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Hubble Space Telescope

Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.

Active Mission

Night Sky Observing Challenge

April Object List

new e-book

Hubble Science Highlights

online activities

Throughout the history of science, revolutionary instruments propel our understanding with their landmark discoveries. The Hubble Space Telescope is a testament to that concept. Its design, technology and serviceability have made it one of NASA's most transformative observatories. From determining the atmospheric composition of planets around other stars to discovering dark energy, Hubble has changed humanity's understanding of the universe.

Mission Type

Space Telescope

Destination

Low Earth Orbit

Launch

APR 24, 1990

Objective

Understand the Universe

Featured Video

Hubble by the Numbers

Hubble isn’t just famous for its photos, it’s a science powerhouse packed with mind-blowing stats. It orbits Earth every 95 minutes, weighs as much as two elephants, and can even look billions of years into the past! In this video, we break down some of the wildest numbers behind the telescope that changed how we see the universe. From astronaut upgrades to 1.6 million observations, Hubble’s done a lot in 30+ years.

Check out the full breakdown

Latest News

All Hubble News

Hubble Captures a Neighbor’s Colorful Clouds

Inside the Team That Keeps Hubble Flying

Hubble Sees a Spiral and a Star

Hubble Unveils a Glittering View of Sh2-284

Hubble Jams With A Cosmic Guitar

Hubble Spies a Spectacular Starburst Galaxy

Hubble Examines Stars Ensconced in a Cocoon of Gas

Hubble Spies a Spiral in the Water Snake

Celebrating Hubble's 35 years of discovery

35 Years of Images

Celebrate Hubble's 35th anniversary with a countdown of images the observatory captured over its lifetime, one for each year in orbit.

Hubble Space Telescope in Orbit

NASA

Hubble's Latest Features

Wisps of pinkish-grey clouds fill the scene. Patches of dark dust obscure the glow. Bright, blue-white stars shine through the cloud. The words "New Image" in a red box on the upper-right side of the image.

New Messier Catalog Images!

From March 26 - 29, Hubble is releasing new images and adding two new objects to its Messier Catalog. We hope they inspire you to take part in this year's Messier Marathon observing challenge!

Explore Hubble's Messier Catalog

Hubble Space Telescope in Orbit

35 Years of Images

Celebrate Hubble's 35th anniversary with a countdown of images the observatory captured over its lifetime, one for each year in orbit.

Against the dark background of space, pale, misty clouds of gas and dust are liberally sprinkled with blue and pink stars. Some bright pink patches of clustered stars are visible, as are dark brown knots of dust.

New Hubble Images at SXSW

To celebrate the observatory's 35th year in orbit, we've combed through Hubble's extensive archive of observations for new images.

Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble Space Telescope
Oral Histories

These oral history interviews document the experiences of individuals who were involved in every aspect of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope mission.

A sphere of blues, oranges, reds and whites at the center with a jagged white line running vertically down

Hearing Hubble

Create your own, personalized sonification from 10 breathtaking Hubble images. You pick the instruments, scanning pattern, harmony, and scientific information to produce a symphony that represents the image in sound!

Create Your Song

Cover for the e-book "Reshaping Our Cosmic View: Hubble Science Highlights"

Reshaping Our Cosmic View: Hubble Science Highlights

This downloadable e-book showcases some of Hubble’s ground-breaking discoveries over its more than three decades of observations.

Learn More and Download

STS-125 Mission Specialist 3 (MS3) John Grunsfeld works to replace the Hubble Space Telescope's Support Systems Module (SSM) Equipment Section (ES) Bay 3 battery during the fifth session of Extravehicular Activity (EVA5). He is positioned on the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS) Manipulator Foot Restraint (MFR).

Hubble Battery Tech Holds Power on Earth

Nickel-hydrogen batteries store renewable energy for power plants, businesses, and homes, thanks to innovations from EnerVenue, informed by NASA papers out of Glenn Research Center about the technology’s performance on Hubble , ISS, and more.

Video thumbnail image of a 2.5 billion pixel image of the Andromeda Galaxy take by Hubble.

Hubble Mosaic of the Andromeda Galaxy

In an effort spanning a decade and over 1,000 orbits, Hubble has captured the Andromeda galaxy in stunning detail—revealing everything from young stars to remnants of past galactic collisions.

Watch on YouTube

A screenshot of Hubble's Cosmic Adventure game.

Hubble’s Cosmic Adventure

Get your passports and spacesuits ready — you’re going on a cosmic journey with Hubble!

Begin Your Journey

Thumbnail image from the Hubble Inside the Image video about protoplanetary disks. The image holds a collage of images of protoplanetary disks in Orion.

Hubble's Inside the Image: Protoplanetary Disks

In this video, Dr. Padi Boyd explains Hubble's stunning images of protoplanetary disks—dynamic, swirling structures of gas and dust surrounding young stars.

