Jan. 28, 2009

J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241
j.d.harrington{at}nasa.gov

Donna Weaver
Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore
410-338-4514
dweaver{at}stsci.edu
villard{at}stsci.edu

RELEASE: 09-020

NASA INVITES PUBLIC TO CHOOSE HUBBLE'S NEXT DISCOVERY

WASHINGTON -- NASA is giving everyone the opportunity to use the
world's most celebrated telescope to explore the heavens and boldly
look where the Hubble Space Telescope has never looked before.

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.

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

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