Happy Birthday to Hubble!

The Hubble telescope celebrated its 15th birthday yesterday and new 4-by-6-foot images of the famous Whirlpool galaxy M51 were unveiled yesterday afternoon to the public at the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium.

Cake was served to the 60 people who attended the celebration, as UA scientists showcased new mural-sized Hubble images of the well-known Whirlpool galaxy M51 and Eagle Nebula M16.

Rodger Thompson, a professor of astronomy and the principal investigator on the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer instrument on HST, said the telescope, launched in 1990, was only intended to last 10 years. Thompson said the life span of the telescope was prolonged "once we saw how good it was."

The infrared NICMOS sensor, which allows astronomers to observe the night sky using infrared light, was installed on Hubble in 1997.

Marcia Rieke, a UA astronomy professor and a former investigator for the NICMOS team, said that although she is still working with data she received a year and half ago, she is impressed by the telescope's longevity.

"It takes awhile to go through all that day," Rieke said. "It is quite an achievement for equipment (in space) to last for 15 years."

Another space telescope, the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, was not as lucky. Launched a year after HST, the CGRO was de-orbited in 2000 after one of its three gyroscopes failed. Yet the Hubble telescope is currently functioning with only two of its three gyroscopes, and the telescope's future is uncertain. A planned servicing mission to replace the gyroscope has been postponed following the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster.

Flandrau will host a special presentation Saturday entitled "Hubble's Greatest Hits: 15 Years of Cosmic Wonders" following its 8:30 p.m. planetarium show.

Chris Impey, distinguished professor of astronomy and deputy director of the Steward Observatory, will also make remarks at the presentation.