Announcements

23 December 2019: Antonella Nota (ESA/STScI) & Pierre Ferruit (ESA) — Conference co-Chairs We announced in the last Science Newsletter a new and exciting collaboration with the Department of Astronomy of Stockholm University — the organisation of the conference: “Science with the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes VI: Entering a golden age for UV-Optical-IR space astronomy”, that will be held in Stockholm from 30 March to 2 April, 2020. This will be an opportunity to celebrate Hubble’s 30-year scientific legacy and to showcase the observatory’s latest results across astronomy, but also to discuss how best to utilise Hubble and Webb, both together and in combination with other facilities in space or on the ground. We will look further into the future, and identify the scientific questions that will shape the field of astrophysics in the next decade. You can find all the conference information here. The deadline has passed for abstract submissions, …

24 September 2019: Alceste Bonanos (NOA) ESA/Hubble is pleased to announce the release of the Hubble Catalog of Variables, the first full, homogeneous catalog of variable sources based on archival HST data. The HCV was developed over four years by a team of astronomers at the National Observatory of Athens, led by Alceste Bonanos and sponsored by ESA in collaboration with STScI. The HCV is now available to the community via the ESA Hubble Science Archive (eHST) at ESAC and MAST at STScI, and can easily be explored using the HCV Explorer, a visualisation tool developed at ESAC specifically to navigate the HCV and look up your favorite object(s) or field(s)! Despite not being a survey telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has obtained multi-epoch observations under multiple, diverse observing programmes. This provides the opportunity for a comprehensive variability search that aims to uncover new variables over a range of magnitudes that is …

24 September 2019: By Maria Arevalo, Raul Gutierrez, Javier Duran, Jesus Salgado, Deborah Baines, Bruno Merin, Guido de Marchi, Paule Sonnentrucker and Antonella Nota The HCV Explorer is a new online web tool to access and visualise the time-series data from the Hubble Catalog of Variables (HCV). Developed by the ESAC Science Data Centre (ESDC), the HCV Explorer offers interactive and connected exploration of the HCV with the aim of aiding the exploration of the catalog. This tool also aims to enhance data discovery and user experience through visual exploration. The first version of the HCV Explorer, released today, allows users to search by target name or coordinates to discover the variable sources around a target in the sky. The results are connected to plots, showing the available light curves for each variable source or the variability of the source and its associated neighbours. This is also displayed with tabular results and data …

24 September 2019: By Paule Sonnentrucker (ESA/STScI) The HCV is also hosted at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in the form of a High-Level Science Product (HLSP) in the MAST (Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes) archive. High-Level Science Products are observations, catalogs, or models that complement and enhance the scientific impact of missions supported by MAST. These products often provide greater visibility of both the science theme they address and the missions that these products were generated from. All HLSP are accessible via a standardised webpage at MAST. The HLSP webpage featuring the HCV allows astronomers around the world to download the entire catalog and its associated documentation, if desired. The webpage also contains a brief description of the motivation behind this initiative and the contents of the catalog, and provides access to the peer-reviewed publications associated with the project. The HCV catalog can also be browsed and data-mined from the HLSP …

24 September 2019: Alceste Bonanos (NOA) Here we illustrate the potential of the HCV catalog with three examples from Bonanos et al.: Variables in the Local Group dwarf galaxy IC 1613 The HCV can be used to identify various types of (faint) variables in resolved galaxies. Types of variables include Cepheids, RR Lyrae, eclipsing binaries and novae. Figure 1 presents variables selected by the HCV pipeline on the “discovery diagram” for IC 1613, i.e. a diagram of the median magnitude of each source versus the value of the median absolute deviation (MAD). The location of the selected variables on the colour-magnitude diagram (CMD) is shown in Figure 1 (bottom plot). The multi-filter variable candidates are marked with green triangles, while the single-filter candidates are marked with blue squares. Many of the candidate variables lie on the instability strip, with the majority being classical Cepheids and RR Lyrae variables. AGN Variability in the CANDELS …

24 September 2019: We are entering a golden age for astronomy. A wealth of multiwavelength and now multimessenger astrophysical observatories, from space and from the ground, are currently operating or being planned, to work in synergy and advance our collective understanding of the Universe. The ever-versatile Hubble observatory, a result of a long-lasting collaboration between NASA and ESA, provides unmatched UV-visible capabilities. Next April, we will celebrate 30 splendid years of scientific contributions to all branches of astronomy, from the detailed observation of the Solar System, to the characterisation of exoplanet atmospheres, to the exploration of the distant Universe. In spite of its age, Hubble is going strong and we anticipate many more scientific breakthroughs ahead, as we expect the observatory to be scientifically productive well into the next decade. At the same time, the countdown is accelerating towards the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, planned for March 2021. Webb’s unique …

