Celebrating 30 years of eye-opening images Apr 24, 2020

Celebrating 30 years of eye-opening images

On this day in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope entered orbit in the cargo bay of the space shuttle Discovery. Shortly thereafter, it began its continuing mission to capture images of our universe from low Earth orbit, free of the obstructions of clouds and the distortions of the atmosphere. Like its namesake, the great astronomer Edwin Hubble, the Hubble Space Telescope has transformed our understanding of the cosmos. Some of the telescope"s greatest contributions include its Deep Fields images, which peer back billions of light-years and help astronomers measure the size and age of the universe and test theories about its origin. It"s also produced jaw-dropping images of objects closer to home, like the one on today"s homepage. Here we"re looking at a maelstrom of glowing gas and dark dust within one of the Milky Way"s satellite galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud.

© ESA/Hubble/NASA

palette

Today in History

Apr 24, 2018National Park Week: Everglades National Park
Apr 24, 2019Cool water in the Quinault
Apr 24, 2021A garden of prickly delights
Apr 24, 2022Dark Sky Week
Apr 24, 2023Old underground cellar, Bavaria, Germany
Apr 24, 2024White trilliums blooming in Ontario, Canada
Apr 24, 2025Spire Cove in Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward, Alaska

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Apr 30, 2020What kind of bird laid these eggs?
Jul 14, 2023Shark Awareness Day
May 31, 2024Gunnerside, Yorkshire Dales National Park, England
Oct 19, 2025Apples ready for harvest in Minnesota
Mar 21, 2020It s World Poetry Day
Dec 8, 2021Petrified Forest National Park
Dec 29, 2018When science looks like magic
May 27, 2020Clouds over the River of Grass
Jul 12, 2025Thomsons gazelles, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Oct 1, 2021What s better than a smile?
Sep 17, 2018Gateway to America
Dec 20, 2023Val Gardena, South Tyrol, Dolomites, Italy
May 12, 2024Happy Mothers Day!
Feb 4, 2024Devetashka Cave, Devetaki, Bulgaria
Sep 9, 2024Iguazu Falls at the border of Argentina and Brazil
Nov 27, 2019Have you turned off your electronic device?
Jul 27, 2022Mada in Saleh, Saudi Arabia
Nov 28, 2023Giving Tuesday
May 19, 2019High trekking season in Upper Mustang
Sep 27, 2019Ancient storage in the Grand Canyon
Dec 21, 2022Winter solstice
May 16, 20193,000 years of history
Oct 1, 2019It s Coffee Day
Feb 26, 2022Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Sep 25, 2024Sequoia National Parks 134th anniversary
Oct 14, 2023Ring of fire solar eclipse
Apr 28, 2020Happy 800th, Salisbury Cathedral
Jul 31, 2023Rock House in Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio
Jul 20, 2021Fly me to the moon
Feb 19, 2021Colorful cows of the reef