Hubble's Planetary Discoveries in the Solar System

1. Hubble’s planetary mission Max Mutchler STScI Research and Instrument Scientist Bonnie Meinke STScI Outreach Scientist Hubble Science Briefing 2 April 2015

2. Hubble has been good for planetary science – and vice versa • Hubble is capable of observing almost any moving target in the Solar System, with a quick response to transient events • Best of both worlds: Hubble has a strong history of supporting (and sometimes inspiring) planetary missions • Hubble’s superb sensitivity and resolution are ideal for studying small Solar System bodies or features • Important planetary observations have happened at critical points in the Hubble mission

3. Moving targets require special tracking, observation planning, and data processing Jupiter 24 Jan 2015

4. Moving targets require special tracking, observation planning, and data processing Jupiter 24 Jan 2015

5. Pre-launch hype, delays, and ground system development (including moving-target tracking)

7. HST launch on 24 April 1990

8. Hubble’s cameras

9. Hubble was deployed • and serviced by • the Space Shuttle • 1990 Launch • 1993 SM1 • 1997 SM2 • 1999 SM3A • 2002 SM3B • SM4 • The Trouble with Hubble

10. This is the new era of astronomy?

13. Top Ten Hubble Telescope Excuses 10. The guy at Sears promised it would work fine. 9. Some kids on Earth must be fooling around with a garage door opener. 8. There's a little doohickey rubbing against the part that looks kind of like a cowboy hat. 7. See if you can think straight after 12 days of drinking Tang. 6. Bum with squeegee smeared lens at red light. 5. Blueprints drawn up by that "Hey Vern!” guy. 4. Those damn raccoons! 3. Shouldn't have used G.E. components. 2. Ran out of quarters. 1. Race of super-evolved galactic beings are screwing with us.

14. Solar System observations helped fill the void until the first HST Servicing Mission (SM1) Despite bugs, breakdowns, and its famous mirror flaw, Hubble still gives a clear view of the cosmos - sometimes

15. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Views Major Storm On Saturn http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/solar-system/1991/04/

16. ESA Faint Object Camera (FOC) Images Pluto the "Double Planet" http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/solar-system/1990/14/

17. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) is disrupted by Jupiter, and on course for a collision in 1994! The stage is set…

18. Hubble was deployed • and serviced by • the Space Shuttle • 1990 Launch • 1993 SM1 • 1997 SM2 • 1999 SM3A • 2002 SM3B • SM4 • The comeback story begins

19. The first Hubble Servicing Mission (SM1) in Dec 1993 was effectively a rescue mission WFPC2 was installed

20. Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) images had a strange shape due to the high resolution planetary camera (PC) Wide Field 2 (WF2) Wide Field 3 (WF3) Planetary Camera (PC1) Wide Field 4 (WF4)

21. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts Jupiter in July 1994, providing a showcase for the repaired Hubble’s capabilities

23. Hubble observations of Saturn 1996-2000 As Saturn takes its 29-year journey around the Sun, its tilt allows us to see its rings from different perspectives.

24. Hubble was deployed • and serviced by • the Space Shuttle • 1990 Launch • 1993 SM1 • 1997 SM2 • 1999 SM3A • 2002 SM3B • SM4 • New instruments STIS and NICMOS provide ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) capability.

28. Hubble was deployed • and serviced by • the Space Shuttle • 1990 Launch • 1993 SM1 • 1997 SM2 • 1999 SM3A • 2002 SM3B • SM4 • Getting the hardware up and running again

29. Hubble was deployed • and serviced by • the Space Shuttle • 1990 Launch • 1993 SM1 • 1997 SM2 • 1999 SM3A • 2002 SM3B • 2009 SM4 • Advanced Camera for Surveys is installed, providing greater sensitivity and resolution

30. Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS): installed in 2002…failed in 2007… and partially repaired in 2009

31. Advanced Camera for Surveys Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 ACS / WFC ACS / HRC (High Resolution Channel)

32. Hubble observations of giant planets (and their rings and moons) Without probes exploring these planets, Hubble is the best tool for exploring the outer solar system.

34. Monitoring Mars

35. Columbia accident in 2003 Hubble SM4 cancelled in 2004

40. Hubble observations of dwarf planets Ceres and Pluto See ASP article: http://astrosociety.org/edu/publications/tnl/70/pluto.html Main Asteroid Belt Kuiper Belt Discovered 1801-1851 Discovered in 1992…or 1930 (Pluto) Ceres

41. 2005: Hubble images reveal two new moons of Pluto

42. Annette and Patsy Tombaugh New Horizons launch 19 January 2006 Jim Christy Jim Christy

43. 2011-2012: Hubble discovers two more Pluto moons while looking for hazards for the New Horizons spacecraft They were later named Styx and Kerberos – despite the suggestion from Captain Kirk and Spock 2014: Hubble discovers two Kuiper Belt Objects that New Horizons could fly by after Pluto See Hubble Science Briefing from 2012: http://hubblesource.stsci.edu/services/events/telecons/

44. New Horizons spots Nix and Hydra orbiting Pluto (“Better Than Hubble” date in late April or early May) http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20150218

45. Citation from IAU Minor Planet Circular 56612 on the naming of Asteroid “6815 Mutchler”

47. dwarf planet asteroid (small solar system body)

48. Dawn mission to Vesta and Ceres Launched September 27, 2007 See Google hangouts on YouTube about Hubble observations of Vesta and Ceres in support of Dawn: “Dawn mission: Hubble inspired”

49. Dawn’s “Better Than Hubble” date for Ceres was 26 Jan 2015 Ceres Vesta

50. 2015 is the Year of the Dwarf Planets Their spaceships have come in! Dawn New Horizons Pluto 2015 Ceres 2015 Vesta 2011