To mark the 30th anniversary of creating stunning images of star objects, NASA has released 30 newly processed Hubble images featuring galaxies, star clusters and nebulae.
All 30 images are added to what amateur astronomers know as the Caldwell Catalog, compiled by British amateur astronomer and science communicator Sir Patrick Caldwell-Moore and inspired by the Messier catalog. The catalog is published by Sky & Telescope magazine 25 years ago, in December 1995. Caldwell’s catalog highlights 109 galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae bright enough to be seen by amateur astronomers.
Caldwell 45 | Credits: NASA, ESA, J. Lee (California Institute of Technology) and A. Filippenko (University of California – Berkeley); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)Caldwell 17 | Credits: NASA, ESA and A. Ferguson (University of Edinburgh, Institute of Astronomy); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)Caldwell 18 | Credits: NASA, ESA and A. Ferguson (University of Edinburgh, Institute of Astronomy); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)Caldwell 29 | Credits: NASA, ESA and L. Ho (Peking University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)
NASA says the Caldwell objects are an interesting target for amateur astronomers around the world because the Caldwell objects are distributed across the sky in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
The 30 additional photos were taken by Hubble during his 30-year career and used for scientific research and testing, but had not been fully processed for public publication so far.
Caldwell 53 | Credits: NASA, ESA, and J. Erwin (University of Alabama); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)Caldwell 72 | Credits: NASA, ESA, R. de Jong (Leibniz-Institut fur Astrophysik Potsdam [AIP]), and G. Illingworth (University of California – Santa Cruz); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)Caldwell 73 | Credits: NASA, ESA and G. Piotto (Università degli Studi di Padova); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)Caldwell 78 | Credits: NASA, ESA and G. Piotto (Università degli Studi di Padova); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)
Some images do not capture the full Caldwell object, such as the ones below, due to Hubble’s detailed field of view.
Caldwell 2 | Credit: NASA, ESA, and H. Bond (Pennsylvania State University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)Caldwell 36 | Credit: NASA, ESA, and S. Smartt (The Queen’s University of Belfast); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)Caldwell 83 | Credits: NASA, ESA and H. Falcke (Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)Caldwell 14 | Credits: NASA, ESA, and S. Casertano (Space Telescope Science Institute); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)
The images added this month increase the photo collection to 87 out of a total of 109 objects.
Caldwell 40 | Credits: NASA, ESA and P. Erwin (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)Caldwell 99 | Credit: NASA, ESA, and R. Sahai (Jet Propulsion Laboratory); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)Caldwell 89 | Credits: NASA, ESA, and A. Riess (Johns Hopkins University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA / Catholic University of America)
To see the full set of images from the Caldwell collection, you can view the catalog here.
Hubble was launched aboard Space shuttle Discovery in April 1990 and has been upgraded five times by astronaut crews. Hubble turned 30 years old on December 11, 2020 and is now considered even better than the day it was launched. As such, it will continue to make groundbreaking discoveries that NASA hopes will further our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Hubble may be 30, but it certainly isn’t old.
(via Engadget)
Image credits: NASA, ESA and A. Riess (Johns Hopkins University), with the processing credit listed separately on each image.
