Hubble celebrates its 30th anniversary with a tapestry of fire stars

Iconic images and scientific advancements from the NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope have redefined our view of the Universe. To commemorate three decades of scientific discovery, this image is one of the most photogenic examples of the many turbulent star nurseries the telescope has observed during its 30-year life.

The portrait features the giant nebula NGC 2014 and its neighboring NGC 2020 which together form part of a vast star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way galaxy, approximately 163,000 light-years away. The image is nicknamed ‘Cosmic Reef’ because it resembles an underwater world.

On April 24, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched on the Space Shuttle Discovery, along with a crew of five astronauts. Deployed into Earth’s low orbit a day later, the telescope opened our eyes to the cosmos and transformed our collective knowledge of the Universe.

Hubble has revolutionized modern astronomy not only for astronomers, but also for the public, taking them on a journey of exploration and discovery. Unlike any previous telescope, Hubble has made astronomy relevant, engaging, and accessible to people of all ages.

The mission to date has produced 1.4 million observations and provided data that astronomers around the world have used to write more than 17,000 peer-reviewed scientific publications, making it one of the most prolific space observatories of history. Its rich data archive alone will fuel future astronomy research for future generations.

Every year, Hubble has a small portion of their precious observation time dedicated to taking a special anniversary image, displaying particularly beautiful and significant objects. These observations continue to challenge scientists with surprising new findings and fascinate the public with increasingly suggestive images.

This year, Hubble celebrates this new milestone with a portrait of two colorful nebulae that reveals how energetic and massive stars sculpt their homes of gas and dust. Although NGC 2014 and NGC 2020 appear to be separated in this visible light image, they are actually part of a giant star-forming complex.

The star-forming regions seen here are dominated by the glare of stars at least 10 times more massive than our Sun. These stars have a short life span of just a few million years, compared to 10 billion years of life of our Sun.

The bright centerpiece of NGC 2014 is a cluster of bright, massive stars near the center of the image that has blown up its cocoon of hydrogen gas (red color) and dust into which it was born. A torrent of ultraviolet radiation from the star cluster illuminates the surrounding landscape.

These massive stars also unleash fierce winds that are eroding the gas cloud above and to the right of them. The gas in these areas is less dense, making it easier for stellar winds to pass through them, creating bubble-like structures reminiscent of corals, which have earned it the nickname ‘Brain Coral’.

In contrast, the blue nebula below NGC 2014 has been formed by a gigantic star that is approximately 200,000 times brighter than our Sun. It is an example of a rare class of stars called Wolf-Rayet stars, which is believed to be who are descendants of the most massive stars. Wolf-Rayet stars are very bright and have a high rate of mass loss through powerful winds.

The star in this Hubble image is 15 times more massive than our Sun and is unleashing powerful winds, which have cleared the area around it. It has expelled its outer layers of gas, sweeping them in a cone shape and exposing its hot, scorching core.

The giant appears displaced from the center because the telescope is viewing the cone from a slightly tilted angle. In a few million years, the star could become a supernova. The bright blue color of the nebula comes from oxygen gas which is heated to approximately 11,000 ° C, which is much hotter than the surrounding hydrogen gas.

Stars, both large and small, are born when dust and gas clouds collapse due to gravity. As more material falls onto the forming star, it finally heats up and becomes dense enough at its center to trigger the nuclear fusion reactions that make stars, including our Sun, shine.

Massive stars represent only a small percentage of the billions of stars in our Universe. However, they play a crucial role in shaping our Universe, through stellar winds, supernova explosions, and the production of heavy elements.

“The Hubble Space Telescope has shaped the imagination of an entire generation, inspiring not only scientists but almost everyone,” said Professor Günther Hasinger, ESA’s director of science.

“It is central to the excellent and lasting cooperation between NASA and ESA.”