Tell NASA's Hubble Telescope What to Look for Next

From USATODAY.com Tech - Top Stories:

NASA's Hubble space telescope is offering a vote you can't lose: Pick a part of the heavens for the storied space telescope to observe next. "We're celebrating 400 years of astronomy," says astrophysicist Mario Livio of Hubble's Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. "What better way to celebrate than by letting people all over the world find a new target for observations by Hubble?" Online voting for "Hubble's Next Discovery — You Decide" ends March 1, with more than 110,000 votes already tallied. The winner, one of six stellar contestants never before seriously studied by the space telescope, will be the subject of Hubble observations from April 2-5. The six, which you can see on the website, are: •NGC 6334, a vast cloud dotted with bright young stars. •NGC 6072, the blown-out embers of an extinct sun-like star. •NGC 40, a glowing gas shell from an exploded star. •NGC 5172, a pinwheel galaxy festooned with starry arms. •NGC 4289, a spiral galaxy seen edge-on. •Arp 274, a pair of galaxies distorting and merging together, the current top vote-getter.

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