June 12, 2015 15-25

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will celebrate 25 years of science from the Hubble Space Telescope with a free public event at its visitor center on Saturday, June 20, 2015, from 7 to 11:30 p.m. EDT. There will be ongoing activities and two sessions – the first beginning at 7:30 p.m. and the second beginning at 9 p.m. Visitors wishing to attend are asked to register because space is limited.
Since its launch, Hubble has allowed astronomers to observe the universe in stunning clarity, revealed properties of space and time, and shed light on many of the great mysteries of the universe to make conjectures certainties. Today, Hubble continues to provide views of cosmic wonders never before seen and is at the forefront of many new discoveries.
To participate in one of the event's two presentation sessions, guests must preregister online at one of the links below. Registration is not required to participate in the event's other activities.
The first presentation session will include engaging lectures that will start at 7:30 p.m. A second session will be held at 9 p.m. for those who miss the first session. Presenters include Padi Boyd, a Goddard astrophysicist who serves as the deputy project scientist for operations for Hubble, and Malcolm Niedner, a Goddard astrophysicist who serves as the deputy project scientist/technical for the James Webb Space Telescope.
Boyd serves as the associate director of the Astrophysics Science Division at Goddard. She studies binary star systems containing black holes and neutron stars as well as supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies using optical, ultraviolet and X-ray telescopes. Boyd earned a doctorate in physics and atmospheric science from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She will highlight stunning Hubble images that have led to new discoveries from our own solar system to the edges of the observable universe.
Niedner served as the deputy senior project scientist for Hubble from 1993 through 2010. He worked on all five space shuttle servicing missions and made contributions to five science instruments as well as three instrument repairs. Niedner specializes in solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field interactions with comets. He earned his doctorate in astronomy from Indiana University in Bloomington. He will discuss the follow-on mission to Hubble, the James Webb Space Telescope, and share its capabilities, expected scientific discoveries and development progress. Webb is scheduled to launch in 2018.

Image: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.