Space Shuttle Columbia, Spacelab, Space Shuttle Program, NASA

This is a presentation of two comparison images of the Spiral Galaxy M81 in the constellation URA Major. The galaxy is about 12-million light years from Earth. The left image is the Spiral Galaxy M81 as photographed by the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) during the Astro-1 Mission (STS-35) on December 9, 1990. This UIT photograph, made with ultraviolet light, reveals regions where new stars are forming at a rapid rate. The right image is a photograph of the same galaxy in red light made with a 36-inch (0.9-meter) telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. The Astro Observatory was designed to explore the universe by observing and measuring ultraviolet radiation from celestial objects. Three instruments made up the Astro Observatory: The Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT), the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT), and the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimetry Experiment (WUPPE). The Marshall Space Flight Center had management responsibilities for the Astro-1 mission. The Astro-1 Observatory was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (STS-35) on December 2, 1990.