Hubble's Next Discovery? You Decide!

[bystander]

Hubble's Next Discovery -- You Decide
NASA Mission Pages - HST - 2009 Jan 28

Put yourself behind the controls of modern astronomy's most famous telescope. Be a part of history and join astronomy fans around the globe in casting a vote for the next object the Hubble Space Telescope will view. Choose from a selection of celestial views never seen before by Hubble, and earn a chance to enter a drawing for 100 copies of the winning picture.

To participate in the contest, go to HubbleSite's You Decide page. Vote by March 1, 2009.

This event is part of the worldwide International Year of Astronomy (IYA), celebrating the 400th anniversary of the astronomer Galileo directing his telescope toward the night sky. The winning image will be released during the IYA's 100 Hours of Astronomy, an event geared toward encouraging as many people as possible to experience the night sky.

NASA invites public to choose Hubble's next discovery
Astronomy.com - 2009 Jan 28

NASA Calls on Public to Vote For Hubble Telescope's Target
Space.com - 2009 Jan 28

http://youdecide.hubblesite.org/

[aristarchusinexile]

Warning .. Warning .. You have only six choices.

[neufer]

Sophie: You mean, I have to choose?

NASA: That gives you a privilege, a choice.

Sophie: I can’t choose! I can’t choose!

NASA: Be quiet.

Sophie: I can’t choose!

[aristarchusinexile]

Turn it around and point it towards earth, maybe they'll find intelligent life, but I doubt it.

[bystander]

If you haven't voted, vote now. Time is running out. Voting ends 2009 March 01.
To make sure your vote counts, I would vote by 2009 Feb 28 23:59:59 UTC.

[bystander]

Hubble Has A Winner!

• Out of a total of 140,000 votes cast online by the public since the “Hubble, You Decide” contest opened on January 28, 48 per cent favored the interacting pair of spiral galaxies called Arp 274 ...
  
  Hubble has shown that interacting galaxies are very photogenic because, under the relentless pull of gravity, they weave elegant twisted lanes of dust and stars, and brilliant blue clusters of newborn stars. The new picture of Arp 274 promises to reveal intriguing never-before-seen details in the galactic grand slam.
  
  The Hubble observations will be taken during the International Year of Astronomy’s “100 Hours of Astronomy,” taking place from April 2 – 5. The full-color galaxy image will be released publicly during that time.

Arp 274 is a pair of galaxies. Drawn together by their gravity, they are starting to interact. The spiral shapes of these galaxies are mostly intact, but evidence can be seen of the gravitational distortions they are creating within each other. When galaxies interact and merge together, the gas clouds inside them often form tremendous numbers of new stars. DSS/STScI/AURA/PALOMAR/CALTECH/UKSTU/AAO

arp274.jpg (22.2 KiB) Viewed 1397 times

[neufer]

Hubble Has A Winner!

• Out of a total of 140,000 votes cast online by the public since the “Hubble, You Decide” contest opened on January 28, 48 per cent favored the interacting pair of spiral galaxies called Arp 274. Hubble has shown that interacting galaxies are very photogenic because, under the relentless pull of gravity, they weave elegant twisted lanes of dust and stars, and brilliant blue clusters of newborn stars. The new picture of Arp 274 promises to reveal intriguing never-before-seen details in the galactic grand slam.

• T. S. G.Arp: We'll take the Hubble Winner... Honey,
  the chances of another galaxy hitting this galaxy are astronomical.
  It's been pre-disastered. We're going to be safe here.
  ................................................................
  
  
  <<The house that the plane crashes into was built at one end of the only runway at Lincoln Park Airport, a very small airstrip in Lincoln Park, NJ USA (about 35 miles NW of New York City). The wrecked house was not removed for several weeks. While no planes have hit houses in the vicinity, one did bounce off the roof of a passing car several years earlier.>>

[bystander]

Hubble Celebrates the International Year of Astronomy with the Galaxy Triplet Arp 274

• April 3, 2009: On April 1-2, the Hubble Space Telescope photographed the winning target in the Space Telescope Science Institute's "You Decide" competition in celebration of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). The winner is a group of galaxies called Arp 274. The striking object received 67,021 votes out of the nearly 140,000 votes cast for the six candidate targets.

Arp 274

hs-2009-14-a-small_web.jpg (7.04 KiB) Viewed 1317 times

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubbl ... _year.html

[aristarchusinexile]

Hubble Celebrates the International Year of Astronomy with the Galaxy Triplet Arp 274

• April 3, 2009: On April 1-2, the Hubble Space Telescope photographed the winning target in the Space Telescope Science Institute's "You Decide" competition in celebration of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). The winner is a group of galaxies called Arp 274. The striking object received 67,021 votes out of the nearly 140,000 votes cast for the six candidate targets.

hs-2009-14-a-small_web.jpg

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubbl ... _year.html

This is not a group of three, but at least five. In large images you can see near the bottom right, below the large spiral on the right side, a faint spiral galaxy edge on, horizontal to the image, behind the large three spirals, and that faint spiral is definitely pulling towards it the outer, downwards arm of the large spiral on the right positioned above it and forwards of it. It seems completely plain to me. It's a beautiful image, in any case. Plus there is a small irregular galaxy at the top, affecting the top of the outermost arm of the largest spiral.

[jesusfreak16]

I can see why Arp 274 was chosen (although the 2nd place photo looks pretty cool too 8) ).