Hubble Telescope's 35th Birthday Celebrated With Amazing Images Of Mars And More
To commemorate the 35th anniversary of its launch into orbit, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has been trained on a series of visually striking cosmic targets, offering a breathtaking glimpse into the wonders of the universe – from our own planetary neighbour Mars, to faraway nebulae and distant galaxies. In the upper left of the new image montage is the planet Mars, captured between 28 and 30 December 2024, when it was approximately 61 million miles (98 million kilometres) from Earth. Thanks to Hubble's ultraviolet imaging capabilities, thin water-ice clouds can be seen shrouding the Red Planet, lending it a distinctly frosted appearance. In the upper right sits the ethereal planetary nebula NGC 2899. Resembling the delicate wings of a moth, this structure is carved by intense radiation and stellar winds emanating from a dying white dwarf star at its heart. Shown in the lower left is a close-up of the Rosette Nebula, a vast star-forming region stretching 100 light-years across and located roughly 5,200 light-years from Earth. In the lower right, Hubble reveals a detailed face-on image of NGC 5335, a barred spiral galaxy categorised as "flocculent" due to its patchy, woolly arms.
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2 hours ago
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