My Hubble Telescope Research of Titan

Follow news about Titan on Facebook
Amazing photo gallery of Titan

About my Hubble Research of Titan

Titan Through Time conference just ended at NASA GSFC April 2012
Links and Additional Information of My Hubble Telescope Research of Titan along with Scanned PDFs of my acceptance letter & letters from Dr Gerhard Herzberg ("Mr. Molecule") Coming soon my letter from Carl Sagan!
This is the article where I found the Formaldehyde & Hydrogen Cyanide connection that was the basis for my proposal and research
Here is a diagram of how my observation occurred
Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQaA's) and Answers
assorted Images from my observation and references
WHY TITAN? See Titan and Earth comparisons: Comparison of Titan and Earth see what lured me to study Titan!! (images, videos, tables, references)
Amateur Astronomers Will Use NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Press Release back in 1992
My Collection of Spectra & Spectroscopy links
My SPACEPLACES site of 'space' related places I've visited worldwide
Biography and technical documentation including my proposal and scheduling templates
from Max Mutchler: Amateur Astronomers and the Hubble Space Telescope

Need Ultraviolet (UV) lists of molecular absorptions between 2900 A - 2960 A (290-296nm)
looking like this image showing a line list identifying molecular species | here is another example
GOT UV SPECTRA ? : Read this PDF if you research in Ultraviolet spectra (molecular) maybe we can collaborate and share some resources

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Welcome amateur astronomer number

After I read about the Cycle 2 call for amateur proposals to use the Edwin P. Hubble orbiting space telescope in late 1990 I devoted 7 months researching and preparing for it.
Then I submitted my proposal back in early 1991 for AMATUER use of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope to research the atmosphere of img of saturn Saturn's largest moon img of titan Titan and after a long anxious wait it was ACCEPTED in 1993.

This is what the application looked like (unfortunately they are not taking anymore applications)

Using a technique called spectroscopy I researched Titan's atmosphere in the middle ultraviolet (UV) spectrum using the Hubble's Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (HRS/GHRS) (which was removed in the first servicing mission). This method is also called reflectance spectroscopy since I am seeing a reflection of our Sun on Titan and most of my spectra is the Sun.

The compound I was (and still am) searching for is formaldehyde (CH₂O) ch2o remember that "stinky" gas from your biology class with those specimens you dissected ? Well that's what I'm looking for.
While I was researching I found a connection with hydrogen cyanide (HCN) (discovered by the Voyager 1 spacecraft More on Voyager ) and formaldehyde . When they combine purines can form that can possibly lead to adenine which is a base for DNA (this is the article I found by accident that became the basis for my observation).

Titan is probably the most Earth-like body in our solar system , which is the reason why I became so mesmerized and interested in Titan.

Saturn was and still is my favorite planet to observe due to it beautiful rings, so after Voyager 1 observed Saturn I watched a NOVA documentary "Resolution on Saturn" (Season 8 Episode 10) that would literally change my life 10 years later!
My inspiration was Tobias (Toby) Owen who spoke of Titan and its Infrared spectra highlighting HCN and that stuck in my head and between studying the Oort Cloud, Beta Pictoris and Titan I choose Titan!

Just like our precious Earth - Titan also has an atmosphere which is dominated by molecular nitrogen (N₂), along with hydrogen (H₂), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO₂). Also Titan is believed to have continents, oceans, and even a greenhouse effect.

Finally Methane (CH ₄) shares the same characteristics as water does on Earth by existing in 3 forms (solid,liquid and gas), known as the triple point...an amazing body right here in our own solar system only 1,277,566,066 kilometers away.

Sorry I don't have any pretty pictures to show all of you from the Hubble. But, I do have a target image of Titan from Hubble (taken thru WFPC1) , but its nothing fancy.

Astronomical spectroscopy is just as valuable to astronomy as images are - if not more. Even though imaging is quite easier, spectroscopy tells us valuable info about the composition, velocities, atmospheres, doppler/red shifts and lots more.

More about the history of the Amateur Program and the AAWG

Amateur Astronomers and the Hubble Space Telescope .

Two other New Jersey Amateurs also did work on the Hubble

MORE THAN ANY OTHER STATE!!!!
New Jersey Hubble Amateurs

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

The Electromagnetic Spectrum is rather large area of radiation ranging from the RADIO to GAMMA RAYS. We are used to seeing the visible spectrum , but our Sun produces many other forms of radiation most commonly known to us is the visible spectrum (the rainbow & prisms ) which Isaac Newton discovered. The region I studied was the Ultraviolet or UV region of which we cannot observe from the ground. Rockets, satellites, or high-altitude balloons are the only ways we can observe this region.
This is a good site of Spectra and spectral sequencing .
Spectra can appear in many forms. Here are a few examples:

. I got more to come as I find them. No its not my heartbeat!!!

