Hubble Space Telescope’s One-Millionth Observation

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On July 4th, the Hubble Space Telescope celebrated a significant milestone in its record of exploration. Tasked with the search for water in the atmosphere of exoplanet HAT-P-7b, the HST made its one millionth science observation.

“For 21 years Hubble has been the premier space science observatory, astounding us with deeply beautiful imagery and enabling ground-breaking science across a wide spectrum of astronomical disciplines,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Bolden piloted the shuttle mission (STS-31) that placed Hubble in orbit. “The fact that Hubble met this milestone while studying a faraway planet is a remarkable reminder of its strength and legacy.“

“We are looking for the spectral signature of water vapor. This is an extremely precise observation and it will take months of analysis before we have an answer,” said Drake Deming at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.”Hubble demonstrated it is ideally suited for characterizing the atmospheres of exoplanets, and we are excited to see what this latest targeted world will reveal.“

During its twenty-one years in service, Hubble has collected more than 50 terabytes of data. The archive of that data is available to scientists and the public at: http://hla.stsci.edu

According to the NASA press release:

Although Hubble is best known for its stunning imagery of the cosmos, the millionth observation is a spectroscopic measurement, where light is divided into its component colors. These color patterns can reveal the chemical composition of cosmic sources.

Hubble’s millionth exposure is of the planet HAT-P-7b, a gas giant planet larger than Jupiter orbiting a star hotter than our sun. HAT-P-7b, also known as Kepler 2b, has been studied by NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler observatory after it was discovered by ground-based observations. Hubble now is being used to analyze the chemical composition of the planet’s atmosphere.

If you’d like to learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope, you can visit the HST site at: http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

To learn more about exoplanet HAT-P-7b/Kepler 2B, visit: http://kepler.nasa.gov/Mission/discoveries/kepler2b/

Source(s):NASA/HST Mission Page, HST Image Gallery

Ray Sanders is a Sci-Fi geek, astronomer and blogger. Currently researching variable stars at Arizona State University, he writes for Universe Today, The Planetary Society blog, and his own blog, Dear Astronomer