A Behind the Scenes Look at Hubble Space Telescope Operations

Saturday, January 2 @ 7:00 PM via Zoom

Contact Steve Hubbard (cstahhs@gmail.com) for Zoom Meeting link and information. 

Mike Wenz will present: A Behind the Scenes Look at Hubble Space Telescope Operations

Many people have seen the wonderful pictures that the Hubble Space Telescope has produced over the 29 years of it's operation so far. However, few people have seen what is truly involved in the day to day operation of a telescope that has been called a National Treasure. This talk will take a look behind the scenes and explain how the telescope is operated and what it takes to make the science observations that lead to all of the discoveries Hubble has been involved in. It will show what is involved in keeping the telescope functioning as it continues to age and the hardware and instruments on board gets older and older. If you have ever wondered how Hubble can point at and track objects with milliarcsecond accuracy or what Hubble does during meteor showers or when space junk is on a collision course with the telescope then this talk will provide you with those answers. The discoveries that the Hubble Space Telescope has made over the years have revolutionized how we view and understand the universe that we live in. The stories of how those discoveries are made day after day is one few people get to hear.