NEW YORK - It's hard to tell who's more excited for Hubble'supcoming facelift ? the scientists who will benefit from the data the telescopecollects, or the public who will enjoy the pretty pictures.
The aging NASA/ESA (European Space Agency) Hubble SpaceTelescope is set to receive its final upgrade from sevenastronauts due to launch May 11 aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. Whentheir work is completed, the observatory should work betterthan ever and last for at least another five years.
"I'm very excited about it!" said FernandoRibeiro, a Brazilian educator and artist who runs the Web site SaveTheHubble.com."It's what we've been fighting for all these years. I think this is goingto mean a lot both toscience and to the public."
Other Hubble fans (often called "Hubble Huggers")founded similar sites such as SavingHubble.com, which sells Hubble T-shirts.
"I guess they realized that the American society waswilling to foot the bill and take the risk," Ribeiro told SPACE.com."I do believe it is the greatest scientific instrument ever made. HubbleSpace Telescope connects the general public with the infinite wonders of thecosmos and makes us feel part of a bigger universe."
"Telescopes will come and go. Hubble too will one dayend her tour of duty ? but God I LOVE this thing ? this inanimate object hasgiven us images that have been some of the MOST breathtaking, aweinspiring images I have ever seen," wrote commenter"womanspirit" in April 2009 on a message board on the news aggregatorTopix.com.
Different theories abound for why this scientific instrumenthas so captivated the public. Obviously, the stunning pictures are hard not tolove. But this telescope has worked its way into people's lives unlike anyother observatory. Perhaps its long working life ? 19 years and counting ? hassomething to do with it.
"When something has that longevity people come of agein the lifetime of the telescope," said Neil deGrasse Tyson, anastrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. "Noother telescope can you say that about. It's not only that its making discoveries,taking beautiful pictures, but the serviceability of it has made it a part ofthe American landscape, made it iconic."
"Everyone's heard of the Hubble telescope," Tysontold SPACE.com. "People came to long for the next image that awaitsthem. I can tell you that I don?t know any other field, any other telescope,where the images that it produced did not even require a caption for you tolose yourself in its beauty."
Hubble images are enjoyable even if you don't know or carewhat a planetary nebula or a dwarf galaxy is. And for those who are curious,the telescope helps provides a visual representation of astronomical objectsthat can be otherwise hard to fathom.
"It provides an image of something that's usuallyabstract," said Lauren Esposito of New York.
"Even though I'm not a scientist, I do care" aboutthe fate of the telescope, he said.
And Hubble's need to be repaired and upgraded over the yearsmay even add to its lovability.
Many can date their personal connection to the telescope tothe 1993 shuttle Endeavour rescue mission. Seven astronauts completed difficultand dangerous spacewalks to install hardware to fix a mirror flaw that hadinitially rendered the telescope's pictures fuzzy.
In many people's eyes, the successful repair demonstratedAmerican technological ingenuity, as well as our ability to overcome challengesand turn a tough situation around.
"I think it affects people's sense ofaccomplishment," said Andy Kim of New York.
- New Show: Hubble's Universe: The Final Shuttle Service Call
- Image Gallery - Hubble's Latest Views of the Universe: Part 1, Part 2
- Hubble FAQ: Inside the Last Space Telescope Repair Mission
