Tonight, look up into the northern sky. If you’re lucky, you’ll see constellations like The Great Bear. But, like most stargazers, you may long to see it in all its glory, as close and crisp as possible, and your telescope in the backyard may not help that much. For decades, astronomers, yearned to see the universe more clearly.
In 1990, they got their wish. NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope. It’s captured spectacular images of planets and galaxies. It’s inspired stargazers and students, and it’s helped scientists answer the biggest of questions: How old is our universe? What are black holes? Why do stars explode? But NASA is planning to end Hubble’s life and scientists and amateurs alike are protesting.
Guests:
Robert P. Kirshner, Clowes Professor of Science at Harvard University at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and author, “The Extravagant Universe”
Jim O’Leary, Senior Director of Technology, The Imax Planetarium at the Maryland Science Center
Rick Feinberg, editor-in-chief of Sky & Telescope.