"This conference aims at exploring the scientific synergies between JWST and the up-coming giant optical/infrared telescopes (GMT, TMT, E-ELT)." -- Cf. http://www.eso.org/sci/meetings/jwstelt2010/

The book enables you to peer deeply into the wonders of the Universe in full color with unprecedented clarity and resolution Only Hubble Heritage picture book endorsed by the two leading space agencies, NASA and ESA Close-up photos within book are unmatched in competing texts, because the images have been prepared straight from the data by scientists to reach the highest possible quality

On April 24, 1990, the Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on the Space Shuttle Program's 35th mission, but this was no ordinary mission. In its payload bay, Discovery was carrying the Hubble Space Telescope, with the objective of putting the telescope into orbit. Despite the costs and initial defects, the Hubble telescope has been a remarkably successful project, furthering astronomers' understanding of the universe more than any other telescope or instrument in history. During its decades in orbit, the versatile telescope has taken high resolution images of objects billions of light years away, giving astronomers a look at the early universe. Along the way it has also taken the most detailed pictures of the solar system, captured the most striking images of star creation and supernovae, and uncovered evidence of phenomena like gamma-ray bursts and dark energy. What made Hubble so crucial is that by escaping Earth's atmosphere, the telescope's views eliminated limitations and interruptions that are a natural part of land-based telescopes. Land-based telescopes are larger, cheaper, and easier to maintain. They are also not vulnerable to the risk of colliding with space junk or fast-moving small meteoric materials. However, even at 11,000 feet, ground-based installations have historically faced atmospheric distortion. The atmosphere blurs the light when a picture is taken through it, and since the 1960s, science has increasingly leaned toward space-based instruments, at first attaching them to balloons and sending them aloft to "carry them above Earth's lower atmosphere." The atmospheric distortion problem with ground telescopes has been largely ameliorated in recent years by the development of "adaptive optics."[1] A ground-based facility can now produce an image as sharp as that of a space telescope. This makes the division of labor between the two a bit clearer. The space instrument provides a wider field of view in addition to fine optical resolution, and it is no longer necessary to use "visual to near-visual"[2] telescopes operating in space. In fact, optical telescope photos are available in high quality for the general public based on NASA technology. Boston Micromachines claims to provide "clearer pictures of celestial objects in deep space than ever before...with 'deformable' mirrors that compensate for atmospheric disturbances and instrument misalignments."[3] Still, scientists need to build space telescopes, not just for high resolution pictures but also to work in wavelengths one cannot observe from Earth. From space, telescopes that work in parts of the non-visual wavelengths provide the only means of viewing x-rays, gamma rays, and extreme ultraviolet rays. Most importantly, they provide "excellent platforms for observing in the far-infrared"[4] spectrum. The Hubble telescope, working in space less than 400 miles above the Earth's surface, produced photos of galaxies previously unseen as they existed only 500 million years before the "Big Bang." It was fortuitous that Hubble outlived its anticipated lifespan by many years, because the launch of its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, was delayed by 15 years. A launch date of 2007 for the James Webb Space Telescope was the original agenda, but two years prior a "major redesign"[5] became necessary. In another instance, "a ripped sunshield during a practice deployment"[6] set the project back, followed by a series of significant cost overruns.

From September 2007 to June 2008 the Space Studies Board conducted an international public seminar series, with each monthly talk highlighting a different topic in space and Earth science. The principal lectures from the series are compiled in Forging the Future of Space Science. The topics of these events covered the full spectrum of space and Earth science research, from global climate change, to the cosmic origins of life, to the exploration of the Moon and Mars, to the scientific research required to support human spaceflight. The prevailing messages throughout the seminar series as demonstrated by the lectures in this book are how much we have accomplished over the past 50 years, how profound are our discoveries, how much contributions from the space program affect our daily lives, and yet how much remains to be done. The age of discovery in space and Earth science is just beginning. Opportunities abound that will forever alter our destiny.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), planned for operation in about five years, will have the capability to investigate – and answer – some of the most challenging questions in astronomy. Although motivated and designed to study the very early Universe, the performance of the observatory’s instruments over a very wide wavelength range will allow the world’s scientific community unequaled ability to study cosmic phenomena as diverse as small bodies in the Solar System and the formation of galaxies. As part of preparation to use JWST, a conference was held in Tucson, Arizona in 2007 that brought together astronomers from around the world to discuss the mission, other major facilities that will operate in the coming decade, and major scientific goals for them. This book is a compilation of those presentations by some of the leading researchers from all branches of astronomy. This book also includes a “pre-history” of JWST, describing the lengthy process and some of the key individuals that initiated early work on the concepts that would evolve to become the premier space observatory of the next decade.

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has operated continuously since 1990. During that time, four space shuttle-based service missions were launched, three of which added major observational capabilities. A fifth â€" SM-4 â€" was intended to replace key telescope systems and install two new instruments. The loss of the space shuttle Columbia, however, resulted in a decision by NASA not to pursue the SM-4 mission leading to a likely end of Hubble's useful life in 2007-2008. This situation resulted in an unprecedented outcry from scientists and the public. As a result, NASA began to explore and develop a robotic servicing mission; and Congress directed NASA to request a study from the National Research Council (NRC) of the robotic and shuttle servicing options for extending the life of Hubble. This report presents an assessment of those two options. It provides an examination of the contributions made by Hubble and those likely as the result of a servicing mission, and a comparative analysis of the potential risk of the two options for servicing Hubble. The study concludes that the Shuttle option would be the most effective one for prolonging Hubble's productive life.

Proceedings volume for researchers and graduate students of astronomy, covering the most exciting science and key ELT projects.