You cannot just make up the missing bits in another frequency range.
Nobody's talking about something like that. What I'm talking about is the expansion of science, instead of a very narrow observing program, and saving money through the elimination of the Space Telescope Science Institute, whose whole raison d'etre is the Hubble.
This is a common misconception. Ground based telescopes cannot see what Hubble can see because the earths atmosphere filters out over 99% of radiation useful to astronomers.
Not misconceived at all... Sure you're going to miss a part of the spectrum in one frequency range, but you'll pick it up in another (radio). All of life is tradeoffs.
This whole Hubble issue has been astroturfed to death. Think for a second. Who has the most to gain from a continued Hubble mission? Your friends at the Space Telescope Science Institute! These people have lived off the public trough long enough. Just the cost of the repair mission could pay for another giant ground-based telescope with adaptive optics which will give us Hubble-like views, along with ease of maintenance. Throw in a radio interferometer for not much more and increase our knowledge base on more than one front. Let it burn, people. use it as a beacon to the future!
A lot of astronomers and personnel have a vested interest in keeping the Hubble going. They've built careers and reputations off of it. Let it go. Move on. Mars awaits! There aren't any more covered wagons going west. Let's grab the best and brightest, along with our bootstraps, and reach out for the next frontier. Mars has a lot more wealth than the moon and low-earth orbit combined. A push like Apollo will not only put footprints and a flag on Mars, it will start the next great exodus, with more and more habitats available after each mission. It's time to grow up, and move out of the cradle. Who wants to live with their parents forever?
Don't forget the destruction of the USS Liberty by the Israelis during the six-day war. They call themselves our friends, and perhaps they are, but nationalism seems to override their friendships. Remember when they were caught spying? (Sorry, no references). It's nationalism, and we're all guilty of it.
As much as I hate saying anything against ANY part of our space exploration, I would have to say that STScI is right behind NASA in being the cause of ossification of science. Thanks to the bureaucracy, the average astronomer has NO chance of receiving observing time on the Hubble, but the members of STScI have gained fame and fortune, thanks to the taxpayers' largesse. They've tied their fortunes to the Hubble, and if it stops, they may have to actually produce! "Faster, better, cheaper" is a good motto. High-end astronomy is a good thing, but when a program starts drawing resources from other programs it should be ended. Wouldn't you rather see more planetary probes, maybe a Mars colony? I am an amateur astronomer, and personally I don't care WHEN the universe began or ends. We've got a whole Solar system out there in our backyard. let's go explore!
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Nope! Just a bunch of cro-magnons....
You cannot just make up the missing bits in another frequency range.
Nobody's talking about something like that. What I'm talking about is the expansion of science, instead of a very narrow observing program, and saving money through the elimination of the Space Telescope Science Institute, whose whole raison d'etre is the Hubble.
This is a common misconception. Ground based telescopes cannot see what Hubble can see because the earths atmosphere filters out over 99% of radiation useful to astronomers.
Not misconceived at all... Sure you're going to miss a part of the spectrum in one frequency range, but you'll pick it up in another (radio). All of life is tradeoffs.
This whole Hubble issue has been astroturfed to death. Think for a second. Who has the most to gain from a continued Hubble mission? Your friends at the Space Telescope Science Institute! These people have lived off the public trough long enough. Just the cost of the repair mission could pay for another giant ground-based telescope with adaptive optics which will give us Hubble-like views, along with ease of maintenance. Throw in a radio interferometer for not much more and increase our knowledge base on more than one front. Let it burn, people. use it as a beacon to the future!
A lot of astronomers and personnel have a vested interest in keeping the Hubble going. They've built careers and reputations off of it. Let it go. Move on. Mars awaits! There aren't any more covered wagons going west. Let's grab the best and brightest, along with our bootstraps, and reach out for the next frontier. Mars has a lot more wealth than the moon and low-earth orbit combined. A push like Apollo will not only put footprints and a flag on Mars, it will start the next great exodus, with more and more habitats available after each mission. It's time to grow up, and move out of the cradle. Who wants to live with their parents forever?
Don't forget the destruction of the USS Liberty by the Israelis during the six-day war. They call themselves our friends, and perhaps they are, but nationalism seems to override their friendships. Remember when they were caught spying? (Sorry, no references). It's nationalism, and we're all guilty of it.
As much as I hate saying anything against ANY part of our space exploration, I would have to say that STScI is right behind NASA in being the cause of ossification of science. Thanks to the bureaucracy, the average astronomer has NO chance of receiving observing time on the Hubble, but the members of STScI have gained fame and fortune, thanks to the taxpayers' largesse. They've tied their fortunes to the Hubble, and if it stops, they may have to actually produce! "Faster, better, cheaper" is a good motto. High-end astronomy is a good thing, but when a program starts drawing resources from other programs it should be ended. Wouldn't you rather see more planetary probes, maybe a Mars colony? I am an amateur astronomer, and personally I don't care WHEN the universe began or ends. We've got a whole Solar system out there in our backyard. let's go explore!