NASA shared four stunning space images to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope, offering a glimpse of objects ranging from Mars to distant galaxies.
Launched in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope marked its 35th year with four new visuals. The images, released by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), showcase celestial objects from Mars to the spiral galaxy NGC 5335.
Shawn Domagal-Goldman, Deputy Director of NASA's Astrophysics Division, stated alongside the visuals, "Hubble opened a new window to the universe 35 years ago. Its continued operation today proves the value of our flagship observatories and their inspiration for future projects."
Started with a malfunction, turned into a scientific revolution: After launch, Hubble initially faced issues due to a manufacturing flaw in its mirror. However, during the first servicing mission in 1993, astronauts installed a special device, significantly improving the telescope's image quality.
Since then, Hubble has contributed to numerous discoveries, from exoplanets to black holes, dark energy, and the rapid expansion of the universe. According to NASA, Hubble has conducted nearly 1.7 million observations, worked on 55,000 celestial objects, and been cited in over 22,000 scientific papers.
Cosmic postcards from Mars to galaxies: Among the new images released, one shows Mars at its closest approach to Earth in December 2024. The photo highlights Mars' orange Tharsis Plateau, volcanic mountains, the northern polar ice cap, and clouds made of water vapor.
Another image, also captured in December, displays a small portion of the Rosette Nebula, a star-forming region 5,200 light-years from Earth. Dark clouds of gas and dust reveal the complex structure of the region, which hosts the birth of stars.
Another image from January features the planetary nebula NGC 2899, located 4,500 light-years away. This celestial object is notable for its colorful gas clouds shaped by radiation from the central star and stellar winds.
In March, another image captured the spiral galaxy NGC 5335, showing a bar-like structure carrying gas toward the galaxy's center and star clusters forming at its edges.
Hubble's legacy continues: Despite occasional technical issues, Hubble remains operational. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched in 2021, collects seven times more light than Hubble and observes the universe mainly in infrared wavelengths.
Additionally, NASA plans to launch the Habitable Worlds Observatory in the 2040s. This new telescope will capture sharper images in visible and ultraviolet light, aiming to detect exoplanets with potential for life. It will be designed for remote maintenance and focus on identifying planets that could host life.
