Vol. 17, No. 18	Feb. 5, 1998

Hubble scientist to speak in Sharp Lab on Feb. 11

New information on solar systems, star formation, black holes and other cosmic topics will be the focus of a presentation at 4 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 11, in 131 Sharp Laboratory. John C. Brandt, one of the principal investigators for the Hubble Space Telescope project, will speak at the free public talk sponsored by the Bartol Research Institute.

Brandt, a researcher within the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado, will offer a brief history of the Hubble Space Telescope project. His presentation will kick off the annual spring semester colloquium series offered jointly by Bartol and the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

To shed light on such topics as collisions between galaxies, gamma ray bursts and cosmic distance scale, Brandt also will share scientific results from several instruments- including the Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph. According to Bartol's Norman F. Ness, this instrument uses two electronic light detectors to separate incoming light into its spectral components, making it possible to analyze the composition, temperature, motion and other chemical and physical properties of objects in space.

A coooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Hubble was designed as a long-lived, space-based observatory, Ness explains. Scientific instruments aboard Hubble include three cameras, two spectrographs and fine guidance sensors, all of which produce high-resolution images of astronomical objects.

For information, contact Sherry Rowland at 831-8116 or send e-mail to sherri@bartol.udel.edu