Science

Universe Uncovered

Hubble investigates a tremendous array of cosmic objects, from galaxies to clusters of stars. Learn about these objects while browsing galleries of Hubble’s spectacular views.

Overview

The immense Carina Nebula contains around a dozen stars roughly estimated to be at least 50 to 100 times the mass of our Sun. Radiation from the massive stars sculpt the gas around them. Find out more about the Carina Nebula in the ebook "A Quarter-Century of Discovery with the Hubble Space Telescope."

NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Credit for CTIO Image: N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley) and NOAO/AURA/NSF

Overview

Our universe contains a plethora of fascinating cosmic objects and spectacular stellar scenes. After Hubble’s launch in 1990, its groundbreaking scientific observations expanded our understanding of the universe – creating a clear “before and after” transformation in the field of astrophysics.

Hubble investigates faraway galaxies and peers into the distant universe to collect its iconic deep field observations. Plus, the observatory generates exciting findings right in our own cosmic neighborhood by studying planets in our solar system and objects like nebulae within our home galaxy, the Milky Way.

This visualization zooms into the Orion Nebula and then flies through a 3D model using both visible light (Hubble Space Telescope) and infrared light (Spitzer Space Telescope) views. Credit: NASA

For over thirty years and counting, Hubble has uncovered a universe brimming with discovery, beauty, and even more mysteries for us to solve. Below, explore Hubble’s scientific contributions that have revolutionized what we know about our expanding universe.

Hubble's Deep Fields

Look back in space and time through billions of years of galactic evolution.

Hubble observations have forever changed our understanding of the universe, but no single image has reshaped that understanding like the Hubble Deep Field.

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Field is filled with galaxies in colors of white, yellow, blue-white, and red; all on a black background.

This image shows a central portion of the Hubble Deep Field, created from exposures taken in 1995. The Hubble Deep Field covers a piece of sky about 1/13th the diameter of the full Moon.

NASA

Hubble's Deep Fields Gallery

Scroll through this gallery of Hubble Deep Field images using the arrows on the left and right side of the image. Click on the image to learn more about it.

Hubble's Galaxies

These collections of stars, planets, gas, dust, and dark matter are the visible foundation of the universe.

Our galaxy, the Milky Way, sits in a Local Group of more than 20 galaxies, but Hubble's vision takes us far beyond our celestial neighborhood.

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A spiral galaxy with a glowing yellow center. Its spiral arms are full of dark reddish-brown lanes of dust and faint purple stars.

M63, also known as the Sunflower Galaxy, is a type of galaxy called a flocculent spiral. Flocculent spiral galaxies appears to have many discontinuous spiral arms.

ESA/Hubble & NASA

Hubble's Galaxies Gallery

Scroll through this gallery of Hubble galaxy images using the arrows on the left and right side of the image. Click on the image to learn more about it.

Hubble's Nebulae

These ethereal veils of gas and dust tell the story of star birth and death.

Hubble's cosmic menagerie of nebulae observations holds a wide variety of awe-inspiring forms, each one revealing part of a grand story of how stars evolve.

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Faint, wispy clouds glow from the light of a central, pale star. A hole in the clouds, roughly in the shape of a keyhole, shows black space.

This cosmic keyhole, called NGC 1999, is a reflection nebula residing some 1,350 light-years from Earth near the Orion Nebula. Reflection nebulae shine by the light from an embedded source. In the case of NGC 1999, this source is the newborn star V380 Orionis, which is visible near the center of the image.

NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI)

Hubble's Nebulae Gallery

Scroll through this gallery of Hubble nebulae images using the arrows on the left and right side of the image. Click on the image to learn more about it.

Hubble's Star Clusters

Hubble's observations of star clusters help us better understand how stars form and evolve.

Forming in giant clouds of gas and dust, stars are often found in multiples or large clusters that hold as few as tens to as many as millions of stars.

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Bright, reddish-gold spherical swarm of stars fills the center of the image. Even brighter blue-white foreground stars dot the entire scene.

Thousands upon thousands of stars illuminate this breathtaking image of star cluster Liller 1, imaged with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3. This stellar system, located 30,000 light-years from Earth, formed stars over 11 billion years.

ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Ferraro

Hubble's Star Clusters Gallery

Scroll through this gallery of Hubble star cluster images using the arrows on the left and right side of the image. Click on the image to learn more about it.

Explore More Hubble

Impact & Benefits
Hubble's mission is to capture observations of the universe, but its technology would alter life on the ground in unique and unexpected ways.
Hubble Servicing Missions
Hubble’s serviceable design and modular components enabled upgrades that took advantage of advancements in technology.
Hubble Online Activities
Find your Hubble birthday image, take interactive tours, play games, and more.
Hubble FAQs
You've got Hubble questions; we've got Hubble answers. Get the responses to popular questions about how the telescope works and and why its images look as they do.