David Schiminovich

Columbia University, Professor

Robot Astronomers: A Day in the Life of NASA's Space Observatories

Abstract: Despite their solitary existence deep in space, NASA's observatories routinely provide some of the most precise astronomical measurements ever obtained. At the same time, these robot astronomers share many similarities to life on planet Earth. As they peer across the sky, they also collect and consume energy, communicate with their scientist cohorts and keep themselves safe and warm (or cold!). I will describe a day in the life---January 9th 2008---of NASA's greatest observatories including the Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra space telescopes, and describe some of the amazing scientific discoveries that were achieved on that day.