The Hubble Space Telescope has embarked on the largest observing program of its career.
Over the next couple years, Hubble will study hundreds of stars in ultraviolet (UV) light.
Many young stars and massive stars are bright in UV light.
But Earth’s atmosphere absorbs most UV light. So to study it in-depth, you need a space telescope.
Hubble is the only active mission with a large mirror and ultraviolet detectors.
Astronomers wanted to use these unique UV capabilities before Hubble’s mission ultimately ends.
And that’s where the ULLYSES project comes in…
The Ultraviolet Legacy Library of Young Stars as Essential Standards
ULLYSES will create a library of valuable spectra of many different stars.
A star’s spectrum reveals its composition, temperature, density, velocity and more.
ULLYSES targets young, low-mass stars in our galaxy as well as massive stars in four nearby galaxies.
The radiation from massive stars affects the evolution of entire star-forming regions and their home galaxies...
...while observing the young, low-mass stars helps us understand their adolescent stages.
These low-mass studies will help show us what our own Sun was doing in the first few million years after it formed.
Hubble will spend more time on this Program than any other in its history...
...and as Hubble’s observations are completed, they will immediately become available to the public.
ULLYSES will give astronomers an incredible library of stars to explore for decades to come!
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