You are here

Hubble Space Telescope

The first of NASA’s four Great Observatories. Astronauts aboard space shuttle Discovery deployed Hubble Space Telescope on April 25, 1990. It was the first big telescope designed to escape the blurring effects of Earth’s atmosphere, allowing it to see the universe more clearly than any other telescope. Its observations showed that the universe is about 13.7 billion years old. They also provided some of the first evidence of “dark energy” — a force that’s causing the universe to expand faster as it ages. Several repair and refurbishing missions by shuttle astronauts have kept the telescope going and vastly improved its scientific capabilities. It is expected to continue operating until around 2015.

Resources

Astronomers and Observatories June 10, 2010

Featured Images

Hubble Space Telescope image of galaxy cluster Abell 370

Galactic Pile-Up May 15, 2017
HST view of 47 Tucanae

Star Globe May 9, 2017
Hubble view of hundreds of galaxies

Galaxy Glut May 5, 2017
Hubble Space Telescope view of galaxy M100

Grand Spiral April 19, 2017
Hubble Space Telescope view of galaxy NGC 6503

Island Universes April 17, 2017
HST view of Messier 82

Busy Galaxy March 26, 2017
HST view of Uranus and its moons and rings

New Moons? February 25, 2017
Hubble Space Telescope view of NGC 248 in the Small Magellanic Cloud

Bright Gas December 22, 2016
Hubble Space Telescope view of the galaxy NGC 1300

Star Bar December 18, 2016

Swirling Galaxy December 3, 2016
Composite view showing plumes of water eruption from Jupiter's moon Europa

Wet Moon September 26, 2016
Hubble Space Telescope view of M63

Galactic Sunflower August 26, 2016
Hubble Space Telescope view of a gravitational lens

Galactic Lens July 22, 2016
Elliptical galaxy NGC 1600

Biggest of the Big June 28, 2016
V1331 Cygni, a newly forming star

Almost There June 14, 2016

Close Neighbor May 20, 2016
Hubble view of Bubble Nebula

Bubbly Star April 21, 2016
NGC 6543, the Cat's Eye Nebula

Pure Artistry April 9, 2016
Hubble view of M51, the Whirlpool galaxy, and its companion galaxy

Whirling Along March 3, 2016
Auroras on Jupiterk

Polar Rings February 22, 2016
Hubble Space Telescope view of the Gliese 229 system

Faint Neighbors February 7, 2016
Planetary nebula known as the Eskimo Nebula

Cyclops? November 29, 2015
Hubble view of galaxy Markarian 231

Double Double November 22, 2015
Hubble view of the Eta Carinae system

The Homunculus October 21, 2015
Two views of Messier 22

Stellar Sparkler August 24, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope image of the Lagoon Nebula

Colorful Lagoon July 31, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope view of the core of M13, a globular cluster in Hercules

Old Sparklers May 12, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope image of a young star cluster

Anniversary Portrait April 23, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope view of Abell 2744, a massive galaxy cluster

On the Frontier March 9, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope view of V838 Monocerotis in 2006

Brilliant Echo February 11, 2015
Hubble image of the aftermath of a galactic collisio

Beautiful Disruption January 30, 2015
Hubble Space Telescope view of Tadpole Galaxy

Galactic Tadpole November 27, 2014

Double Dribble November 20, 2014
Hubble image of star cluster M15

Old Family September 11, 2014
Cat's Eye Nebula from Hubble Space Telescope

Colorful Demise August 29, 2014
Hubble Space Telescope view of Jupiter, Ganymede

Layer-Cake Moon August 15, 2014

Jetting Across the Universe August 12, 2014
Hubble Space Telescope view of Eta Carinae

Future Fireworks June 16, 2014
Hubble views of Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Shrinking Storm May 15, 2014
Autographs from the dedication of McDonald Observatory

Who's Who May 7, 2014
HST image of thousands of galaxies

Galaxies Galore April 17, 2014
Hubble Space Telescope view of M83 galaxy

Glowing Pinwheel January 10, 2014
RS Puppis, a supergiant star seen by Hubble Space Telescope

Dusty Skies December 18, 2013
Hubble Space Telescope view of Comet ISON in October 2013

Getting Closer October 18, 2013
Hubble Space Telescope images of the Fomalhaut star system

Giant Planet of Mystery October 15, 2013
Hubble Space Telescope view of planet Uranus

Blue-Green Giant October 1, 2013
Diagram shows Neptune and some of its moons, including one discovered in 2013

Second-Look Moon July 22, 2013
Artist's concept of a blue exoplanet

Blue-Hot Planet July 13, 2013
Hubble Space Telescope view of Comet ISON, May 2013

