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NASA's Hubble Space Telescope marks
its 32nd birthday in April 2022.

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To celebrate, it shared its observations
of the Hickson Compact Group 40,

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a close-knit collection of five galaxies.

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Every year, Hubble brings the universe into
greater focus, shedding new light on mysteries of the cosmos.

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Here's a snapshot of Hubble's most recent discoveries.

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Solar System

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Hubble measured the biggest comet ever seen:

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a 500 trillion- ton behemoth, 75-85 miles wide.

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Hubble observed the atmospheres
and weather on our solar system's gas giants,

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showing storm winds in
Jupiter's Great Red Spot picking up speed,

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and Saturn's northern bands shifting colors.

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Scientists found new proof of water vapor
in Ganymede and Europa's atmospheres.

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These molecules came from their icy exteriors,
rather than the vast oceans underneath.

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Milky Way

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Hubble captured this image of an aging red giant star,
wrapped in an orange envelope of carbon.

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This carbon is a byproduct of nuclear fusion,

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and may one day be the building blocks
of new planets and life.

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Hubble captured the first ultraviolet image
of a planet around another star.

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Five times Jupiter's mass, PDS 70b is still growing,
providing new insights into how gas giants form and grow.

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Hubble spotted an expanding bubble of gas
near the center of our galaxy.

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Researchers believe a "mini-jet" from a
supermassive black hole is impacting and inflating the bubble.

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Jets burst from the black hole after
it devours a star or gas cloud, like a cosmic burp.

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Hubble found that white dwarfs – the hot, dense cores
of burned-out stars – may continue nuclear fusion.

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They still burn hydrogen on their surfaces,
appearing younger than they actually are.

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Extragalactic

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Outside the Milky Way, Hubble noticed a black hole
helping create stars, instead of consuming them.

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A stream of gas connects it with a stellar nursery,
jumpstarting clusters of newborn stars.

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Astronomers were surprised to spot
three strange celestial objects,

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two of which were mirror images of each other.

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They weren't identical twins,
but warped views of a single galaxy.

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Foreground galaxies caused a gravitational lens,
magnifying and duplicating one galaxy image into three.

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Gravitational lensing also allowed Hubble
to detect the farthest individual star ever spotted.

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Its light took 12.9 billion years to reach us,

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giving us a glimpse back in time to when
the universe was less than a billion years old.

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As Hubble ushers in its 33rd year of discovery,

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its observations will continue to expand
humanity's knowledge of the cosmos.

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