>> HI, I'M JENNIFER.
I'M AN ASTROPHYSICIST
WITH NASA'S HUBBLE SPACE
TELESCOPE MISSION,
WHICH OBSERVES THE UNIVERSE.
THIS IS "#ASKNASA"
AND I'M HERE TO ANSWER
YOUR QUESTIONS.
THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
HAS BEEN OPERATING FOR 30 YEARS,
BUT IT'S STILL VERY POWERFUL.
I THINK WE HUMANS
HAVE A CURIOSITY
ABOUT HOW WE FIT IN
TO THE NATURAL WORLD
AND HOW OUR PLANET FITS
INTO THIS MUCH LARGER UNIVERSE.
WE HAVE A LOT MORE TO LEARN
AND ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT HUBBLE HAS TOLD US
THROUGH ITS OBSERVATIONS
IS THAT OUR UNIVERSE
IS REALLY ACTIVE AND DYNAMIC.
THE GALAXIES, THE STARS,
THE PLANETS ARE NOT JUST
SITTING THERE, STAGNANT.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE LEARNED
THROUGH HUBBLE OBSERVATIONS
THAT STARS ARE STILL FORMING
IN THESE INTERSTELLAR CLOUDS.
WE'VE LEARNED THAT
OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM
IS INCREDIBLY DYNAMIC.
ONE OF THE EARLIEST OBSERVATIONS
FROM HUBBLE SHOWED A COMET
CRASHING INTO JUPITER.
WE'VE DISCOVERED, ACTUALLY,
THAT THE MOONS AROUND PLANETS
IN OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM
ARE INTERESTING PLACES
IN THEIR OWN RIGHT.
HUBBLE FOUND EVIDENCE
FOR WATER VAPOR PLUMES
BEING EJECTED FROM THE SURFACE
OF THE MOON EUROPA
AROUND JUPITER.
SO HUBBLE CONTINUES TO BE
AT THE FOREFRONT OF
ASTRONOMICAL EXPLORATION.
WE ARE LOOKING AT
WHAT WE CALL EXOPLANETS.
SO EXOPLANETS
ARE PLANETS THAT ARE ORBITING
STARS OTHER THAN OUR SUN.
AND HUBBLE IS ACTUALLY
FINDING WATER VAPOR
IN THE ATMOSPHERES
OF SOME OF THESE EXOPLANETS.
THAT'S A HOT TOPIC FOR
HUBBLE STUDY RIGHT NOW.
ON THE BIGGER SCALE,
WE WERE VERY SURPRISED
WHEN IT WAS DETERMINED THAT
THE EXPANSION RATE--
THAT IS, THE RATE THAT
SPACE IS STRETCHING
AND THE GALAXIES SEEM TO BE
MOVING APART FROM EACH OTHER.
IS INCREASING,
IN OTHER WORDS,
THE UNIVERSE EXPANSION
IS ACCELERATING.
NOW, WE DON'T KNOW
WHAT WOULD CAUSE THAT,
M-MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE TENDS
TO HAVE A GRAVITATIONAL PULL
THAT PULLS THINGS BACK TOGETHER
OR AT LEAST WOULD SLOW DOWN
THIS EXPANSION.
NOT SPEED IT UP.
AND SO WE CALL IT DARK ENERGY,
THIS MENURE-- MYSTERIOUS
PHENOMENON THAT SEEMS TO BE
ACCELERATING THE EXPANSION
OF THE UNIVERSE.
THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
RECEIVES COMMANDS TRANSMITTED
UP FROM THE GROUND.
SO HERE AT NASA'S
GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER,
WE HAVE A CONTROL ROOM WHERE
THE TELESCOPE IS MONITORED.
WE TRANSMIT COMMANDS
UP TO HUBBLE
THAT TELL IT WHERE TO POINT.
