Goddard Scientists Present Findings at Summer AAS Meeting

Hubble's Infrared Camera is Back in Business -- New Images Released

After more than three years of inactivity, and thanks to a new cryogenic refrigerator, the Hubble Space Telescope's Near Infrared Camera and Multi Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) debuted this week with various breathtaking views of galaxies in several stages of development.

The first NICMOS test images demonstrate its powerful new capability for making remarkable discoveries unique to space-based near-infrared astronomy. The NICMOS' penetrating vision sliced through the edge-on dusty disk of a galaxy, NGC 4013, to peer all the way into the galaxy's core.

Image of Disk and Jet From Young Star DL Tauri

A composite image of the disk and jet from DL Tauri, a star that is still forming. The disk is comprised of dust and gas, and astronomers believe the Sun had a disk like this when it was young, about five billion years ago, and that the Earth and other 1solar system objects formed from material in its disk.

Liberating the Universe: Making Astronomy Accessible to All Students

A pioneering NASA education program strives to make astronomy accessible to all students, including the disabled. The program brings together existing Internet technology and other tools to open the Universe to students who would otherwise be denied the experience due to their physical or cognitive challenges.

The effort is funded by NASA through the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), Baltimore, with the participation of the elementary school system in Howard County, Md.

"We discovered that our program benefits all students, regardless of whether they have a disability or not, because it capitalizes on the innate curiosity of children, and it is carefully tailored to their development level," said Dr. Carol Grady, a National Optical Astronomy Observatory researcher stationed at Goddard. Grady is the Science Lead for the program, and became involved after her son, who has special needs, expressed an interest in her work with the Hubble Space Telescope on planet formation and stellar evolution.