Hubble is Back and the View is Fabulous!!

You may not remember all the back and forth over whether the Hubble Telescope should be repaired or allowed to simply die... how it was too dangerous to send a repair team up to fix it, etc...

Well if there was any doubt as to whether or not it was worth the risk, the new images released this week ought to put those doubts to rest. If you haven't seen them, check them out at the Hubble Web Site

Of course this service mission is being billed as the last service mission to the telescope - partly because the shuttle fleet itself is being retired not too long from now. It was only fitting that the repair work be done this year - which in case you missed it - is the International Year of Astronomy. So called because this year marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo's use of a telescope to view the night sky.

Back then of course HE didn't have to worry about light pollution. Even though I live in small city Ohio and am surrounded by farm land it is still not possible to get far enough out where the light does not interfere... farms all have flood lights now for security. I haven't seen a clean view of the band of the Milky Way in years.

If you want to learn more about astronomy and the international year of celebration (after all, the year ain't over yet!), NASA has a great site NASA International Year of Astronomy and there's the international site itself both a global version and a US version. I prefer the global version myself: International Year of Astronomy not sure why exactly, I suppose if it is going to be an international year, an international site feels more appropriate.

Fall is a great time to view the night sky. No summer haze, something about the cooler air (and less bugs) just makes it all the more vibrant somehow. Jupiter is especially good viewing in September. Galileo's discovery of four of the planet's moons caused a sensation (along the lines of Ha! Copernicus was right!) even though Galileo did not seek any sort of notoriety. There is a fairly good biography of Galileo online (click here). Funny how you can be friends with and supported by the Pope and still have the Inquisition on your back...

In any case, you owe it to yourself to check out the latest Hubble images. They are amazing!

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