THE DATA ARE RECORDED
AND EVENTUALLY,
SCIENTISTS WILL DETERMINE
THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS
THEY WERE TRYING TO ASK
BY TAKING THESE OBSERVATIONS.
NOW, THE IMAGES FROM HUBBLE
THAT MOST OF US
REALLY ENJOY LOOKING AT--
THESE IMAGES OF GALAXIES,
AND NEBULAE AND STARS
AND PLANETS,
THE WEB SITES
LIKE NASA.GOV/HUBBLE
AND HUBBLESITE.ORG.
HOST THESE IMAGES,
THEY'RE FREELY AVAILABLE
AND OUR EXPOSURES WITH HUBBLE
ARE GOING ON EVERY SINGLE DAY.
SO WE'RE CAN-- WE'RE STILL
A VERY ACTIVE OBSERVATORY.
HUBBLE IS TEACHING US A LOT
ABOUT THE UNIVERSE
NOT ONLY THROUGH
LOOKING AT THE COLORS
THAT OUR EYES CAN SEE,
BUT LOOKING BEYOND THAT
RANGE OF COLORS
THAT OUR EYES CAN SEE.
SO OUR EYES CAN SEE
THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW
FROM VIOLET TO RED.
HUBBLE CAN SEE THOSE
VISIBLE COLORS,
BUT HUBBLE CAN ALSO SEE
A LITTLE BIT REDDER THAN RED.
INTO THE INFRARED PART
OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.
AND HUBBLE CAN SEE
A LITTLE BIT BLUER THAN BLUE
INTO THE ULTRAVIOLET PART
OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.
BUT A LOT OF THINGS IN SPACE
THAT WE'RE INTERESTED IN
EMIT THEIR RADIATION
IN THOSE INVISIBLE COLORS.
NOW, ONE EXAMPLE IS SEEN
IN THE FAMOUS IMAGES
OF THE EAGLE NEBULA.
NOW, WITH HUBBLE'S
VISIBLE LIGHT CAMERA,
YOU CAN SEE THESE
DRAMATIC PILLARS.
IF YOU LOOK AT THAT SAME REGION
WITH HUBBLE'S INFRARED
CAMERA CAPABILITY,
YOU CAN SEE THROUGH
SOME OF THAT DUST.
YOU SEE INTO THOSE PILLARS.
YOU SEE A LOT MORE STARS
THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY VEILED.
WHEN THE JAMES WEBB
SPACE TELESCOPE LAUNCHES,
WE WILL BE ABLE TO SEE
EVEN FARTHER INTO
THE INFRARED PART OF
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD
TO HAVING COMPLEMENTARY
OBSERVATIONS TO GIVE US
A LOT MORE INFORMATION
ABOUT DISTANT GALAXIES
AND ABOUT STAR FORMING NURSERIES
RIGHT HERE IN OUR OWN GALAXY.
THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
CAN SEE DEEP INTO SPACE
WHICH IS REALLY LOOKING
DEEP BACK IN TIME.
BECAUSE IT'S TAKEN TIME FOR--
FOR DISTANT OBJECTS
TO HAVE THEIR LIGHT
TRAVERSE SPACE TO GET TO US.
SOME OF THE GALAXIES
THAT HUBBLE HAS SEEN
ARE SHINING TO US FROM MILLIONS
OF YEARS IN THE PAST.
AND SOME OF THE GALAXIES
THAT HUBBLE HAS SEEN
HAVE TAKEN BILLIONS OF YEARS
TO GET TO US.
WE TYPICALLY THINK IN TERMS
OF LIGHT YEARS INSTEAD
OF MILES OR KILOMETERS
WHEN WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT DEEP SPACE BECAUSE
THE DISTANCES ARE SO VAST.
BUT HUBBLE IS-IS SEEING MORE
THAN 13 BILLION LIGHT YEARS
INTO THE DISTANT PAST
AND INTO THE DISTANT UNIVERSE
AND THAT IS TRULY
AWE INSPIRING.
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