By: Madeline Butler ’24
Since their respective launches into space, NASA’s Hubble and James Webb telescopes have been transmitting their findings back down to Earth. The range of discoveries is large, but NASA has a tool that anyone can use to look at what its space telescopes are working to find at any given moment.
The web application, NASA’s Space Telescope Live, which was originally developed in 2016 to focus on updates from Hubble, has now been configured to provide up-to-date information on current, past and upcoming observations from both Webb and Hubble.
According to NASA, “With its redesigned user interface and expanded functionality, users can find out not only what planet, star, nebula, galaxy, or region of deep space each telescope is observing at the moment, but also where exactly these targets are in the sky; what scientific instruments are being used to capture the images, spectra, and other data; precisely when and how long the observations are scheduled to occur; the status of the observation; who is leading the research; and most importantly, what the scientists are trying to find out.”
The information from the observations is available on the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes. The information not only includes the current targets but also the entire catalog of past observations. The Webb records date back to targets from January 2022, and Hubble targets from the beginning of its operations in May 1990.
NASA’s Space Telescope Live was created using different software until its completion. The process also involved the creation of the user interface. It also features the ability to zoom in and out of the field of view to get a better look at where each of the telescopes are looking.
“The zoomable sky map centered on the target’s location was developed using the Aladin Sky Atlas, with imagery from ground-based telescopes to provide context for the observation. Because the Hubble and Webb data must go through preliminary processing, and in many cases preliminary analysis, before being released to the public and astronomy community, real-time imagery is not available in this tool for either telescope,” according to NASA.
While real-time updates are not available, the information that both telescopes are collecting is incredibly important for understanding our universe and looking into the future.
According to NASA, “Hubble was designed as a general purpose observatory, meant to explore the universe in visible, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths. To date, the telescope has studied a vast array of cosmic objects, providing views that astronomers were unable to capture from the ground.”
Inconsistencies in the atmosphere, caused by shifting pockets of air, blur or even block certain wavelengths of light. This makes it difficult to study the stars because these effects cause a twinkling effect that disrupts images captured by telescopes on the ground.
In addition to capturing distortion-free images, telescopes like Hubble and Webb can also capture more wavelengths of light, are unaffected by light pollution, and are incredibly high resolution. All these abilities allow scientists to have the best possible chance of trying to answer questions about the universe and form new questions with additional information.
“Through space exploration, we gain a new perspective to study Earth and the solar system. We advance new technologies that improve our daily lives, and we inspire a new generation of artists, thinkers, tinkerers, engineers, and scientists,” according to NASA.
While the information that Hubble and Webb collect may seem complicated, NASA’s Space Telescope Live provides an opportunity to keep up with each new discovery.
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