Hubble Images: What They Mean To Us

We've all seen images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in magazines, or on TV. They are always beautiful, sometimes strikingly so.

And, they can be bewildering. How often have we tried to get a feel of how big these objects are? What makes them look like they do? And after all, what are they?!

At the next SoVerA Public Presentation, Claudio Véliz will provide a tour of some of the more recent, stunning Hubble images of the universe's most striking objects, and explain in clear terms what it is we are actually seeing, how big these things are and what is happening to them. He will also give a brief description of the significance these objects play in our lives.

Updated news regarding the status of Hubble's proposed controversial repair option, which is intended to rejuvenate the telescope, will be announced at the meeting, and what this might mean for the future of our understanding of our ultimate origins.

The presentation will be on Thursday, the 16th of November at the Whiting Library, on 117 Main Street, in Chester, Vermont, beginning at 7:30PM, and run for a bit over an hour. It is free to the public. Do dress warmly. If the skies cooperate, you are welcome to join us afterwards to look through a couple of our telescopes.

Claudio is an architect and astronomer, who consulted to NASA on the International Space Station Design. He taught at Columbia University's Department of Astrophysics in the 1990's. He recently moved his architecture firm to Vermont and is a founder and acting President of SoVerA.

The Southern Vermont Astronomy Group (SoVerA) is an astronomy education + outreach organization composed of amateur & professional astronomers, educators, students and members of the lay public. We are dedicated to making astronomy much more accessible to all, as well as offering opportunities to conduct more involved astronomy projects. Talks and presentations are held in venues throughout the Southern Vermont region on the third Thursday of every month, with observing afterwards, sky conditions permitting. All are welcome. More information may be found at: www.sovera.org