Save the Hubble.com |
- Hubble News-
| Hubble around the world, every day (or so), the latest news. |
|
 by Fernando Ribeiro
|
Views of a vast Universe - What does 2006 keep for us? |
There goes 2005. What a year! I guess we all do some sort of balance of the period that has just ended and a projection of the year that is just beginning. I did mine. 2005 began for me with joy and pain. I took a very long and nice car trip with my girlfriend. That was a joy. During the trip I tried to take a closer picture of an old steam engine in a small city. I ran, I fell, I broke my toe, I broke my camera. That was pain. Still on a personal level, I made some advances. Two more semesters teaching at the university, started a saving account, did a big photography project for the UN and an art exhibit in USA. I decided to leave the therapy (at my own risk); family, Mom (86) and Dad (83) are safe and sound, Dad fully (90%) recovered from a car accident that nearly killed him in 2001. I stopped working out, that was a bad thing. Gained some 15 lbs... But I had to save my energy to stay sane the second half of the year. Tough times 2005. Save the Hubble.com survived one more year, as well as The Telescope itself. I made new friends through the site, met some people. Very few mails though, I wish you would write more often. Please do. In 2005 the site cost me some U$ 120.00 (and countless hours of work) and I made some U$ 4.00 with the adds and U$ 25.00 in donations. It's not a commercial success but I hope it's making a difference for the future of Hubble. I put braces on my teeth. I'll be able to keep them (the teeth) for more 30 or 40 years, so says the doctor. I cried a lot in 2005, I laughed a lot too. I learned to type with ten fingers! I started working as an english interpreter/translator in conferences and lectures. Lots of thrill! I got a new neighbor and boy, he does love loud music! I managed to pay all my bills in 2005! I marveled with Hubble images and all the space missions of the year. The Telescope started the Two Gyro Operation Mode. We saw a lot of pain and suffering in 2005. Nature started to take revenge and man certainly did his share to add misery to life.
But now comes 2006. New challenges, new hopes. On January the first I ended a 25 year long fight with my eldest brother. That was great! I plan to get a new job, recover the movements of the broken toe, do more photography/art projects. Help Dad with the missing 10%, loose the 15 lbs, fight depression, laugh, travel, survive. Save the Hubble. Not bad for a single year. We'll talk again next January and see what I accomplished. Let's just hope we can do a better job in 2006 than we did in 05. Meanwhile, read bellow some reasons why we can't let The Telescope die. Happy 2006!
Fernando Ribeiro - Save the Hubble.com
Send us your ideas, questions or opinions => 
|
Need a 100 reasons to Save the Hubble? Just click here 01/10
This is a fantastic display of what Hubble can do (and does) for mankind.
Just imagine what Galileo would do if he could see these images! Click on them
and marvel! If Hubble is not worth saving, then I don't know what is.
Hubble eyes North Star companions 01/10
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed something
just as constant as the North Star: a hidden companion.
Book Review: Chasing Hubble`s Shadows 01/10
A look at how astronomers study the early universe and its evolution.
The Value of Hubble 01/10
Hubble Vision: Astronomy with the Hubble Telescope
Iraq war may cost US trillions 01/10
Yes, you read correctly, trillions. Let's just pause for a minute and imagine what could be done with, say, 2 trillion dollars: A fleet of space telescopes, a (or several) permanent base(s) on the Moon, a (or several) manned mission(s) to Mars, a (or several) working fusion reactor(s) thus ending human dependence on fossil and fissile fuel, cure of AIDS, clean cars, and, of course, ending the misery of Africa. But no, let's do better let's make the world a better, safer place by invading Iraq!
|
Now you can search the web for more Hubble news (or anything else!) with:
|
The revenue from the adds above helps to pay for our site's hosting cost
|
|
Hubble Image Trivia |
Giving Guidance: Replacing the Fine Guidance Sensors
Astronauts Joseph Tanner - on the robotic arm - and Gregory Harbaugh replace the Hubble Space Telescope's Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS) in 1997. The FGS are used to locate and lock onto a target star while science instruments make observations. They can also perform measurements on the positions and motions of stars. Each sensor is more than five feet (1.5 m) wide and three feet (0.9 m) long, and weighs 485 pounds (219 kg). The telescope's pointing accuracy and stability depend heavily on the Fine Guidance Sensors.
(from HubbleSite.org)
Send us your Hubble Image Trivia
|
Save the Hubble Petition list, just over 5400 signatures and counting! Please, sign it.
|
