Capture Is Of A Gas Giant Planet Larger Than Jupiter
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope crossed another milestone in its
space odyssey of exploration and discovery. On Monday, July 4, the
Earth-orbiting observatory logged its one millionth science
observation during a search for water in an exoplanet's atmosphere
1,000 light-years away.
"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.
He piloted the space shuttle mission that carried Hubble to orbit.
"The fact that Hubble met this milestone while studying a faraway
planet is a remarkable reminder of its strength and legacy."
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. "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 of the University of Maryland
and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD "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."
Hubble was launched April 24, 1990, aboard space shuttle's
Discovery's STS-31 mission. Its discoveries revolutionized nearly
all areas of astronomical research from planetary science to
cosmology. The observatory has collected more than 50 terabytes of
data to-date.
Hubble's odometer reading includes every observation of
astronomical targets since its launch and observations used to
calibrate its suite of instruments. Hubble made the millionth
observation using its Wide Field Camera 3, a visible and infrared
light imager with an on-board spectrometer. It was installed by
astronauts during the Hubble Servicing Mission 4 in May 2009.
"The Hubble keeps amazing us with groundbreaking science," said
Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, the chairwoman of the Senate Commerce,
Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee
that funds NASA. "I championed the mission to repair and renew
Hubble not just to get one million science observations, but also
to inspire millions of children across the planet to become our
next generation of stargazers, scientists, astronauts and
engineers."