Watch on YouTube

Hubble Science: Shoemaker-Levy 9 Interplanetary Impact

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 left an indelible mark on our understanding of the solar system when it collided with Jupiter. Discover the crucial role Hubble played in capturing this dramatic impact.

Watch on YouTube

What Did Hubble See on Your Birthday?

Hubble explores the universe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That means it has observed some fascinating cosmic wonder every day of the year, including on your birthday.

Check Out Your Birthday!

Hubble Nebula - Orion Nebula

More Hubble Online Activities

Screenshot of the "What is Hubble Observing" tool window. Black background with stars filling the window. Text indicating the target. A bright patch in the center of the window is the Crab Nebula. It appears as a jagged-edged bright cloud.

What is Hubble Observing?

See the area of sky Hubble is investigating.

An astronaut stands in front of a background of a nebula against a deep field of galaxies. The words "Name That Nebula" hovers above.

Name that Nebula!

Match nebulae with their names

Faint band of stars, gas, and dust stretches from left to right across the frame. This band is a representation of our galaxy as seen from space, edge-on. Colorful icons representing the types of objects Hubble has observed litter the frame: blue stars, orange spiral for galaxies, pink clouds for nebulae, yellow swirling top for exotic objects, and a green circle for exoplanets.

Hubble's Skymap

Get a Hubble's-eye-view of cosmic objects

Photograph of Hubble orbiting the Earth

Hubble Spacecraft 360 Degree Tour

Virtually Tour Hubble in orbit

A title slide that says "astronaut Fun Facts"

Hubble Astronaut Fun Facts

Play this trivia game and test your knowledge!

360 image of Hubble's "Space Telescope Operations Control Center" The image is stretched because it is designed for 360 degree viewing. The image shows many desks within the control center with data on their screens.

Control Center 360-Degree Tour

Take a virtual tour of Hubble's operations center

Celebrating 35 Years of Discovery

Hubble's Night Sky Observing Challenge

Celebrate 35 years of Hubble observations with our year-long stargazing adventure!

Each month in 2025, the Hubble team will release a new set of objects for you to explore. Compare your view to Hubble’s, then submit your observations to the Astronomical League to earn recognition for your achievement.

Join the celebration

Dark blue starry night sky. People looking through a telescope and at the sky silhouetted against the starry backdrop.

Gather your family and friends and explore the night sky with Hubble!

NASA

Featured Story

NASA’s Hubble Traces Hidden History of Andromeda Galaxy

In the years following the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have tallied over 1 trillion galaxies in the…

Celebrating Hubble's 35 years of discovery

New Images at SXSW

To celebrate NASA's Hubble Space Telescope's 35th year in orbit, we've combed through Hubble's extensive archive of observations for new images.

Against the dark background of space, pale, misty clouds of gas and dust are liberally sprinkled with blue and pink stars. Some bright pink patches of clustered stars are visible, as are dark brown knots of dust.

Hubble’s infrared view of emission nebula Sh2-284 provides a glimpse of the brilliant young stars hidden within clouds of gas and dust.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Andersen (European Southern Observatory - Germany); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Interactives

Hearing Hubble

It’s one thing to look at a Hubble image, but have you ever heard one?

Hearing Hubble allows you choose from 10 breathtaking Hubble views. You pick the instruments, scanning pattern, harmony, and scientific information you want to use to create a symphony that represents the image in sound! When you’re done composing, share your masterpiece on social media and with family and friends.

Create Your Song

A sphere of blues, oranges, reds and whites at the center with a jagged white line running vertically down

The Helix Nebula is 655 light-years away and three light-years across. When a low-mass star sheds outer material near the end of its life, nebulae like this form. In this sonification, which scans from left to right, red light is assigned lower pitches and blue light is assigned higher pitches. Just as the frequencies of light increase from red to blue, frequencies of sound increase from low to high pitches.

NASA, NOAO, ESA, the Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), and T.A. Rector (NRAO); Sonification: SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)

Hubble’s Universe

121 Images

Hubble Images

Explore More Hubble

On The Shoulders of a Giant

What's the same and what's different? Compare these two NASA flagship missions.

Hubble view of an expanding halo of light around star V838 Monocerotis. Center of the ball-like cloud holds a bright star surrounded by red gas. The outer region of the "ball" is a tan color dotted with stars. Black background dotted with stars.

Hubble Science Highlights

Hubble has affected every area of astronomy. Its most notable scientific discoveries reflect the broad range of research and the breakthroughs it has achieved.

Hubble Nebula - Crab Nebula

Explore the Night Sky

Your backyard telescope and binoculars may not have the capabilities of Hubble, but you can still see amazing objects. Compare what you see with the images Hubble has taken.

Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble E-books

Investigate the mysteries of the universe with Hubble. Learn Hubble's history. E-books dive deeper into Hubble discoveries and more.

Keep Exploring

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