Mueller Planetarium to unveil mural-sized images from NASA

Mueller Planetarium at the University of Nebraska State Museum will take visitors on a journey to the center of our galaxy when it unveils two new mural-sized images of the Milky Way's core, as seen by all three of NASA's Great Observatories: the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

The stunning photographs commemorate the 2009 International Year of Astronomy and will be unveiled to the public at 4 p.m. Nov. 15 in the lobby of the planetarium in Morrill Hall, south of 14th and Vine streets, by Timothy Clare, member of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Jack Gabel, assistant professor of physics at Creighton University, will give a talk on black holes following the presentation.

The unprecedented images will be permanently on display in the lobby of the planetarium. Public admission to the museum and planetarium will be free after 3:45 p.m. Nov. 15 for this special event.

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 celebrates the 400th anniversary of Galileo turning a telescope to the heavens. Since Galileo's spyglass, telescopes have grown ever larger and ever better, and have moved to mountaintops and into space. NASA's Great Observatories represent the crowning achievements of astronomy four centuries later and museums and planetariums across the U.S. are honoring this legacy with a national image unveiling.

A giant 6-by-3-foot image presents a unique view that showcases the Galaxy in near-infrared light observed by Hubble, infrared light observed by Spitzer, and X-ray light observed by Chandra. This combined image was carefully assembled from mosaic photo surveys of the core by each telescope. It provides the most wide-ranging view ever of our Galaxy's mysterious hub.

Mueller Planetarium will also unveil a matched trio of Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra images of the Milky Way's center on a second large panel measuring 3 feet by 4 feet. Each image shows the telescope's different wavelength view of the central region of our galaxy, illustrating not only the unique science each observatory conducts, but also how far astronomy has come since Galileo.

Within these images one can trace the spectacle of stellar evolution -- from vibrant regions of star birth, to young hot stars, to old cool stars, to seething remnants of stellar death called black holes. This activity occurs against a vivid backdrop in the crowded, hostile environment of the Galaxy's core, the center of which is dominated by a supermassive black hole millions of times more massive than our sun.

These multi-wavelength views provide both stunning beauty and a wealth of scientific information that could not have been dreamed of by Galileo.

Additional information about the telescopes can be found at http://hubblesite.org, www.spitzer.caltech.edu and http://chandra.harvard.edu. Additional information about NASA's celebration of the International Year of Astronomy is available at: http://astronomy2009.nasa.gov.

The University of Nebraska State Museum (Morrill Hall) is open 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursdays, and 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sundays. The museum and planetarium will be closed on Thanksgiving. Admission is $5 for adults (19 and over), $3 for children (5-18 years, 4 and under are free), and $10 for families (up to two adults and children). There is an additional charge for planetarium shows. Parking is free. For more information on planetarium shows, astronomy and space science, visit www.spacelaser.com. For more information on the museum, visit www.museum.unl.edu or phone (402) 472-3779.

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Composite of Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra images

Near-infrared light image from the Hubble Space Telescope

Infrared light image from the Spitzer Space Telescope

X-ray light image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory

NASA's Great Observatories Explore the Milky Way's 'Heart of Darkness'

The Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, and Chandra X-ray Observatory are NASA's premiere space astronomy missions, known collectively as the Great Observatories. In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, the three telescopes have collaborated to produce an unprecedented image of the central region of our Milky Way Galaxy.

The Milky Way is a pancake-shaped galaxy filled with stars, gas, and dust. Because our solar system is located within the plane of the galaxy, much of our observations are blocked by giant clouds of dust and gas. Our view towards the center of the Milky Way is almost completely dark in visible light observations, as if we were peering towards a 'heart of darkness.'

In the spectacular composite image, observations using infrared light and X-ray light see through the obscuring dust to reveal the intense activity near the galactic core. Each telescope's contribution is presented in a different color:

-- Yellow represents the near-infrared observations of Hubble.

-- Red represents the infrared observations of Spitzer.

-- Blue and violet represent the X-ray observations of Chandra.

When these views are brought together, infrared observations (red and yellow) show not only hundreds of thousands of stars, but also glowing dust clouds heated by radiation and winds from those stars. X-rays (blue) reveal an energetic double star on the left as well as gas across the region heated to millions of degrees. The center of the galaxy is marked by a supermassive black hole and is located within the bright white region to the right of and just below the middle of the image. The entire image width covers about one-half a degree, about the same angular width as the full moon.

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 celebrates the 400th anniversary of Galileo turning a telescope to the heavens and revolutionizing our view of the universe. This multi-wavelength view showcases not only stunning beauty, but also a wealth of scientific information that could not have been dreamed of by Galileo.