Kevin's Watch

An Ode to the Fading Eye of the Hubble Telescope

(note: image 3 is an error, as it's not a Hubble image).

Thanks Lore.
My g-ds, those are gorgeous.

Love those Hubble images!

I used a few of them for covers for compilation cds for her when my sister was pregnant, some of them look like cells dividing. Those were fun cds...stand and deliver, turn you inside out, beginning of a great adventure, together we're heavy, here comes my baby, tired of waiting, born to be wild, hello i love you etc etc!

Having been very interested with the Hubble since its beginnings, ( do you remember its mis configured mirror?)..its easy to understand that any images produced by it are a triumph of human ingenuity. The Chandra and Spitzer continue the tradition ,as many more specialty 'scopes will likely follow. Yet, the Hubble proved it could be done and done against heavy odds. What oddities it has brought to light are just the beginnings of exploring this universe. Its replacement will hopefully continue this fantastic journey. The Hubble is just the baby's eyes of Humankind opening on the Universe.

My father worked on the project from about 1977 up until 1992 when he retired. He was the chief guidance systems engineer.

The Hubble has been an awesome feat. I hope they can keep it going just a bit longer.

Looks a lot like fractals. Awesome pics Lore.

There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

--A

Av..its fascinating to note,,that at the same general time of Shakespearre's Hamlet,,Tycho Brahe , of Scania, then of Denmark, was busting loose with heavenly discoveries of his own. His precision instruments ( before the telescope) gave him observations that helped Kepler( a student of his) formulate Laws of Physics and Gravity. I've read in a Astronomy magazine,,an article on the many allusions in Hamlet to Tycho Brahe and his revolutionary observations..That was many years ago,,but like the Hubble,,Brahe changed the answer to the basic question of.. what it is To Be.

Great pics!

lurch wrote:I've read in a Astronomy magazine,,an article on the many allusions in Hamlet to Tycho Brahe and his revolutionary observations...

Very interesting. Thanks, I never knew that.

--A

lurch wrote:Av..its fascinating to note,,that at the same general time of Shakespearre's Hamlet,,Tycho Brahe , of Scania, then of Denmark, was busting loose with heavenly discoveries of his own. His precision instruments ( before the telescope) gave him observations that helped Kepler( a student of his) formulate Laws of Physics and Gravity. I've read in a Astronomy magazine,,an article on the many allusions in Hamlet to Tycho Brahe and his revolutionary observations..That was many years ago,,but like the Hubble,,Brahe changed the answer to the basic question of.. what it is To Be.

Tycho Brahe, I suppose we should remember, certainly changed what it is to be a Watcher of the Skies. His advances in instrumentation and data collection were truly unprecedented in scope and accuracy. But we must not forget that he was also, as Vic Thoren has aptly termed it, The Lord of Uraniborg. Legally and practically the ruler of his demesne of the island of Hveen, he was in many respects an arrogant, thundering madman. Legions of his servants cowered in terror when the man with the metal nose would walk by. It seems that literally "loosing face" in a duel in his youth did little to temper the arrogance of this noble born cousin of Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern. A dabbler in alchemy as well as a forerunner of modern astrophysics, Tycho is perhaps most memorable for his idiosyncrasies, including his pet dwarf, Jeppe, and his elk, which once fell down a flight of stairs after getting into the wine. Never one to hold back, Tycho none the less came to an ignominious end after "holding his water" too long during a royal banquet, and ultimately rupturing his bladder. Like Hamlet, Tycho indeed defined what it was "To Be," but fails utterly as a role model.

But I like Kepler, who, while never a student of Tycho's, certainly managed to invert his early position as the nobleman's "lapdog" to become in many ways his master.

I've never read much about Kepler or Brahe on my own. I learned the story of them primarily through Carl Sagan's Cosmos. What a great story of serendipity it is. Temperament-wise, I can definitely relate better to Kepler than to Brahe.

Yes, after all the ridicule heaped on the Hubble telescope over its mirror in those early days, it has turned out to be one of the greatest instruments (and investments) ever put into space by mankind.

I'd say the Eagle Nebula shot was the Hubble's greatest, because of all the positive publicity it generated at the time.

Yes...that Tycho literally poisoned himself...and Hamlet died by the poison on his own sword..perhaps a subtlety that only a madman would get.Kepler did get it right where Tycho decided wrong. Tycho's observations led to conclusions that either Earth is at the center of the solar system or the distances involved when looking at the stars and planets ..were Immense..Tycho stayed with Earth as center of Solar System.,versus the Copernican Sun as center..a mistake Kepler corrected.As one reviewer put it,," like so many geniuses, he chose wrongly from his observations" Reminds of Hamlet...In any case..one heck of a fascinating character,,Hamlet and or Tycho!..Thanks for the additional info!

The Sombrero Galaxy was, and will be again, my wallpaper. Awesome pic.