NASA Invites Public to Choose Hubble's Next Discovery

NASA is inviting the public to vote for one of six candidate astronomical objects for Hubble to observe in honor of the International Year of Astronomy.

The options, which Hubble has not previously photographed, range from far-flung
galaxies to dying stars. Votes can be cast until March 1. Hubble's camera will make a high resolution image revealing new details about the object that receives the most votes. The image will be released during the International Year of Astronomy's “100 Hours of Astronomy” from April 2 to 5.
Space enthusiasts can cast their vote at:
http://YouDecide.Hubblesite.org
Everyone who votes also will be entered into a random drawing to receive one of
100 copies of the Hubble photograph made of the winning celestial body.
NASA also invites teachers and students to participate in an accompanying
Hubble Space Telescope classroom collage activity that integrates art, science
and language arts. Students in participating classes will select their favorite
Hubble images and assemble them in a collage. Students in each class also will
choose their favorite object from the image voting contest and write essays about why they made their selections. For more information, visit: http://YouDecide.Hubblesite.org/amazing-space .
The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, was designed so that it can be
repaired in space by astronauts. The next servicing mission to the telescope is
targeted to launch on space shuttle Atlantis May 12, 2009. Mission objectives
include extending Hubble's operational life by five years, repairing its out-of-
commission instruments and enhancing its scientific power. To do so, astronauts
will replace gyroscopes and batteries on the telescope, repair the Space
Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and the Advanced Camera for Surveys and
install two new instruments — the Wide Field Camera 3 and the Cosmic Origins
Spectrograph.
For more information about the servicing mission, visit:
http://hubble.nasa.gov/missions/sm4.php
For more information about the Hubble Space Telescope, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/hubble
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) and is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Md. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. The institute is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., Washington, D.C.

STScI is an International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA 2009) program partner.