Hubble Sees Galaxies Spiraling around Leo
by NASA Goddard Photo and Video on Flickr.
Shown here is a spiral galaxy known as NGC 3455, which lies some 65 million light-years away from us in the constellation of Leo (the Lion).
Galaxies are classified into different types according to their structure and appearance. This classification system is known as the Hubble Sequence, named after its creator Edwin Hubble. Read More.
Named after astronomer Edwin Hubble, the Hubble telescope is the largest and most powerful telescope in the universe. It has discovered vast Galaxies and Nebula that no one could have ever imagined. It not only has discovered other solar systems within the Milky Way and our closest neighboring galaxy Andromeda, which is over 800,000 light-years away, the Hubble has discovered galaxies deep and even ultra deep into the universe.
Utilizing this heavy yet amazing and very expensive telescope, costing upwards of $1.5 billion and counting; it’s also very possible to see the beginning of time. But the the Hubble’s delivery of crystal clear images was a difficult and even more expensive task to achieve. There were several additional services missions from Space Shuttles Endeavor, Discovery, Colombia and Atlantis that were needed, in order to get the Hi-Def images we now see.
Simply put, the Hubble is the best telescope ever. This is due to a strong partnership formed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, (NASA) and the European Space Agency, (ESA) with the ongoing Hubble project.
This Hubble telescope project helps us to understand our own solar system’s mysteries, which also includes others. Originally launched into the heavens by NASA’s very own space orbiter Space Shuttle Discovery in April 24, 1990, the Hubble telescope is the only space telescope to be serviced in space by astronauts.
This powerful telescope has delivered amazing and breathtaking images over the years, and with the culmination of the Griffith Park Observatory renovation in 2002, as well as the addition of the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater, star-gazers and astronomers alike are all inspired with new and exciting interests.
The 190-seat Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon presentation theater dramatically expands the Observatory’s programming and education capabilities. Read More.
With NASA officially ending the space program in the year of 2011, the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California celebrates the Hubble Space Telescope’s 25th Anniversary in 2015 for all to attend.
There was even a stamp issued from the United States Post Office in 2008, which is sure to hold interest to most stamp collectors.
Astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) played a pivotal role in deciphering the vast and complex nature of the universe. His meticulous studies of spiral nebulae proved the existence of galaxies other than our own Milky Way… Read more.
With the discovery of many Galaxies in the vast and endless vacuum of space, expanding throughout the universe, it becomes NASA’s and ESA’s wonderful world of discovery time after time. Something the late great Edwin P. Hubble himself would undoubtedly be proud. The Hubble telescope just sits outside the edge of planet earth’s atmosphere gathering High-Definition data that would otherwise come out blurred and distorted.
The Hubble serves as a beacon of time, light and speed, to become the go to telescope mechanism for the world, until they decide to put it to rest, but for now, it will serve as a major force in space expiration to see galaxies for the 21st century. Up next, is the James Webb Space Telescope slated to launch in 2018.
Something NASA’s very own Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson depicted in the Oscar and Golden Globe nominated motion picture Hidden Figures can appreciate
This important bold and relatively new mission, to explore new worlds, and to boldly go where no man has gone before, just to borrow the opening dialogue from Star Trek, is a passionate opportunity for Astronomers and Astronauts to encounter. Even though entertainment equals diversity, the formula for the universe is infinity, and were not talkin’ bout the car baby!