[slate]
[slate] This is a great
time this weekend, the next week or so to go outside and look at Mars
in the evening. The reason is that Mars and Earth in their
in the evening. The reason is that Mars and Earth in their respective
orbits are lining up on the same side of the sun which means
that Mars is relatively close and will look quite bright in the sky.
If you go out right after sunset and look up in the southeast
sky, you'll see the moon rising but you'll also see Mars nearby
a very bright, reddish looking object in the sky
and you'll know that you're seeing Mars at one of its closest times.
[slate]
We're so pleased that because Mars is fairly close
to Earth now we were able to look at Mars with the Hubble Space Telescope and
get a new image. And because of Hubble's exquisite capabilities we can see
a lot of detail. We can see features that are smaller than even 30 miles across.
So if you look at our new image of Mars, you'll see all kinds of interesting
detail. In the middle you see this orange looking
region of desert plains with cratered features. On the right
hand side you see a cloudy region. Those are actually clouds surrounding a dormant
volcano. You can see dark bedrock regions to the north
and south. You can see the polar regions. They look white
The polar cap is a little small, it's summer in the northern hemisphere
on Mars. And you can see wispy clouds around the region. It's a beautiful
picture to look at. [slate]
Well because the Hubble
Space Telescope has been in operation now for more than 26 years
we've been able to watch the planets in solar system over time
We've learned that they're very dynamic. For example Jupiter with its
beautiful atmosphere is changing. That giant is red
spot for example, a big storm, is actually shrinking over time.
Other storms cropping up. We're also looking at places like Saturn
and because Hubble has ultraviolet eyes, we can see things like
the aurorae on the poles coming and going. Such interesting
dynamics weren't possible to see before over such long periods of time
We've also looked at things like comets and asteroids and found out that our solar system
is a very active place.
[slate] Well the Hubble Space Telescope
is actually in wonderful scientific condition right now.
Because the astronauts that have visited Hubble from time to time over the years
have done a wonderful job servicing this observatory
The last time in 2009 did a wonderful job of putting in
new instruments and capabilities. So Hubble is giving us the best science
we've ever had now. And we anticipate for the next few years that Hubble will keep
doing superb science looking not only at the solar system but also
at star forming regions in our galaxy, places where
stars are actually dying and emitting their outer atmospheres. Looking
at other galaxies and seeing stars form in them. And also looking
at very distant galaxies to understand how the universe was shortly after
it was formed. So we anticipate Hubble will be operating for years to
come and will soon be joined in 2018 by the James
Webb Space Telescope. That's a NASA facility we're really looking forward
to which will be an inferred giant space telescope
and both of these facilities will continue to give us outstanding new information
about the universe.
[slate] With the Hubble Space Telescope
looking at Mars, we can see the planet as a whole.
This gives us information about its global conditions. We can already
see in this new image all these interesting features and the cloud cover. In the past when we looked at Mars
sometimes we've seen even global dust storms. That helps us understand
the global dynamics and it goes well with the information
that we get from the probes and the rovers that are already at Mars.
Sampling its atmosphere, telling us about its soil. All
this information is telling us about Mars composition
its history, its present and its future.
And it also tells us something about planet Earth. What's our history.
How is our history related to the history of Mars. It's preparing
us also for a future human mission to Mars. So all of these observatories
and tools work together to give us a complete picture of Mars
and the interesting science we can learn there.
[slate] The Hubble Space Telescope
has taught us interesting things. I think some of my favorite
discoveries with Hubble include understanding that stars
formation is a very active process that we can actually
watch in terms of seeing young stars at different phases of their formation
We're also learning that the universe as a whole has changed in spectacular
ways over time. With Hubble we've been able to see infant galaxies
over 13 billion light years away showing
us what conditions were like in the universe shortly after it began and we can compare
that with our own Milky Way galaxy is like today. So I think
looking at the activity as well as the beauty of the universe
has been my favorite achievements of the Hubble Space Telescope.
[slate]
You can see more of Hubble's images including this beautiful new image of Mars
at nasa.gov/hubble or on Twitter
@NASA_Hubble.
How is our history related to the history of Mars is preparing