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Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope

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Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope
HUT in orbit
Start of mission
Launch date2 December 1990, 06:49:00 (1990-12-02UTC06:49Z) UTC
RocketSTS-35/STS-67
Launch siteKennedy Space Center
Deployed fromSpace Shuttle Columbia STS-35/Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-67
Main Ultraviolet Telescope
Diameter90 cm (35 in)

The Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) was a space telescope designed to make spectroscopic observations in the far-ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum. It was flown into orbit on the Space Shuttle and operated from the Shuttle's payload bay on two occasions: in December 1990, as part of Shuttle mission STS-35, and in March 1995, as part of mission STS-67.[1]

HUT was designed and built by a team based at Johns Hopkins University, led by Arthur Davidsen.[2][3] The telescope consisted of a 90 cm main mirror used to focus ultraviolet light onto a spectrograph situated at the prime focus. This instrument had a spectroscopic range of 82.5 to 185 nms, and a spectral resolution of about 0.3 nm.[2] It weighed 789 kilograms (1736 pounds).[2]

HUT was used to observe a wide range of astrophysical sources, including supernova remnants, active galactic nuclei, cataclysmic variable stars, as well as various planets in the Solar System.[4] During the 1990 flight, HUT was used to make 106 observations of 77 astronomical targets. During the 1995 flight, 385 observations were made of 265 targets.[5]

HUT was co-mounted with WUPPE, Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope [UIT], and BBXRT on the Astro-1 mission (1990) and with just WUPPE and UIT on Astro-2 (in 1995).[6]

As of January 2023, HUT is now in storage at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. in the United States.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Bill Blair. "What is HUT and what does it do?". Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  2. ^ a b c Bill Blair. "HUT Technical Summary". Archived from the original on 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  3. ^ Dennis Overbye (2001-07-22). "Arthur Davidsen, 57, Johns Hopkins Astrophysicist, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  4. ^ Bill Blair (1995-10-16). "Achievements of ASTRO-2". Archived from the original on 2009-09-15. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  5. ^ Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope Team (June 2001). "The Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope - VizieR On-line Data Catalog". Vizier Online Data Catalog. Bibcode:2001yCat.6103....0H.
  6. ^ Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope
  7. ^ "Telescope Module, Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope". National Air and Space Museum. 2016-03-18. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
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