I am Dr. Mario Livio, an astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, MD, Head of the Office of Public Outreach, and an author of popular books on science and mathematics. I have been at the STScI for seventeen years. I am definitely what has become known as a “Hubble hugger” – passionate about the Hubble Space Telescope and its achievements. Through this blog, I hope to bring my personal observations about the upcoming Hubble servicing mission and what it will mean to astronomers, the general public, and myself.
In 2000, Time Magazine chose Albert Einstein as the “Person of the Century.” Some people were surprised that a scientist was chosen over world political leaders, authors, artists, and economists. I wasn’t. Einstein’s achievements have crossed the boundaries between science and culture, and have penetrated into every area of human intellectual endeavor. Just enter “Albert Einstein” at the Amazon.com webpage and you’ll find more than 35,000 results. Einstein changed our view of the universe in a fundamental way.
The Hubble Space Telescope has SHOWN us Einstein’s universe. And when I say “us” I don’t mean just the scientists. Hubble has literally brought the wonders of the cosmos into homes worldwide. You now find Hubble images not only in astronomy textbooks, but also on the covers, variously, of a book of music for the trumpet, a German art magazine, a book that teaches English to Japanese children, and an album of a rock group. And here comes the best part. After eighteen years of operation, Servicing Mission 4 can bring Hubble to the richest moment in its life in terms of scientific capability!
Sometimes people ask me if I don’t feel depressed by the apparently diminishing role of humans in the universe. After all, we are not at the center of the cosmos, or even the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Even the stuff of which we are made is only four percent of the matter in the universe, and everything we can observe is but a speck of all there is. But notice that the apparent decrease in our physical presence is only a consequence of the tremendous increase of our knowledge. And Hubble played a crucial role in that expansion of our horizons of understanding. I am truly proud to have been a part of this incredible scientific adventure called the Hubble Space Telescope, and I am looking forward to an even brighter future.