such research - other space telescopes are (or are intended) for other needs. Nothing like Hubble (optical wavelength) even on the horizon - which is a mistake but an understandable one (budget).
Worse yet, the Shuttle goes away as soon as next year, so the cost of a Hubble refit more than quadruples (it's already more than the replacement cost using a non-shuttle booster - w/o Shuttle you have to loft the equivalent of the Shuttle bay plus a human launch vehicle we don't have - Soyuz doesn't go high enough).
The Hubble and Shuttle are the end of a era.
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