Hubble celebrates 35 years

In celebration of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s 35 years in Earth orbit, an assortment of compelling images have been released today that were recently taken by Hubble:

Upper left: The planet Mars as seen in late December 2024. Thin water-ice clouds, revealed by Hubble’s unique ultraviolet capability, give the Red Planet a frosty appearance.

Upper right: Planetary nebula NGC 2899. This moth-like nebula is sculpted by the outflow of radiation and stellar winds from a dying star – a white dwarf – at the center.

Lower left: The Rosette Nebula. This is a small portion of the huge star-forming region. Dark clouds of hydrogen gas laced with dust are silhouetted across the image.

Lower right: The galaxy NGC 5335, which is a flocculent spiral galaxy with patchy streamers of star formation across its disc. A notable bar structure slices across the center of the galaxy.

[Image description: Composite shows four Hubble images in quarters. At top left is a crisp view of Mars in shades of orange, blues, and browns. At top right is planetary nebula NGC 2899, which is shaped like a single macaroni noodle, with its central torus appearing semi-transparent and blue/green, and top and bottom edges in orange. At bottom left is a tiny portion of the Rosette Nebula. Very dark gray material shaped like a V takes up the center. At bottom right is barred spiral galaxy NGC 5335 with a milky yellow center that forms a bar surrounded by multiple blue star-filled spiral that wrap up counterclockwise.]