On Feb. 11 Hubble Telescope will get new 'eyes'

Ian Meyer Arizona Daily Wildcat Marcia Rieke, deputy principal investigator on the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer science program, is awaiting the launch of space shuttle Discovery on Feb. 11.

"NICMOS gives astronomers another tool to diagnose what's happening in the universe," said Marcia Rieke, professor of astronomy and the deputy principal investigator for NICMOS.

"Hubble was designed to see the whole spectrum of light," said Donald McCarthy, a University of Arizona astronomer on the NICMOS science team. The Hubble telescope has been orbiting the Earth, taking pictures of deep space for several years.

McCarthy said that until now, Hubble has only had the ability to see visible and ultraviolet wavelengths.

"Astronomy is very big here at Arizona," he added, "so we decided let's give Hubble infrared 'eyes.'"

Rieke, who helped developed the NICMOS science program, said it is a "state-of-the-art device." The device will give Hubble the ability to measure temperatures of distant objects.

McCarthy said NASA circulated an announcement of opportunity, requesting proposals for second generation instruments, 13 years ago.

John Hill, director of the Large Binocular Telescope and also a member of the NICMOS science team, had the job of coming up with the instrumental design that meets the budget and the needed optical design.

Hill said Hubble was originally built for the potential for upgrades.

"NICMOS is a replacement instrument that 'plugs' into the telescope," Hill said.

Hill said the heat sensitive device is one of two instruments that will replace already existing parts of Hubble.

McCarthy said NICMOS was supposed to be a 5-year project. It should have been ready for launch in 1990.

However, the space shuttle Challenger explosion and problems with the Hubble Space Telescope mirror slowed down NASA's schedule.

"It became a 13-year adventure," McCarthy said.

Now, scientists are hopeful that the delays are over.

Frank Low, regents research professor emeritus for Steward Observatory, said, "Everything is going well and on schedule."

NICMOS is set for launch on the space shuttle Discovery Feb. 11 around 4 a.m. EST.

"This is the most major launch NASA has had in some time," Low said.

A UA news release said the Discovery's seven astronauts will retrieve the orbiting Hubble telescope during their 10-day mission and secure it in the shuttle's cargo bay. In four separate space walks, astronauts will make the necessary upgrades to the Hubb le Space Telescope.

Hill said NICMOS will be used for the study of distant galaxies, quasars and some of the earliest regions of the universe.

Quasars are bright, star-like objects that may be some of the most distant objects in the universe.

McCarthy said there are several advantages to infrared technology.

He said cooler kinds of objects, such as distant planets, would show up very brightly on an infrared radiation spectrum.

"We'll be able to see through a lot of 'dusty' material in space," McCarthy said.

He said astronomers will be able to see regions where stars are being born, if planets form around them and where and when the stars die.

"We can go right to the center and see what's happening," McCarthy said. "The universe is expanding."

The farther the object being observed is, the redder it appears on the infrared spectrum, McCarthy said.

"NICMOS has the ability to see further back into time," he said. "There's thought to be a black hole at the center of our galaxy."

McCarthy said astronomers can understand other more active galaxies through observing our own Milky Way galaxy closely.