Posts: 472
From: Australia
Registered: Jul 2003

Posts: 42985
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 02-28-2008 01:07 PM               

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While I realize there was an earlier release of Hubble Space Telescope photo stamps, I find it just a bit disappointing that they couldn't sneak a reference to the orbiting observatory into this Hubble stamp, such that this release would appeal to both astronomy and space exploration fans.

Still, I suspect this will be a popular stamp choice for covers canceled for STS-125 later this year (in addition to the aforementioned Hubble imagery stamps and perhaps the 1981 HST illustration in the Space Achievement set).

Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted 02-28-2008 02:11 PM               

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quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
I find it just a bit disappointing that they couldn't sneak a reference to the orbiting observatory into this Hubble stamp, such that this release would appeal to both astronomy and space exploration fans.

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I actually find myself leaning the other direction on this issue. The HST is named after Hubble as a way of honoring him. It is not, however, part of Hubble's own career and accomplishments. Putting the HST on the stamp may create the impression that Hubble himself designed the HST or was key to it's development.

Therefore, I think the stamp should concentrate on the man and not the machine.

Posts: 42985
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 02-28-2008 02:33 PM               

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quote:

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Originally posted by mjanovec:
Therefore, I think the stamp should concentrate on the man and not the machine.

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I agree that the concentration should be on the man (given the series in which the stamp belongs) and I certainly wasn't advocating the space telescope should take the place of Palomar the Hooker Telescope at Mount Wilson, but it would have been rather easy to slip in a small representation of the telescope bearing his name within the starfield behind him (even as an almost hidden reference, with one of the stars shaped to resemble HST).

Speaking though of Hubble's (the astronomer's) accomplishments, though I can see where the yellow gradient at the left edge is intended to blend the border with the Pauling stamp in the block of four, it might have been nice if the artist thought to switch the colors or positioning with that of Bardeen's stamp to give a visual nod to the Hubble's Law (i.e. redshift).

Posts: 42985
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999