NASA released new views today of two of the most well-known objects Hubble
has ever observed: the Eagle Nebula and the Whirlpool Galaxy (spiral galaxy
M51). These new images are among the largest and sharpest Hubble has ever
taken. They were made with Hubble's newest camera, the Advanced Camera for
Surveys (ACS).
The size of the planet is limited by observations using NASA's Spitzer
Space Telescope, which has already proved its mettle in studying the heat of
dim, faint, faraway objects such as the Kuiper-belt bodies.

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For the first time, a large
telescope that viewed in visible light orbited above Earth's distorting
atmosphere , which blurs light, making images appear fuzzy.

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stsci.

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"We are 100 percent confident that this is the first object bigger than
Pluto ever found in the outer solar system," Brown added.

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WASHINGTON , During the 15 years NASA's Hubble
Space Telescope has orbited the Earth, it has taken more than 750,000 photos
of the cosmos; images that have awed, astounded and even confounded
astronomers and the public.gov/

"It's definitely bigger than Pluto," said Brown, who is a professor of
planetary astronomy.

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This category lists sites that assist amateur astrophotographers learn and refine their techniques for both film and CCD imaging.

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For a list of the museums and other locations displaying the new 4-by-6-
foot image of the Whirlpool Galaxy and the 3-by-6-foot image of the Eagle
Nebula, visit:

http://www. However, the object was
so far away that its motion was not detected until they reanalyzed the data in
January of this year.

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The mural-sized celestial images of the Eagle Nebula and Whirlpool Galaxy
were unveiled today at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in
Washington.
The planet was discovered using the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar
Observatory near San Diego, Calif., on January 8. In the last seven months, the scientists have been
studying the planet to better estimate its size and its motions .

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WASHINGTON, A planet larger than Pluto has been
discovered in the outlying regions of the solar system.
The planet is a typical member of the Kuiper belt, but its sheer size in
relation to the nine known planets means that it can only be classified as a
planet, Brown said.

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org/news/2005 /12

http://www.
Scientists can infer the size of a solar system object by its brightness,
just as one can infer the size of a faraway light bulb if one knows its
wattage.

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Brown, Trujillo and Rabinowitz first photographed the new planet with the
48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope on October 31, 2003.
"Even if it reflected 100 percent of the light reaching it, it would still
be as big as Pluto," says Brown.

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Because Spitzer is
unable to detect the new planet, the overall diameter must be less than 2,000
miles, said Brown.

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nasa.edu/~mbrown

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http: //www.

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The Eagle Nebula image reveals a tall,
dense tower of gas being sculpted by ultraviolet light from a group of
massive, hot stars. "I'd say it's probably one and a half times
the size of Pluto , but we're not sure yet of the final size.caltech.

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After installation of a new camera and a device that compensated for an
improperly ground mirror, images of planets, stars, galaxies, and nebula began
pouring in -- most up to 10 times sharper than delivered by any previous
telescope.7
billion years old)

-- Helped confirm the existence of a strange form of energy called dark
energy

-- Detected small proto-galaxies that emitted their light when the
universe was less than a billion years old

-- Proved the existence of super-massive black holes

-- Provided sharp views of a comet hitting Jupiter

-- Showed the process of forming planetary systems is common throughout
the galaxy

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) manages Hubble imagery.

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A feature
of considerable interest is the companion galaxy located at the end of one of
the spiral arms.

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NASA Scientists Discover Tenth Planet

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Hubble has:

-- Helped astronomers calculate the precise age of the universe (13.edu/outreach

Electronic image files and additional 15th anniversary information are
available at:

http://hubblesite. Currently about 97 times further from the sun than the
Earth , the planet is the farthest-known object in the solar system, and the
third brightest of the Kuiper belt objects.

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The Space Shuttle Discovery placed the Hubble into Earth orbit on April
25, 1990, opening a new era in astronomy. It
is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in
Astronomy, Inc. Scientists can not
yet tell how much light from the sun is reflected away, but the amount of
light the planet reflects puts a lower limit on its size.

For more information see:

http://www.gps.nasa.gov/home/index

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For the 15th anniversary, scientists used the ACS to record a new region
of the eerie-looking Eagle Nebula. The new Whirlpool Galaxy image showcases the spiral
galaxy's classic features, from its curving arms, where newborn stars reside,
to its yellowish central core that serves as home for older stars. under contract with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Md. The discovery was announced today by
planetary scientist Dr. Mike Brown of the California Institute of Technology
in Pasadena, Calif., whose research is partly funded by NASA.

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Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary With Spectacular New Images

Hubble has compiled a long list of scientific achievements since its
launch. The Hubble Space Telescope is an international cooperative
activity between NASA and the European Space Agency.

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The images are so incredibly sharp, they could be enlarged to
billboard size and still retain stunning details. More than 100 museums, planetariums, and science centers will
also unveil these same images today.

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"It will be visible with a telescope over the next six months and is
currently almost directly overhead in the early-morning eastern sky, in the
constellation Cetus," said Brown, who made the discovery with colleagues Chad
Trujillo, of the Gemini Observatory in Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and David
Rabinowitz, of Yale University, New Haven, Conn. The reflectance of the planet is not yet known.
A name for the new planet has been proposed by the discoverers to the
International Astronomical Union, and they are awaiting the decision of this
body before announcing the name.