A new report from the Hubble space observatory:

Abell S1063, a galaxy cluster, was observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope as part of the Frontier Fields programme. The huge mass of the cluster acts as a cosmic magnifying glass and enlarges even more distant galaxies, so they become bright enough for Hubble to see.

Fifty years ago Captain Kirk and the crew of the starship Enterprise began their journey into space — the final frontier. Now, as the newest Star Trek film hits cinemas, the NASA/ESA Hubble space telescope is also exploring new frontiers, observing distant galaxies in the galaxy cluster Abell S1063 as part of the Frontier Fields programme.

Space… the final frontier. These are the stories of the Hubble Space Telescope. Its continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds and to boldly look where no telescope has looked before.

The newest target of Hubble’s mission is the distant galaxy cluster Abell S1063, potentially home to billions of strange new worlds.

This video begins with a view of the night sky from the ground, before zooming in on the distant galaxy cluster Abell S1063 as the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope sees it. The cluster was observed as part of the Frontier Fields programme. Credit: Fuji/DSS/Hubble. Music: Johan B. Monell (www.johanmonell.com)

This view of the cluster, which can be seen in the centre of the image, shows it as it was four billion years ago. But Abell S1063 allows us to explore a time even earlier than this, where no telescope has really looked before. The huge mass of the cluster distorts and magnifies the light from galaxies that lie behind it due to an effect called gravitational lensing. This allows Hubble to see galaxies that would otherwise be too faint to observe and makes it possible to search for, and study, the very first generation of galaxies in the Universe. “Fascinating”, as a famous Vulcan might say.

This part of the sky was observed in parallel with the galaxy cluster Abell S1063 and is also part of the Frontier Fields programme. While one of Hubble’s cameras observed the galaxy cluster itself, another simultaneously captured the spectacular scene pictured above, of an “unremarkable” patch of space. While not having the advantage of strong gravitational lensing this parallel field observation is still nearly as deep as the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field. Combined with other deep fields it helps astronomers understand how similar the Universe looks in different directions.

The first results from the data on Abell S1063 promise some remarkable new discoveries. Already, a galaxy has been found that is observed as it was just a billion years after the Big Bang.

Astronomers have also identified sixteen background galaxies whose light has been distorted by the cluster, causing multiple images of them to appear on the sky. This will help astronomers to improve their models of the distribution of both ordinary and dark matter in the galaxy cluster, as it is the gravity from these that causes the distorting effects. These models are key to understanding the mysterious nature of dark matter.

This video pans over NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observations of the galaxy cluster Abell S1063, which were made as part of the Frontier Fields programme. The many galaxies within the cluster become clearly visible, as well as the background galaxies, enlarged by gravitational lensing. Credit: ESA/Hubble. Music: Johan B. Monell (www.johanmonell.com)

Abell S1063 is not alone in its ability to bend light from background galaxies, nor is it the only one of these huge cosmic lenses to be studied using Hubble. Three other clusters have already been observed as part of the Frontier Fields programme, and two more will be observed over the next few years, giving astronomers a remarkable picture of how they work and what lies both within and beyond them [1].

Data gathered from the previous galaxy clusters were studied by teams all over the world, enabling them to make important discoveries, among them galaxies that existed only hundreds of million years after the Big Bang (heic1523) and the first predicted appearance of a gravitationally lensed supernova (heic1525).

Such an extensive international collaboration would have made Gene Roddenberry, the father of Star Trek, proud. In the fictional world Roddenberry created, a diverse crew work together to peacefully explore the Universe. This dream is partially achieved by the Hubble programme in which the European Space Agency (ESA), supported by 22 member states, and NASA collaborate to operate one of the most sophisticated scientific instruments in the world. Not to mention the scores of other international science teams that cross state, country and continental borders to achieve their scientific aims.

Notes

[1] The Hubble Frontier Fields is a three-year, 840-orbit programme which will yield the deepest views of the Universe to date, combining the power of Hubble with the gravitational amplification of light around six different galaxy clusters to explore more distant regions of space than could otherwise be seen.

