Since its launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has captivated scientists and everyday stargazers with jaw-dropping images of the outer reaches of our universe.
Sunday marked 26 years since the space shuttle Discovery lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying the $1.5-billion telescope. Since then, Hubble has shot hundreds of thousands of detailed pictures and relayed them to scientists on Earth.
Considered one of NASA鈥檚 biggest success stories, Hubble has helped scientists narrow down the age of the universe, sparked new theories in astronomy and captured the deepest-ever look into outer space.
In honour of the telescope鈥檚 birthday, here鈥檚 a glimpse of five of Hubble鈥檚 most stunning photos.
Hubble Bubble
NASA released this image of the , also known as NGC 7635, last week to commemorate the 26th anniversary of Hubble鈥檚 launch. The image shows a massive star (about 45 times larger than the sun) forming a gaseous bubble due to fast-moving 鈥渟tellar wind鈥� flowing from the star.
鈥楾he Heart of the Milky Way鈥�
This image, pieced together from nine different pictures, shows more than half a million stars grouped around a supermassive black hole. The depicts a sweeping expanse of outer space totalling about 50 light-years.
Deep Space
In 2012, scientists released this image 鈥� dubbed the eXtreme Deep Field 鈥� that captured that . The picture was compiled from a decade鈥檚 worth of Hubble images and shows thousands of other galaxies located millions of light years away from Earth.
Psychedelic gas
No, this isn鈥檛 an oil painting or a still from 鈥淭he NeverEnding Story.鈥� This image, released in 2010, shows a pillar of gas being devoured by light from nearby stars. The blue in the image indicates oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen show up as green and sulphur appears red.
鈥楶illars of Creation鈥�
This Hubble photo shows the effect that intense radiation from young stars has on pillars of dust and gas floating in outer space鈥檚 Eagle Nebula. NASA has dubbed the formation the
