2015 AAAS Annual Meeting (12-16 February 2015)

February 12 - 16, 2015

The Hubble Space Telescope: 25 Years of Imaging the Cosmos

The year 2015 marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Thanks to forefront imaging techniques, vibrant images produced from Hubble have fundamentally changed humanity’s scientific understanding of the universe and have invigorated and reshaped public perceptions of outer space and human connections to the cosmos. This symposium will examine innovative imaging techniques that convert Hubble data collected from planets, nebulae, and far-flung galaxies into powerful scientific tools and into photos and videos that make the universe more accessible, relevant, and intimate to the public. Wavelength filtering and color translation enable imaging of phenomena that would otherwise be largely invisible to human eyes. Time lapse imaging and 3D aspects of distance and time enable a glimpse of dynamic changing phenomena in the universe, such as weather on neighboring planets, evolving and merging galaxies, and fast jets ejected from black holes. Even the “unseen” realms of exoplanet atmospheres, the intergalactic medium, and dark matter can be visualized through Hubble’s unique spectroscopic and photometric observations. Because of these continuing innovations in complex multi-wavelength imaging and visualization, Hubble is revealing properties of a maturing universe that for most of human history has only been probed in the imagination. The images unveil both beauty and cataclysmic disturbances amid a fantastic cosmic tapestry.