Trending

Hubble Space Telescope

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope launched in 1990 and has taken some of the most stunning photographs of the universe around us.

Related Topics: Stars and Galaxies

Latest Updates

Artist’s illustration showing a Neptune-sized planet in the "Neptunian desert." It is extremely rare to find an object of this size and density so close to its star.

The top space stories of the week!

By Doris Elin Urrutia

These are the top space stories this week from Space.com.

star cluster G286.21+0.17

Space photos: The most amazing images this week!

By Doris Elin Urrutia

See the best photos on Space.com this week.

star cluster G286.21+0.17

Cosmic 'fireworks' shine in baby star cluster and distant galaxy

By Meghan Bartels

A high-powered telescope array has caught the brilliant fireworks-like "streamers" of gas formed during an early stage of star development in a cluster.

The official artwork for Maryland's entry in the U.S. Mint's American Innovation $1 coin program highlights the Hubble Space Telescope and the state's role in managing the orbiting observatory from the ground. The coin is depicted in uncirculated condition.

Hubble Space Telescope to feature on American Innovation $1 coin

By Robert Z. Pearlman

The Hubble Space Telescope will be honored on a new golden dollar coin reflecting the innovation embodied by the orbiting observatory and the U.S. state from where it is managed on the ground.

In this image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released June 25, 2020, you can see the star nicknamed "Bat Shadow" for the flapping, bat-shaped shadow feature it has.

Hubble telescope spots a flapping bat signal in space

By Chelsea Gohd

The Hubble Space Telescope spotted a bat signal out in the cosmos, 1,300 light-years from home. And the bat? It's flapping its wings.

The Hubble Space Telescope studied two dramatic planetary nebulas, the Butterfly Nebula and a second that resembles a jewel-bug.

Behold! Hubble telescope catches stunning photos of planetary nebula fireworks

By Meghan Bartels

Incredible new images from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal nearly dead stars spewing blasts of hot gas into deep space in strange but stunning ways.

This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the galaxy cluster MACS J0416. This is one of six galaxy clusters being studied by the Hubble Frontier Fields program, which together have produced the deepest images of gravitational lensing ever made. Scientists used intracluster light (visible in blue) to study the distribution of dark matter within the cluster.

The 1st stars in the universe formed earlier than thought

By Mike Wall

The first stars in the universe formed even earlier than astronomers had thought, a new study suggests.

An artist's illustration of the massive explosion that rocked the center of the Milky Way galaxy 3.5 million years ago. Our distant hominid ancestors likely would have seen the resulting flare.

Ancient explosion in Milky Way's core lit up gas outside the galaxy

By Elizabeth Howell

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is further probing the remnants of a massive space explosion visible from Earth 3.5 million years ago.

A full-disk view of Jupiter in infrared light, as seen by the Gemini Observatory on May 29, 2019.

Scientists get their best-ever look at Jupiter's atmosphere and storms

By Meghan Bartels

It's always dark and stormy on Jupiter — and now, scientists have gotten their most detailed view of the wild storms that swirl through the gas giant's atmosphere.

This Hubble Space Telescope image of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) was taken on April 23, 2020.

Comet ATLAS disintegrates into pieces as Hubble telescope watches (photos)

By Chelsea Gohd

Comet ATLAS has disintegrated before our very eyes, and two new images from the Hubble Space Telescope show the comet has crumbled into 25 pieces.

The launch of Hubble Space Telescope on April 24, 1990. This photo captures the first time that there were shuttles on both pad 39a and 39b.

How the Hubble Space Telescope opened our eyes to the first galaxies of the universe

By Rodger I. Thompson

Hubble's infrared eyes provided new major capabilities.

The Hubble Space Telescope as photographed at the end of the final servicing mission, in 2009.

Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Space Telescope

By Andrew May

It's been 30 years since NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope on April 24, 1990.

An image taken on April 20, 2020, shows the fragments of Comet ATLAS.

That's the way the comet crumbles: Hubble image shows remains of Comet ATLAS

By Meghan Bartels

Skywatchers had high hopes that a comet called ATLAS would light up the night sky this spring, with forecasts suggesting it could become bright enough to see with the unaided eye.

Hubble Space Telescope view of the "Pillars of Creation," towering formations of cosmic gas and dust that lie in the center of the Eagle Nebula.

30 years of Hubble: Space telescope's legacy goes beyond science

By Mike Wall

The Hubble Space Telescope's contributions extend far beyond the scientific sphere, into the everyday lives of regular people around the world.

The best Hubble Space Telescope images of all time!

By Space.com Staff

Celebrate 30 years of the Hubble Space Telescope with this gallery of our favorite views from the iconic observatory.

Happy birthday, Hubble! To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA released this new image of a "cosmic undersea world" that is teeming with stars and colorful clouds of interstellar dust and gas. The image features the giant red nebula NGC 2014 and its smaller blue companion NGC 2020, both located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way located 163,000 light-years from Earth. Hubble scientists have nicknamed the image the "Cosmic Reef," because the large nebula "resembles part of a coral reef floating in a vast sea of stars," Hubble officials said in a statement.

Hubble captures a 'Cosmic Reef' in stunning 30th anniversary image

By Chelsea Gohd

With a captivating new photo, the "Cosmic Reef," NASA's Hubble Space Telescope showcases the instruments' incredible capabilities on its 30th anniversary.

The Hubble Space Telescope is seen suspended above the space shuttle Discovery's payload bay before being deployed into orbit by the STS-31 crew on April 25, 1990.

30 notable objects that launched with the Hubble Space Telescope 30 years ago

By Robert Z. Pearlman

Thirty years ago, NASA's space shuttle Discovery lifted off with what would become the world's most famous science instrument, the Hubble Space Telescope.

The Hubble Space Telescope as seen from the space shuttle Discovery during the second servicing mission in 1997.

Celebrate Hubble's 30th anniversary with astronauts, astrophysicists & gamers with 'Virtual Astronomy Live'

By Hanneke Weitering

The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City will host its first-ever "Virtual Astronomy Live" webcast today (April 24) at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT).

The Hubble Space Telescope, seen from the space shuttle Discovery during the observatory's deployment on April 25, 1990.

The Hubble Space Telescope and 30 years that transformed our view of the universe

By Meghan Bartels

In the beginning, it was just the Large Space Telescope, its mundane name a marker of how very extraordinary an observatory it was.

Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, who flew on two servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope, discusses the space telescope for the 30th anniversary of its launch with Space.com's Chelsea Gohd.

Hubble Space Telescope at 30: Astronaut Mike Massimino looks back at fixing a space icon

By Chelsea Gohd

Thirty years ago this week — on April 24, 1990 — the Hubble Space Telescope launched into space and opened humanity's eyes to the cosmos. Here's what it was like to fix for an astronaut repairman.