Hubble Space Telescope Begins "Two-Gyro" Science Operations
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope entered a new era of science operations this week, when engineers shut down one of the three operational gyroscopes aboard the observatory. The two-gyro mode is expected to preserve the operating life of the third gyro and extend Hubble's science observations through mid-2008, an eight-month extension. Backdropped by the horizon of the blue and white Earth and the blackness of space, the Hubble Space Telescope floats gracefully after the release from the Space Shuttle's robotic arm at the close of a successful servicing mission in March of 2002.
New Director Appointed at Space Telescope
Dr. Mattias (Matt) Mountain has been appointed director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, the science operations center for NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the planned James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). He will succeed Dr. Steven V. W. Beckwith, who will end his term Sept. 1.
American Astronomical Society Sets Goals for Improving Gender Equity in Astronomy
The American Astronomical Society (AAS) has endorsed a new set of recommendations to improve the status of gender equity in astronomy. The recommendations, endorsed at the 205th meeting of the Society in San Diego from January 8 to 13, 2005, were prepared by the Society's Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA). The recommendation document, entitled Equity Now: The Pasadena Recommendations for Gender Equality in Astronomy is available at .
STScI Director Steven Beckwith Inducted as 2004 American Academy Fellow
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences has announced the election of 178 new Fellows and 24 new Foreign Honorary Members to Academy membership. Dr. Steven V.W. Beckwith is one of the new Fellows appointed in 2004.
Ethan J. Schreier to Become President of Associated Universities, Inc.
The Board of Trustees of Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) has announced the appointment of Dr. Ethan J. Schreier as the next President of AUI. Schreier will assume this position following the AUI Board meeting of October 21-22, 2004.
2004 Van Biesbroeck Prize Awarded to Doxsey
Citing "his outstanding, unselfish dedication to making the Hubble Space Telescope one of the most scientifically productive telescopes of all time," the American Astronomical Society (AAS) announced that Dr. Rodger Doxsey of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., will receive the 2004 George Van Biesbroeck Prize.
The prize "honors a living individual for long-term extraordinary or unselfish service to astronomy, often beyond the requirements of his or her paid position." The announcement was made last week at the AAS winter meeting in Atlanta, Ga. Doxsey is the second institute... Read more
NASA Approves James Webb Space Telescope Mirror Architecture
NASA today announced a major milestone in the development of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the selection of a beryllium-based mirror technology for the telescope's 6.5-meter primary mirror. The JWST prime contractor, Northrop Grumman, Redondo Beach, Calif., recommended to NASA the mirror technology, supplied by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation, Boulder, Colo., be selected for the JWST primary mirror.
Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to Astronomer for NASA-Funded Research
Riccardo Giacconi, the "father of X-ray astronomy," has received the Nobel Prize in physics for "pioneering contributions to astrophysics," which have led to the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources.
Giacconi, president of the Associated Universities Inc., in Washington, DC and Research Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD discovered the first X-ray stars and the X-ray background in the 1960s and conceived of and led the implementation of the Uhuru and High Energy Astronomy Observatory-2 (HEAO-2) X-ray observatories in the 1970s. With funding from NASA, he also... Read more
Hubble Astronomer Creates Spectacular Galaxy Collision Visualization for the National Air and Space Museum
Someday our Milky Way Galaxy and the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy may come crashing together in a horrendous collision that will twist and distort their shapes beyond recognition. Of course, to see that, you'll have to wait several billion years. But thanks to a combination of research science, Hollywood computer graphics, and large-scale visualization, visitors to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, can witness such an event today. The Space Telescope Science Institute, the scientific home of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, is extending its tradition of... Read more
AURA's OPUS Software Licensed to Celera Genomics
The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) has reached an agreement with Celera Genomics Group, an Applera Corporation business in Rockville, MD, on the use of AURA's Operational Pipeline Unified Systems (OPUS) software package. Originally designed for use in the Hubble Space Telescope program, OPUS is being used by Celera to process bioinformatics data. OPUS was developed by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is managed by AURA under contract with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. It is used to process astronomical data generated by the Hubble Space Telescope... Read more