Showcase
Hubble Telescope
Launched into orbit in 1990, NASA's Hubble Telescope has revolutionized astronomy and inspired a generation with its magnificent views of the universe. To celebrate Hubble's 20th Birthday, we've teamed up with our friends at the Space Telescope Science Institute to share our 20 favorite Hubble images. Browse the images below, watch this tour video, or download our new Hubble tour in Google Earth and fly to these locations in space!
Pillars in the Carina Nebula
Hubble’s 20th anniversary image of a three-light-year-tall mountain of gas and
dust shows gas jets, fired by infant stars within the pillar. Learn
more
Credits: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)
Globular Star Cluster Messier 80
Globular cluster M80, home to hundreds of thousands of stars held together by
gravity, is one of the densest clusters in the Milky Way. Learn
more
Credits: The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)
Star Cluster NGC 602
Newly formed stars carve a cavity in the center of a star-forming region of the
Small Magellanic Cloud. Learn
more
Credits: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) – ESA/Hubble Collaboration
Pillars in the Eagle Nebula
Pillars of gas in the Eagle Nebula are sculpted by stellar winds and radiation.
Embryonic stars form inside the pillars. Learn
more
Credits: NASA, ESA, STScI, J. Hester and P. Scowen (Arizona State University)
Orion Nebula
Inside a cavern of roiling dust and gas, thousands of stars are forming. More
than 3,000 stars of various sizes appear in this image of the Orion Nebula.
Learn
more
Credits: NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA), and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team
The Butterfly Nebula NGC 6302
Gas heated to more than 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit tears across space at more than
600,000 miles an hour to form the butterfly-shaped nebula. Learn
more
Credits: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team
Star Eta Carinae
Eta Carinae briefly became one of the brightest stars in the southern sky 150
years ago due to the explosive outburst that produced its dusty polar lobes.
Learn
more
Credits: Jon Morse (University of Colorado) and NASA
Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula is the remains of a star that died in a supernova so brilliant it
was recorded by observers in the year 1054. A neutron star pulses in its center.
Learn
more
Credits: NASA, ESA, J. Hester, and A. Loll (Arizona State University)
Spiral Galaxy Messier 51
This image of the spiral galaxy M51, also known as “The Whirlpool Galaxy,”
reveals long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. Learn
more
Credits: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Sombrero Galaxy
The Sombrero Galaxy, home to a supermassive black hole and a rich system of
nearly 2,000 globular clusters, is seen nearly edge-on from Earth’s perspective.
Learn
more
Credits: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Core of Galaxy M87
A jet of hot gas streams from the center of the giant elliptical galaxy M87,
signaling the presence of a supermassive black hole 2.6 billion times the mass of
the Sun. Learn
more
Credits: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Interacting Galaxies “The Mice”
Streamers of stars and gas emanate from two colliding galaxies known as “The
Mice,” which will merge into one galaxy in about 500 million years. Learn
more
Credits: NASA, H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (UCSC/LO), M. Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), the ACS Science Team, and ESA
Galaxy Group Stephan’s Quintet
Galaxies are poised in a cosmic dance in galaxy group Stephan’s Quintet. Four of
the galaxies tug at each other gravitationally. Learn
more
Credits: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team
Galaxy Cluster Abell 2218
The mass of galaxy cluster Abell 2218 distorts and magnifies the light of
galaxies beyond it, allowing us to see distant galaxies in the universe. Learn
more
Credits: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team
Hubble Ultra Deep Field
This view of nearly 100,000 galaxies captures the faintest visible-light details
of the universe ever seen. It reveals billions of light years of galactic
history. Learn
more
Credits: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI), and the HUDF Team
Ring Nebula
Hubble stares down a barrel of gas cast off by a dying star. The Ring Nebula,
floating some 2,000 light years from Earth, has a white dwarf star at its center.
Learn
more
Credits: The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)
Cat’s Eye Nebula
Eleven concentric shells of gas surround the dying star of the Cat’s Eye Nebula,
one of the most complex planetary nebulae ever discovered. Learn
more
Credits: NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Variable Star V838 Monocerotis
Light moves outwards from a stellar outburst, illuminating vast regions of
usually invisible dust and gas. Learn
more
Credits: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)
Carina Nebula
A 50-light-year-wide view of the Carina Nebula shows a maelstrom of star birth
and death. Learn
more
Credits: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and NOAO/NSF
Barred Spiral NGC 1300
Galaxy NGC 1300 exhibits a long, central bar shape that connects its spiral arms.
Our own Milky Way is known to be a barred spiral galaxy. Learn
more
Credits: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Send a message to Hubble
Be a part of ongoing history. You can send a message to Hubble to celebrate its
20th anniversary, which will be incorporated into a time capsule. Learn more