24 September 2019: López Martí, S. Kruk, M. Mahlke, B. Merín, E. Racero & D. Baines Hubble Asteroid Hunter was a citizen science project to identify serendipitous observations of asteroids in Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images. The HST data archive can hide unexpected treasures, such as traces of asteroids. These discoveries are highly valuable for scientists studying minor Solar System bodies. For example, identifying asteroids in the images and marking the positions of their trails allows for valuable updates in the IAU Minor Planet Center and improved characterisation of the objects. To make these discoveries within the Hubble data archive, researchers need to search through the telescope's vast wealth of data spanning nearly three decades. A pipeline solution was therefore developed that uses the ephemerides from an input Solar System object to identify images from the European HST Archive that match in both time and position the expected location of that object in …

15 May 2019: The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) has announced a Call for Applications to attend the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Master Class. The class will provide dedicated JWST proposal training to selected researchers who are willing to share their knowledge with scientists at their local/regional institutions. The original announcement from STScI can be found here. The European Space Agency (ESA) will provide a similar opportunity to European astronomers. A similar JWST Master Class will be organised at the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in the first week of February 2020. The workshop will last approximately 2–3 days and will include topics related to JWST proposal planning, user tools, instrument modes, science cases, documentation, resources, and guidance regarding the education and dissemination of these topics to others. Approximately 10 astronomers will be selected to participate in the European JWST Master Class. The Master Class graduates will each host a proposal-preparation training …

15 May 2019: Antonella Nota (ESA/STScI) & Alceste Bonanos (NOA) We are only a few months away from unveiling the results of four years of intense effort by astronomers from the National Observatory of Athens, sponsored by ESA and led by Alceste Bonanos. We will present the Hubble Catalog of Variables (HCV): the first full, homogeneous, catalogue of variable sources found in the Hubble Source Catalog (HSC), which is built out of publicly available images obtained with the WFPC2, ACS and WFC3 instruments. Hubble has been observing the sky for over 29 years and has visited some regions of the sky several times over its lifetime. This offers the opportunity to search for variable objects over a range of magnitudes that is difficult to reach with ground-based telescopes. The magnitude depth, along with the superb resolution achieved by Hubble and the long time-baseline of its operation, are the features that make such a …

15 May 2019: Deborah Baines, Maria Arevalo, Javier Durand, Raul Gutierrez, Bruno Merin (ESA/ESAC), Paule Sonnentrucker (ESA/STScI) The HCV will be available for download both from eHST/ESAC and MAST. Within the eHST framework, individual object searches will be enabled by the HCV Explorer, a visualisation tool designed and implemented at the ESAC Science Data Centre (ESDC). The tool will offer interactive and connected plotting of the HCV catalogue on the sky, in a table and in plots, including light curves, with the aim of aiding the exploration of the catalogue and enhancing the user experience through visual and intuitive exploration. Within the first version of the HCV Explorer, users will be able to search by target name or coordinates, visualise the catalogue on the sky around the chosen target, view variability information and select the background images (HiPS) to be displayed. A results table will be shown for the sources in the sky …

15 May 2019: Antonella Nota (ESA/STScI) and Pierre Ferruit (ESA) Please note: some of the information in this science update may now be outdated, as it was originally published in May 2019. The James Webb Space Telescope is well on track for launch in March 2021. Extensive, careful testing continues steadily at Northrop-Grumman; at the time of writing, one piece of James Webb, the assembled spacecraft and sunshield is in its last stretch of thermal vacuum testing. When that is completed, the second piece of JWST, the telescope and the instruments will be integrated, and by August, this majestic observatory will finally be one. Thorough oversight of testing activities by NASA continues, and a recent report of the NASA Standing Review Board concluded that 21 March remains a valid launch readiness date. In the field, we feel that the excitement for this extraordinary mission is starting to grow, especially triggered by the publication …

15 May 2019: As of March 2019, Bethany Downer is the new Public Information Officer for ESA/Hubble. Bethany was born and raised on the island of Newfoundland in Eastern Canada where she studied Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She then completed her Master in Space Studies at the International Space University through which she completed her internship at ESA’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications. Bethany has since worked in the domain of communications and outreach for space. She is also currently part of the International Astronomical Union’s IAU100 Secretariat for the organisation’s centennial anniversary celebrations in 2019. She was the global coordinator of the 100 Hours of Astronomy, during which over 1200 astronomy activities took place simultaneously in 86 countries worldwide in January 2019. Bethany also volunteers as the communications and public relations coordinator of the Space Generation Advisory Council in Support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications. …

17 December 2018: The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope travelling exhibition Our Place in Space continues to fascinate visitors around the world. After its launch to an audience of 30 000 in Venice, Italy, in February 2017, the exhibition was on display in Chiavenna (20 000 visitors), Garching (29 000 visitors) and Vienna, where it attracted 109 000 visitors! Its latest variation is currently being shown in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, where it will be on display till February 2019. Sponsored by the European Space Agency in collaboration with NASA and STScI, Our Place in Space has the goal to inform, educate and inspire the public about the mission of Hubble, and that of space exploration in general. The exhibition is based on stunning Hubble imagery and it invites national artists to present their own interpretations of where we are coming from, where we belong, what our past might have been, what our …