Click here for various images of our Milky Way taken at different regions of the spectrum (x-ray, gamma, etc)

Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQaA's) and Answers

Click here the FAQ&A page . Some are the questions are a blast!!

Images of me and my Observation along with references

Click here for images of me and my observation along with references for additional reading. I now have my photos of the Shuttle launch and the target image of Titan on this page.

Here is a diagram of how my observation occurred.

Some of the commands for my observation are here with other observations for the day (look for LEWYCKY)

Click here for my Wide Web of Astronomy page

About the Hubble and its operations

The Hubble Space Telescope is a joint NASA and ESA collaboration and is controlled at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. The scientific end of the Hubble is performed at Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) also in Maryland

HST was placed in orbit on April 24, 1990 by the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-31.
The first servicing mission was done by Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-61. Just recently STS-82 mission the second in a series of planned servicing missions to the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope was just completed.

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images and other sites

Images from the Space Telescope Institute , also Latest Releases and more public information

HST images by object .

Space Telescope's European Coordinating facility - HST's UK Support Facility

**My Current Schedule of Presentations**
Date	Location
04/27/96	UACNJ Observatory,Jenny Jump Hope NJ (8pm)
05/25/96	National Space Society's ISDC Convention, Grand Hyatt, New York City
04/02/97	S.T.A.R. Astronomy CLub, Holmdel Park Activity Center, Holmdel,NJ
04/22/97	Union County College (Sperry Observ) Continuing Educ. class (8pm)
04/24/97	Rutger's Univ/Camden Astronomy class (~7pm)
05/30/97	Prodigy online chat, 9:30 p.m. ET Astronomy Chat Room here is a transcript of the discussion
sometime in '97	UACNJ Observatory,Jenny Jump Hope NJ (8pm)
04/09/98	MMAS - Morris Musuem Astronomical Society, Morristown,NJ (~8pm)
09/12/98	UACNJ Observatory,Jenny Jump Hope NJ (4 pm)

Contact me by email if you need more information about these events, or if you would me like to speak to your group. (Depending on the date, time and location)

Some of the other Cycle 2 amateurs who also used the Hubble that you can email to are

Harald Schenk of Wisconsin with Jim Secosky. Their research was searching for OH emissions in asteroids to see if they were dying comets. using the FOS (Faint Object Spectrograph)

Karl Hricko also of New Jersey . His research was searching for a bridge connection between a Galaxy and Quasar. using the WFPC (Wide Field Planetary Camera)

Click here to see a group photo of the Cycle 2 amateurs and some staff members of the Space Telescope Science Institute . This was from a dinner we had on the campus of Johns-Hopkins during our orientation.

Some of the other Amateurs from other cycles

Jim Flood (also from New Jersey) Currently he is the LAST amateur scheduled. His research is the Morphology of the active nucleus and radial filaments of NGC 1808, using the WFPC2 instrument (scheduled for August 1997 )

Ray Sterner (cycle 1) or his WWW Page

Here is brief listing of all 13 amateur programs by Max Mutchler at STSci .

The demise of the HST amateur program. Sky & Telescope, Jun97, Vol. 93 Issue 6, p97

I was very fortunate to have the assistance throughout my research from many professional astronomers and scientists worldwide. Many of whom I met and was inspired by....

Special thanks to: Toby Owen, Dennis Matson, Ellis Miner, Arthur Lane, Carl Sagan, Gerhard Herzberg, Peter Smith, Rob Kurucz, Gail Anderson, Janet Mattei, John Westfall, Steve Edberg, Keith Noll, Peter Reppert, Tad Pryor, Gordy Bjoraker, Max Mutchler, Krista Rudloff, Ray Villard, Cheryl Gundy, and many others for all their inspiration, patience, guidance and assistance in this once in a lifetime opportunity.

And most of all Riccardo Giacconi or making the opportunity for us amateurs!

Letters and Correspondences

Added on 3/1/2012

Here is the Acceptance letter I received from Giacconi. I was so nervous to open the envelope.
I wrote to a famous Nobel Prize winning scientist Gerhard Herzberg who a Harvard scientist suggested I contact for molecular spectra that I was looking for.
We corresponded three times !!! all three are scanned in sequence

I have a letter from Carl Sagan that I'm still looking for - so stay tuned

About Cassini's Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs)

The Dept of Energy (DOE) was responsible for producing the RTG (Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators) for NASA which are necessary to power the spacecraft especially since no battery can last that long, nor can it recharge since it will be so far from our sun. Such a power supply source much be devised.
RTG's have been used in countless spacecrafts ( Pioneer 10 & 11 , Ulysses, Voyager 1 and 2), and even Apollo missions, and numerous military Earth orbiting spacecraft and most recently Galileo .

CLICK HERE for a more detailed explanation about Cassini's RTG and their safety.