Tell NASA's Hubble telescope what to look for next
— -- NASA's Hubble space telescope is offering a vote you can't lose: Pick a part of the heavens for the storied space telescope to observe next.
"We're celebrating 400 years of astronomy," says astrophysicist Mario Livio of Hubble's Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. "What better way to celebrate than by letting people all over the world find a new target for observations by Hubble?"
Online voting for "Hubble's Next Discovery — You Decide" ends March 1, with more than 110,000 votes already tallied. The winner, one of six stellar contestants never before seriously studied by the space telescope, will be the subject of Hubble observations from April 2-5. The six, which you can see on the website, are:
•NGC 6334, a vast cloud dotted with bright young stars.
•NGC 6072, the blown-out embers of an extinct sun-like star.
•NGC 40, a glowing gas shell from an exploded star.
•NGC 5172, a pinwheel galaxy festooned with starry arms.
•NGC 4289, a spiral galaxy seen edge-on.
•Arp 274, a pair of galaxies distorting and merging together, the current top vote-getter.
The Hubble project is among dozens of April activities for astronomy enthusiasts worldwide as part of the International Year of Astronomy (http://www.astronomy2009.org/). Others include "100 Hours of Astronomy," a world-circling sky-watcher's party; and a "Dark Skies Awareness" campaign to record the levels of "light pollution" in cities that prevent star-gazing.
The event marks four centuries since Galileo, "The Father of Astronomy," first demonstrated his telescope, turning the tool still used by astronomers to the skies to discover Jupiter's moons. "Even more astounding, Galileo was the first person to identify mathematics as the language of science," says Livio, author of Is God A Mathematician? (Simon & Schuster, $26), released last month.
In May, Hubble is due for its long-delayed space shuttle repairs. Completion of the repairs and insertion of two entirely new instruments will "make Hubble an entirely new and tremendous instrument for science," Livio says. "Right now we have our fingers crossed for the mission."
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