17 December 2018: In early October 2018, Hubble operations ceased and Hubble entered safe mode following the failure of Gyro 2. Backup Gyro 3 was powered on shortly thereafter but its non-nominal performance prolonged Hubble’s stay in safe mode for about 3 weeks while an anomaly review board investigated the behaviour and established a path forward to recover full science operations. Thanks to the outstanding efforts of all involved in this recovery, Hubble has resumed nominal science operations since 27 October 2018 using the 3-gyro combination 3-4-6. In order to observe astronomical targets, Hubble needs to be able to position itself in space while orbiting the Earth and then steady itself in order to stare at or “lock onto” science objects for long periods of time. Such a feat is achieved by Hubble’s Pointing Control System (PCS) which is made up of three subsystems: the Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS) which are Hubble’s targeting …

17 December 2018: For all of us supporting the Hubble mission, the Time Allocation Committee (TAC) week is the week we look forward to. It is a week of pure science, spent listening to all the ideas that the very creative Hubble community proposes to push the boundaries of knowledge. In October tens of astronomers from the USA and Europe descended on Baltimore to evaluate the numerous Hubble proposals received and make recommendations to the STScI Director regarding next year’s Hubble science programme. The Cycle 26 TAC was different from the usual TAC. First, the schedule was moved by six months to accommodate the JWST TAC, which in the end was postponed. Second, the Cycle 26 call was more limited in scope than the typical call, allowing only medium and large proposals. Third, it was fully anonymised for the first time; this was done in an attempt to address the persistent gender bias …

17 December 2018: In June 2018 a new mirror of the Hubble archive at STScI was opened to the public in Europe. Hosted at the ESAC Science Data Centre (ESDC) in the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) near Madrid, this represents the culmination of almost two years of effort by scientists and engineers from the ESDC, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC). These three partners worked together within the Hubble Space Telescope Consolidation of Pipelines project to ensure that the Hubble archives at all three data centres share a common data model and the exact same data products. ESA’s Hubble archive has been re-engineered in order to accommodate this ultimate change with minimum impact for its users. As a result, ESA’s new Hubble Space Telescope Science Archive (eHST) now provides access to exactly the same data as the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) at STScI. …

12 July 2018: In December 2017, the Council of the European Space Agency appointed Günther Hasinger to become the new ESA Director for Science, and we are delighted to welcome him on board! Born in Bavaria, Germany, Günther studied physics at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, originally with the goal to become an audio engineer. However, inspired by classes from the astronomer Rudolf Kippenhahn, he became focused on astronomy, and in particular on X-ray astronomy, a field to which he greatly contributed. Günther was involved in EXOSAT, Ginga and the ROSAT satellites, and later in XMM-Newton and Chandra. From 1994 to 2001 Günther held a chair at the University of Potsdam and was director at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics. In 2001 he returned to the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics — this time as Director for the X-ray and Gamma-ray group, until 2008, when he became the Scientific Director of the Max-Planck …

12 July 2018: The Space Telescope User Committee (STUC) has received frequent updates from STScI on the issue of persistent gender bias in the outcome of the reviews by Hubble’s Time Allocation Committee, which has been observed for several proposal cycles. In November 2017, we heard from an external expert, Dr. Stephanie Johnson (Univ. Colorado), who specialises in issues of unconscious bias and stereotype threat, in an effort to mitigate their effect on the proposal selection process. Dr. Johnson examined and compared the initial and final scores in cycles C21 and C24, and presented her own observations of panel discussions in C25. Dr. Johnson’s main recommendation was to implement a fully blind application process. At the time, we acknowledged that the evidence presented by Dr. Johnson supported the hypothesis that a fully blind process might reduce biases related to the selection process. At the same time, we were worried that a blind peer …

12 July 2018: As you are undoubtedly aware, NASA has recently announced, that the launch of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has been delayed until 30 March 2021. Admittedly, one’s first, emotional, reaction is a sense of frustration, in particular for those scientists who prepared their applications for observing time with James Webb months ago. After all, we are all eager to exploit this fantastic, transformational telescope, and we would like to have it in operation as soon as possible. As scientists, however, we must be rational and overcome our emotions. Those of us who are old enough to have participated, with enthusiasm but also with anguish, in the incredibly successful and eventful life of Hubble are fully aware of how critical each detail, however small, can be for a telescope in orbit. During its 28 years (and counting) of operation Hubble has overcome several dreadful, potentially mission-ending problems; and yet, every …

12 July 2018: If you missed the previous installations, this summer you all can visit the Hubble art & science exhibition Our Place in Space in two different locations: at the brand new ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre in Garching, Germany, (until 2 September) and at the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria (until 2 November). Both versions are based on the original formula designed by Antonella Nota and art curator Anna Caterina Bellati, in collaboration with an international executive committee of outreach experts which include Ken Carpenter (NASA), Lars Lindberg Christensen (ESO), Mathias Jäger (ESA/Hubble) Carol Christian (STScI), Roger Davies (Oxford, UK) and Hussein Jirdeh (STScI). Garching and the ESO Supernova in particular was chosen to host the exhibition not only to let German citizens see the exhibition, but also to honour the longstanding and fruitful cooperation between the European Space Agency and the European Southern Observatory. Vienna was picked as …