Editing Hubble Space Telescope (section)

== Outreach activities ==
[[File:Horsehead-Hubble.jpg|thumb|In 2001, NASA polled internet users to find out what they would most like Hubble to observe; they overwhelmingly selected the [[Horsehead Nebula]].]]
[[File:Hubble Space Telescope Scale Model.JPG|thumb|right|One-quarter scale model at the courthouse in [[Marshfield, Missouri]], a hometown of Edwin Hubble]]

NASA considered it important for the Space Telescope to capture the public's imagination, given the considerable contribution of [[taxpayer]]s to its construction and operational costs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www1.nasa.gov/pdf/1968main_strategi.pdf |title=National Aeronautics and Space Administration 2003 Strategic Plan |publisher=NASA |access-date=November 5, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116011129/http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/1968main_strategi.pdf |archive-date=November 16, 2012}}</ref> After the difficult early years when the faulty mirror severely dented Hubble's reputation with the public, the first servicing mission allowed its rehabilitation as the corrected optics produced numerous remarkable images.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Harwood |first=William |date=April 22, 2015 |title=How NASA fixed Hubble's flawed vision – and reputation |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/an-ingenius-fix-for-hubbles-famously-flawed-vision/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407023213/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/an-ingenius-fix-for-hubbles-famously-flawed-vision/ |archive-date=April 7, 2022 |access-date=April 7, 2022 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kessler |first=Elizabeth A. |date=April 24, 2020 |title=How Hubble Changed the Way We Picture Our Universe |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/how-hubble-changed-way-we-picture-our-universe |access-date=April 7, 2022 |website=National Air and Space Museum |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |language=en |archive-date=April 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407032722/https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/how-hubble-changed-way-we-picture-our-universe |url-status=live }}</ref>

Several initiatives have helped to keep the public informed about Hubble activities.
In the United States, [[outreach]] efforts are coordinated by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) Office for Public Outreach, which was established in 2000 to ensure that U.S. taxpayers saw the benefits of their investment in the space telescope program. To that end, STScI operates the HubbleSite.org website. The [[Hubble Heritage Project]], operating out of the STScI, provides the public with high-quality images of the most interesting and striking objects observed. The Heritage team is composed of amateur and professional astronomers, as well as people with backgrounds outside astronomy, and emphasizes the [[aesthetic]] nature of Hubble images. The Heritage Project is granted a small amount of time to observe objects which, for scientific reasons, may not have images taken at enough wavelengths to construct a full-color image.<ref name="heritage.stsci" />

{{anchor|Hubblecast}}Since 1999, the leading Hubble outreach group in Europe has been the [[Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre]] (HEIC).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spacetelescope.org/ |title=The European Homepage for the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope |publisher=European Space Agency |access-date=April 26, 2008 |archive-date=February 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221210501/http://www.spacetelescope.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref><!--courtesy link--> This office was established at the [[Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility]] in Munich, Germany. HEIC's mission is to fulfill HST outreach and education tasks for the European Space Agency. The work is centered on the production of news and photo releases that highlight interesting Hubble results and images. These are often European in origin, and so increase awareness of both ESA's Hubble share (15%) and the contribution of European scientists to the observatory. ESA produces educational material, including a [[videocast]] series called Hubblecast designed to share world-class scientific news with the public.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.spacetelescope.org/videos/archive/category/hubblecast/ |title=Hubblecast |publisher=European Space Agency |access-date=April 26, 2015 |archive-date=April 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418175254/https://www.spacetelescope.org/videos/archive/category/hubblecast/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Hubble Space Telescope has won two Space Achievement Awards from the [[Space Foundation]], for its outreach activities, in 2001 and 2010.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://2010.nationalspacesymposium.org/media/press-releases/historic-hubble-space-telescope-repair-mission-team-honored-by-the-space-founda |title=Historic Hubble Space Telescope Repair Mission Team Honored by the Space Foundation with 2010 Space Achievement Award |publisher=26th National Space Symposium |date=March 29, 2010 |access-date=November 5, 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306054724/http://2010.nationalspacesymposium.org/media/press-releases/historic-hubble-space-telescope-repair-mission-team-honored-by-the-space-founda |archive-date=March 6, 2012}}</ref>

A replica of the Hubble Space Telescope is displayed on the courthouse lawn in [[Marshfield, Missouri]], the hometown of namesake Edwin P. Hubble.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Things to Do {{!}} Hubble Space Telescope Replica |url=https://www.visitmo.com/things-to-do/hubble-space-telescope-replica/ |access-date=April 6, 2022 |website=Visit Missouri |publisher=Missouri Division of Tourism |language=en-US |archive-date=May 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531021612/https://www.visitmo.com/things-to-do/hubble-space-telescope-replica/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Celebration images ===
{{Further|List of Hubble anniversary images}}
[[File:HH 901 and HH 902 in the Carina nebula (captured by the Hubble Space Telescope).jpg|thumb|A pillar of gas and dust in the [[Carina Nebula]]. This [[Wide Field Camera 3]] image, dubbed ''[[Mystic Mountain]]'', was released in 2010 to commemorate Hubble's 20th anniversary in space.]]

The Hubble Space Telescope celebrated its 20th anniversary in space on April 24, 2010. To commemorate the occasion, NASA, ESA, and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) released an image from the [[Carina Nebula]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 22, 2010 |title=Starry-Eyed Hubble Celebrates 20 Years of Awe and Discovery |url=http://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2010/news-2010-13 |access-date=April 7, 2022 |website=HubbleSite.org |publisher=[[Space Telescope Science Institute]] |language=en |archive-date=July 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715150329/https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2010/news-2010-13.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

To commemorate Hubble's 25th anniversary in space on April 24, 2015, STScI released images of the [[Westerlund 2]] cluster, located about {{convert|20000|ly|pc}} away in the constellation Carina, through its Hubble 25 website.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hubble25th.org/images/27 |title=25th Anniversary Image: Westerlund 2 |publisher=Space Telescope Science Institute |access-date=April 24, 2015 |archive-date=January 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124213007/http://hubble25th.org/images/27 |url-status=live }}</ref> The European Space Agency created a dedicated 25th anniversary page on its website.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spacetelescope.org/projects/Hubble25/ |title=Celebrating 25 years of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope |publisher=European Space Agency |access-date=April 24, 2015 |archive-date=December 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214164843/https://esahubble.org/projects/Hubble25/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2016, a special celebratory image of the [[Bubble Nebula]] was released for Hubble's 26th "birthday".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1608/ |title=Hubble captures birthday bubble |website=SpaceTelescope.org |publisher=European Space Agency |date=April 21, 2016 |access-date=December 15, 2016 |archive-date=February 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190206170806/https://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1608/ |url-status=live }}</ref>