Today , April 24 , 2020 , the Hubble Space Telescope celebrates its 30th birthday in domain , and what an unbelievable 30 years they have been . The observatory has peered into space like no other commission before , providing data that has changed our understanding of the macrocosm and dazzled us with the peach of the cosmos .
The achievements of Hubble can not be amplify . Itsfirst image , snap on May 20 , 1990 , was a pic of a binary star , HD96755 , in the open cluster NGC 3532 , also known as the Pincushion Cluster , about 1,300 light - year aside from us . Over the follow three ten , the telescope has delivered over 1 million observations , from planets in the Solar System to galaxies in the first billion years of the world .
Many fact we now take for granted were only name or confirmed thanks to the keen heart of Hubble and the incredible study of scientist across the world . The scope confirmed the being ofsupermassive contraband holesat the core of every galaxy and its observations of a peculiar case of supernova rise thatthe existence continues to expandfaster and faster .
The Bubble Nebula , also known as NGC 7635 , is an emanation nebula located 8 000 weak - years away . NASA , ESA , Hubble Heritage Team
Hubble was also instrumental in estimating crucial property of the Milky Way , such as its lot and size . The datum collected , combine with the observations of theEuropean Space Agency ’s Gaia , place the mass of the Milky Way at about 1.5 trillion Suns and 129,000 easy - years in diameter . Hubble ’s observations are not just about the across-the-board mysteries of the cosmos , it has also give away mickle within our Solar System ; from observations ofaurorae on Jupiter ’s lunar month Ganymedeto the discovery of the fifth moon of Pluto . It even discoveredArrokoth , the most remote earthly concern ever explore by humanity .
Much of skill is about predicting phenomena and making observations to see if the predictions are correct . A notable prevision that was proven to be true wasthe Refsdal supernova . This event took place in a beetleweed over 10 billion light - age forth with a enceinte cluster of extragalactic nebula between us and this object ( a crucial fact ) . The bunch warp blank - time to such a degree that multiple image of the more removed galaxy that host of Refsdal supernova were capture . Since those images were not from the same clock time , astronomers see the blowup several times . The last image of it choose on December 11 , 2015 , was snap by Hubble . These observance countenance us to test simulation of how space - time is warped by soberness .
Hubble ’s most recent renovation was in 2009 and since then it has developed some problem due to its telling age . However , thanks to the work of the Hubble teamit continues to perform well , and will hopefully help us ravel the mysteries of the cosmos for a farsighted time to total .
If you want to join in the celebration , check out this toolto chance out what Hubble shoot on your birthday .
This is the Hubble Ultra Deep Field , this galaxy - studded view represent a " deep " nucleus sample of the universe , cutting across billions of light - years . NASA , ESA , and S. Beckwith ( STScI ) and the HUDF Team
The NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope ’s Wide Field Camera 3 observed Saturn on 25 April 2025 as the planet made its skinny approach to Earth this year , at some 1.36 billion kilometres aside . NASA , ESA , A. Simon ( Goddard Space Flight Center ) , and M.H. Wong ( University of California , Berkeley )
