This blog post marks the 31st anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. For more information and resources regarding Hubble anniversary, please visit hubblesite.
Hubble at Thirty-one Trips Around the Sun
Are Hubble Images Real? Part III: What Makes Them Real?
TLDR: Yes, Hubble images are real. This series of posts is dedicated to the scrutiny of Hubble imagery and a broader discussion of the veracity of astronomical imagery. In this post, we’ll look at a few examples of how Hubble extends beyond human vision to illuminate our understanding of the universe.
Are Hubble Images Real? Part II: A Brief History of Astrophotography
TLDR: Yes, Hubble images are real. This series of posts is dedicated to the scrutiny of Hubble imagery and a broader discussion of the veracity of astronomical imagery. In this post, we’ll take a brief look at the history of astrophotography in order to provide a historical context to Hubble.
Are Hubble Images Real? Part I: Image Artifacts
TLDR: Yes, Hubble images are real. This series of posts is dedicated to the scrutiny of Hubble imagery and a broader discussion of the veracity of astronomical imagery. In this post, we'll look at the distracting image artifacts that are removed when creating press imagery.
What Color Is Mars?
What is "true color"? Is it what our eyes see, or is it something else entirely?
The Fading Stingray: A Case Study in Science and Aesthetics
We often make the case here that astronomical imagery created to support the dissemination of Hubble’s scientific results to the general public relies on a delicate balance of aesthetics and science. The image above provides a great study in how these two aspects of the image come together in the publication of a press release.... Continue Reading →
Guest Post: The Yin and Yang of the Visible and Invisible in Spiral Galaxies
Jayanne English, an astronomer with a visual arts background, outlines the process of making an illuminating image for the public from a rich set of research data. Exploring how galaxies change with time requires the study of how visible light and non-visible radiation are interconnected. With the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) we can map, often in... Continue Reading →
What’s Up with Jupiter and Saturn?
Jupiter and Saturn made a big splash last month due to the historic conjunction of our solar system’s two largest planets. From our vantage point here on Earth, looking out onto the flat plane of the sky, a conjunction occurs when two or more celestial bodies seem to slide right past each other in the... Continue Reading →
Does Angular Momentum Make Your Head Spin?
I was recently asked about things that spin in the universe. Planets spin. Stars spin. Galaxies spin. Why do they spin, and how do they acquire that spin? This blog post contains my response. I’m going to go through things slowly, and build up concepts, so bear with me. A spinning top [Credit: randomname123 at... Continue Reading →
Hubble Heritage Archive: Elliptical Galaxy NGC 4889
The text and images in this article were originally published on February 8, 2016, and reflect information about NGC 4889 available at that time. The Sleeping Giant—Elliptical Galaxy NGC 4889 The majestic yet placid appearance of this serene galaxy, NGC 4889, is deceiving to the unsuspecting observer. Captured in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image,... Continue Reading →