Celebrate Hubble’s 15th Anniversary by Unveiling a SPECTACULAR New Image.

During January 2005 Hubble captured a stunning, high-resolution image of the Whirlpool Galaxy, M51. It’s one of the most breathtaking astronomical images ever taken. (This page shows the mosaic of six dual-chip Advanced Camera for Surveys frames used to acquire the image.)

In honor of the 15th anniversary of the deployment of Hubble, we invite science centers, museums, and planetariums in the USA to apply for selection as a site for the national unveiling and display of this new image on or about Monday, April 25, 2005. (We will be settling on the final date very soon.) We’re looking for enthusiastic partners interested in creating a “Hubble Anniversary Event” for their visitors and local media.

If your institution is selected, you will receive at no cost:

• An enormous print, approximately 4 x 6 feet in size, of the nearly 100 million pixel astronomical image. It will be yours to keep and display.

• A scientific briefing on the image and a telecon with scientists involved in its creation and analysis.

• Press release templates to help you generate interest and attendance.

• Power Point presentations highlighting Hubble’s history and impact, for use in public talks.

• A DVD with videos for public display.

• Press kits for your local media, containing background information, image files and b-roll video.

• Beautiful Hubble image lithographs for distribution to teachers.

• CDs of interactive educational activities for distribution to teachers.

• Promotion of your exhibit/event on our HubbleSite public web site, which draws a million visitors a month and is the top site listed in google searches for “Hubble.”

• Opportunities for your local TV stations to interview a Hubble scientist over NASA TV.

To apply:

Sorry, the application deadline was Friday, March 4, 2005, and this project is now completed. You can see a list of participants here and read an article about the project here.