ann2006 — Announcement

Media Advisory: Hubble Space Telescope 30th Anniversary

23 April 2020

On Friday 24 April 2020, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope will be celebrating 30 years of science discoveries that have revolutionised nearly all areas of current astronomical research, from planetary science to cosmology, and its countless pictures are unmistakably out of this world.

At 13:00 Central European Summer Time on 24 April 2020, a press release will be published on spacetelescope.org featuring the new anniversary image in addition to other commemorative visuals. A Hubble 30 Press Package will also be available at the same time.

This release will also include two new Hubblecasts for the Hubble Space Telescope’s 30th anniversary. These documentary-style movies will be offered for download and use in several formats on the spacetelescope.org website. One features some of Hubble’s biggest science discoveries throughout its three decades of operation, and the other looks back at the beauty and science behind each of the anniversary images unveiled as of 2005, including the very special 2020 Hubble Space Telescope 30th anniversary image.

ESA/Hubble has also created a dedicated Hubble 30 webpage that details the ESA-projects launched for the anniversary to involve the public in the celebrations. This includes the latest announcement that calls for ESA/Hubble’s social media followers to wish Hubble a Happy 30th birthday by preparing a birthday cake. On 24 April, in addition to the anniversary photo release, ESA/Hubble will publish a new Hubble 30 public initiative in the form of an Announcement that calls for artistic creations.

At 15:00 Central European Summer Time on 24 April 2020, the ESA/Hubble Facebook page will feature a Watch Party including the new Hubblecast videos, visuals of the new anniversary image, and contributions from celebratory activities across Europe. A Facebook Event has also been established to showcase various online activities taking place to celebrate Hubble's anniversary across Europe. Starting at 16:30, ESA Web TV and the ESA Facebook page will present a Hubble Live event in five languages featuring Hubble experts who will reflect on the telescope's impact, the development of astronomy as a discipline, the new anniversary image, and more:

16:30 - Italian
17:15 - French
18:00 - German
18:45 - Spanish
19:30 - English

The general public are also encouraged to share their enthusiasm for the anniversary and the new image on social media using #Hubble30.