The Hubble Space Telescope celebrates its 34th anniversary in orbit on April 24th, 2024.
To mark the occasion, scientists premiered this beautiful image of the Little Dumbbell Nebula.
Located approximately 3,400 light-years away…
…the Little Dumbbell Nebula is a planetary nebula, which is an expanding shell of gas around an aging or dying star.
Here are a few of the achievements from Hubble’s 34th year in orbit.
Within our Solar System
Hubble kept a close eye on Jupiter’s Great Red Spot…
...and the equally interesting Red Spot Jr.
Hubble uncovered a link between Neptune's shifting clouds and the 11-year solar cycle.
Two years after the solar cycle's peak, more intense ultraviolet radiation floods the solar system and causes an increase in Neptune’s clouds.
When NASA slammed the DART impactor spacecraft into Dimorphos at 14,000 miles per hour…
…Hubble's extraordinary sensitivity discovered a swarm of boulders that may have been shaken off the asteroid.
Beyond our Solar System
Using Hubble, astronomers observed the smallest exoplanet where water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere.
Planet GJ 9827d, roughly twice Earth’s diameter, could be an example of planets in our galaxy with water-rich atmospheres.
Hubble found a young planet whirling around a red dwarf star that is changing in unpredictable ways orbit-by-orbit.
It is so close to its parent star that it experiences a consistent blast of energy, which evaporates and puffs off its hydrogen atmosphere.
Some of the best evidence yet was found for the presence of a rare class of "intermediate-sized" black holes.
It may be lurking in the heart of the closest globular star cluster to Earth, Messier 4, located 6,000 light-years away.
Beyond our Galaxy
Hubble caught a fast radio burst (FRB)...
…a fleeting blast of energy that can – for a few milliseconds – outshine an entire galaxy.
This new FRB is particularly weird because it erupted halfway across the universe…
…making it the farthest and most powerful example detected to date.
Hubble also spotted a rare phenomenon, called a Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transient.
These are among the brightest known visible-light events in the universe, going off unexpectedly like camera flashbulbs.
Only a handful have been found since the first discovery in 2018, an event located about 200 million light-years away.
Joining forces, Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope took an image of galaxy cluster MACS0416.
The resulting image combines visible and infrared light to assemble…
…one of the most comprehensive views of the universe ever taken.
In one of the most ambitious Hubble Space Telescope programs to date, the ULLYSES survey gathered data on nearly 500 young stars over three years.
Collecting data from stars both within the Milky Way and outside of it…
…this extensive effort provides invaluable insights into star formation, evolution, and how stars influence their surroundings.
Enabled by Hubble's unique ultraviolet capabilities, this transformative survey promises to reshape…
…our understanding of stars and their environments for years to come.
Hubble also released an abundance of beautiful images…
[Slow Zoom Out of new Image. Pinks and blues in two lobes on either side.]
After 34 years, Hubble keeps expanding our knowledge of the cosmos, inspiring awe with its discoveries.
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