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The Hubble Space Telescope celebrates
its 34th anniversary in orbit on April 24th, 2024.

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To mark the occasion, scientists premiered this
beautiful image of the Little Dumbbell Nebula.

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Located approximately 3,400 light-years away…

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…the Little Dumbbell Nebula is a planetary nebula, which
is an expanding shell of gas around an aging or dying star.

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Here are a few of the achievements
from Hubble’s 34th year in orbit.

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Within our Solar System

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Hubble kept a close eye on Jupiter’s Great Red Spot…

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...and the equally interesting Red Spot Jr.

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Hubble uncovered a link between Neptune's
shifting clouds and the 11-year solar cycle.

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Two years after the solar cycle's peak, more intense ultraviolet radiation
floods the solar system and causes an increase in Neptune’s clouds.

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When NASA slammed the DART impactor
spacecraft into Dimorphos at 14,000 miles per hour…

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…Hubble's extraordinary sensitivity discovered a swarm
of boulders that may have been shaken off the asteroid.

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Beyond our Solar System

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Using Hubble, astronomers observed the smallest exoplanet
where water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere.

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Planet GJ 9827d, roughly twice Earth’s diameter,  could be
an example of planets in our galaxy with water-rich atmospheres.

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Hubble found a young planet whirling around a red dwarf star
that is changing in unpredictable ways orbit-by-orbit.

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It is so close to its parent star that it experiences
a consistent blast of energy, which evaporates
and puffs off its hydrogen atmosphere.

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Some of the best evidence yet was found for the
presence of a rare class of "intermediate-sized" black holes.

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It may be lurking in the heart of the closest globular
star cluster to Earth, Messier 4, located 6,000 light-years away.

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Beyond our Galaxy

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Hubble caught a fast radio burst (FRB)...

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…a fleeting blast of energy
that can – for a few milliseconds – outshine an entire galaxy.

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This new FRB is particularly weird because
it erupted halfway across the universe…

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…making it the farthest and most
powerful example detected to date.

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Hubble also spotted a rare phenomenon,
called a Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transient.

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These are among the brightest known visible-light events
in the universe, going off unexpectedly like camera flashbulbs.

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Only a handful have been found since the first discovery in 2018,
an event located about 200 million light-years away.

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Joining forces, Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope
took an image of galaxy cluster MACS0416.

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The resulting image combines
visible and infrared light to assemble…

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…one of the most comprehensive views of the universe ever taken.

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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.

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Collecting data from stars both
within the Milky Way and outside of it…

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…this extensive effort provides invaluable insights into
star formation, evolution, and how stars influence their surroundings.

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Enabled by Hubble's unique ultraviolet capabilities,
this transformative survey promises to reshape…

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…our understanding of stars and their environments for years to come.

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Hubble also released an abundance of beautiful images…

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[Slow Zoom Out of new Image. Pinks and blues in two lobes on either side.]

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After 34 years, Hubble keeps expanding our knowledge
of the cosmos, inspiring awe with its discoveries.

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Follow us on social media @NASAHubble