By: Curt Collingwood and Clair Mundy

How it works

• Light hits the primary mirror focusing the light beam

• Strikes a secondary mirror which focuses the beam more

• Light beam goes through COSTAR (“contact” lens) to correct for defects

• Light reaches sensor equipment including FOC, NICMOS, STIS

• An image is produced using the data recovered and is sent to earth

A Sharper View on…well Space!

• 5 different instruments• Wide Field Planetary

Camera 2• Near Infrared Camera

and Multi-Object Spectrometer

• Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph

• Advanced Camera for Surveys

• Fine Guidance Sensors

The Making

• Originally was granted funds in 1977

• Took 8 years to build• Finally went into orbit in 1990

after a break following the challenger disaster

• Defect in mirror causes Hubble to get “contact” lens

• Hubble continues to send clear images to date and is looking to expand its range with a new finer mirror

A Farther Detailed View

• Hubble is the farthest clearest visual telescope yet

• Offers a wide range of detailed imaging and wide range of light waves

Infrared Waves…A New Way to See

• Spitzer is the largest infrared telescope launched into space

• Offers a way to see infrared waves in clearer detail and wider range in detail where most wave lengths are blocked by earth’s atmosphere

• Originally launched in 2003

Infrared Sight

• Spitzer uses a compound telescope designed to reflect and focus infrared waves

• Spitzer’s 3 instruments– Infrared Array Camera– Infrared Spectrograph– Multiband Imaging

Photometer

Penetrating Dust Clouds

• Visuals alone can’t penetrate dense dust clouds that refract light

• Infrared waves do penetrate dust clouds and can be pick up by Spitzer

• It allows scientists to view into some nebula’s and areas where star formations are taking place

Why Use Two?

• Hubble Telescope is great with clear detail and visual light waves – It can’t penetrate dust

clouds or bright areas• Spitzer Telescope is

great with clear infrared imaging– Can’t give a detailed visual

image• So use both and combine

the images to make a wide spectrum range image

Observing Star Formation (SF)

• Formation of stars greatly depends on the matter and density

• Places with high star formations are called “Nurseries”

• In these nebulas and dust clouds, stars can form very rapidly

Star Formation Rates

• Using both Telescopes we can observe areas where stars are forming

• This gives us an estimate on star formation rates compared to size and brightness

• This allows us to see an idea of how the universe and stars might have started out