Living in Space, Rockets, Space Systems

Videos: SpaceX Falcon 9 launch, booster landing, and Dragon berths to the ISS

July 20, 2016 TopSpacer

SpaceX successfully launched a Dragon Cargo vehicle on a Falcon 9 rocket late Sunday night. The Dragon reached the Int. Space Station this morning and berthed to it. The first stage of the Falcon 9 returned for a landing a few minutes after liftoff. Below are videos of the F9 launch, the booster landing, and the Dragon rendezvous and berthing.

And two videos of the first stage booster landing:

The Dragon approaches the ISS:

And astronauts on the station reach out and grab the Dragon with the station’s robotic arm and bring it in for attachment to a port:

Events, History, Mars

Apollo 11 and Viking 1 anniversaries today

July 20, 2016 TopSpacer

Today is the 47th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. There will be a new documentary debuting today – Go: The Great Race – Moon Landing Special on ‘Through the Decades’ – Decades TV Network – July 20, 2016 – but there are many older ones available on line, e.g.:

Today on The Space Show (7-8:30 pm PDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT, 9-10:30 pm CDT) Rand Simberg and Bill Simon will discuss the Evoloterra ceremony. See my report here on Our Evoloterra evening from a few years ago.

Today is also the 40th anniversary of the landing of the first Viking spacecraft on Mars:

General

Carnival of Space #467 – Next Big Future

July 19, 2016 TopSpacer

Next Big Future hosts the latest Carnival of Space.

Rockets

Amateur rocket group Copenhagen Suborbitals to launch their most advanced rocket yet

July 19, 2016 TopSpacer

This Saturday Copenhagen Suborbitals will attempt to launch its most ambitious rocket. The Nexø I uses a liquid propellant engine and an active guidance system. Find updates and webcast info at The Nexø I Mission.

Here is the press release:

Danish amateur rocket builders launch their most advanced rocket yet.

DSC06426[1] — *Nexø I on it’s launch rail onboard MLP Sputnik, seen at the Sea Acceptance Test (SAT) recently in the Copenhagen harbour. Click to enlarge.*

This summer, Copenhagen Suborbitals are launching the Nexø I rocket, as the next step towards their goal of flying an amateur astronaut into space. The rocket is the first of the Nexø Class to fly, named after the city of Nexø on the Bornholm island that hosts the Danish spaceport. Standing 5,6 m tall, Nexø I is the first, fully guided and liquid fuelled rocket built by the group. Launched from the Mobile launch platform Sputnik on the Baltic Sea east of Denmark, it can fly up to 6-10 km before landing back in the ocean by parachute.

“These days everyone is working around the clock to make the mission happen” says Kristian Elof Sørensen, Chairman of Copenhagen Suborbitals. “Nexø I is the most advanced rocket we have ever built, and a successful mission this year is important for our effort to build a rocket big enough to put a man in space.”

nex├╕_CutAway — *Cutaway diagram. Click for larger image.*

Copenhagen Suborbitals have built and launched rockets from Denmark since 2011, when their HEAT-1X made headlines as the biggest, amateur rocket ever flown. The group is the world’s only manned, amateur space programme, with 55 volunteers building rockets and space capsules in a central copenhagen workshop, all completely crowdfunded.

“Nexø I will not fly into space, but the technologies we are testing are the same needed to build our manned rocket, Spica” says Kristian Elof Sørensen. “The Spica rocket is so big that it makes sense to build smaller rockets first to test the subsystems on a smaller scale.”

nexøflightevents[1] — *Infographic showing Spaceport Nexø on the island of Bornholm, the launch site EDS139, and some of the mission ships. Click to enlarge*

The flight will happen between July 23rd and September 1st, with the actual date depending on weather conditions. The first possible launch window is Saturday july 23rd. “The rocket is ready, so we are now following the weather forecasts very closely. We need a calm day and waves under 0.5 meters in the Baltic sea for the launch” says Kristian Elof Sørensen

Read more – and see the launch live at: copsub.com