Closing In July 2, 2013
Hubble Space Telescope image of M101

Stellar Pinwheel May 31, 2013
Hubble Space Telescope, May 2009

Recalibrating May 6, 2013
Hubble Space Telescope image of Comet ISON, April 2013

Closing In April 24, 2013
Hubble view of Coma Cluster of galaxies

Crowning Glory April 19, 2013
The Antennae galaxies

Getting Together April 16, 2013
Close-up of the core of M31

M31 Blues January 29, 2013
Hubble Space Telescope view of globular cluster M2

Stars Galore January 6, 2013
Hubble image of an edge-on galaxy, ESO 318-13

All that Glitters December 4, 2012
Portion of Hubble Extreme Deep Field

Extreme Astronomy September 25, 2012
Hubble image of a pair of galaxies

Bright Companions September 7, 2012
Hubble Space Telescope view of M104, the Sombrero Galaxy

Galactic Hat Dance July 2, 2012
A flare on the surface of the star HD 189733 blasts away the atmosphere of an or

Zapped! June 29, 2012
Hubble Space Telescope view of galaxy ESO 243-49

Little Giant May 29, 2012

Star Stream May 15, 2012
Beams of light shine through the Egg Nebula

Stellar Headlights May 1, 2012
A supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Double Suicide? April 9, 2012
Hubble Space Telescope view of Cat's Eye Nebula, a planetary nebula

Blowing Bubbles March 13, 2012
Hubble Space Telescope images of the aftermath of Supernova 1987A

Wave of Destruction February 23, 2012
Hubble Space Telescope image of the aftermath of Supernova 1987A

Stellar Ghost February 21, 2012
M1, the Crab Nebula, in a Hubble Space Telescope image

Crab Nebula January 6, 2012
The Saturn Nebula, NGC 7009, as seen by Hubble Space Telescope

Saturn Simulacrum November 13, 2011
The Necklace Nebula, the remains of a dying star in Sagittarius

Ring of Fire August 15, 2011
Hubble view of Hanny's Voorwerp and the galaxy IC 2497

In the Spotlight January 11, 2011
Visible and X-ray image of a supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Holiday Decoration December 16, 2010
The aftermath of an asteroid impact in the southern hemisphere of Jupiter

Giant Scar September 20, 2010

Galactic Beauty August 11, 2010

Stellar Sculptors July 15, 2010
Rings and Moons

Rings and Moons June 4, 2010

Impact! February 3, 2010

High Lights January 17, 2010

Radio Programs

Cold Discoveries Cold discoveries beyond the planets December 28, 2016

More Moon and Jupiter Changing tides on distant moons November 24, 2016

T Pyxidis A star that keeps on exploding April 14, 2016

More Space Astronomy Climbing above Earth’s murky air December 9, 2015

Proxima Centauri Planets Planet searches come up empty September 10, 2015

Pluto A famous but poorly understood world July 6, 2015

Moon and Jupiter Plunging into a hidden ocean June 19, 2015

Hubble at 25 III A quarter-century of discoveries April 23, 2015

Hubble at 25 II The “blunder of the century” April 22, 2015

Hubble at 25 Hubble Space Telescope takes flight April 21, 2015

Pandora’s Cluster Mapping a galactic pile-up March 9, 2015

On the Frontier Pushing the intergalactic frontier March 8, 2015

Hot Weather Hot weather on a distant planet December 25, 2014

More Edwin Hubble Discovering the expanding universe November 20, 2014

Edwin Hubble A memento of a college basketball star November 19, 2014

Fomalhaut III Taking a look at a possible “dusty” planet October 2, 2014

Galactic Track A roller-coaster ride around the galaxy July 26, 2014

Different Explosions Exploding stars with a difference July 18, 2014

‘New’ Stars Keeping an eye on bright “new” stars July 17, 2014

Zombie Stars The night of the living dead stars July 16, 2014

Space Telescopes Studying the universe from on high June 26, 2014

Quaoar Measuring a distance ice-ball March 10, 2014

Fixing Hubble Improving Hubble’s eyesight December 4, 2013

Keeping Tabs Keeping an eye on a fuzzy foot May 7, 2013

Recalibrating Recalibrating a space telescope May 6, 2013

File Cabinet Leafing through a starry filing cabinet May 5, 2013

First Steps Angling in on the stars December 4, 2012

White-Dwarf Planets II Dead stars consume dead planets October 16, 2012

Fomalhaut The lonely “Autumn Star” September 16, 2012

Andromeda Starburst Brightening up a giant galaxy September 12, 2012

Gamma Cephei IV Getting messy for science September 4, 2012

Gamma Cephei III Keeping a planet on the table September 3, 2012

Gamma Cephei II A gnat’s eyelash and a distant planet September 2, 2012