NASA released the Hubble Space Telescope on April 24, 1990, and Hubble has been busy observing the universe ever since. In honor of his thirtieth birthday, we will explore some of his most memorable and mind-blowing photos, starting with the anniversary photo. This image contains two nebulae, both called Cosmic Reef. When stars are born or when they die, they often throw material with such force that it molds and shapes the environment around the star, creating a nebula. Some nebulae are created by the death of a singular star, while others are existing interstellar gas and dust that function as stellar nurseries for young stars. Some of the most famous nebulae are shaped like horse heads, crabs, and other wacky objects.
Hubble has taught us a lot in its 30 years. Thanks to Hubble we now know that our galaxy is only one of the hundreds of billions in the universe. Because Hubble can study such distant galaxies, it can tell scientists more about the expansion of the universe. Studying these galaxies also helped scientists get an idea of the approximate age of the universe, about 13.8 billion years old.
Grab your birthday candles and paper hats, because this week, we are singing to Hubble.