In April 2020, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope will celebrate 30 years since its launch. To celebrate these three decades of success and impact in engineering, science and culture ESA/Hubble will run a series of projects to involve the public in the celebrations.
30 years of discoveries
During the 1970s, NASA and ESA began planning for a space telescope that could transcend the blurring effects of the atmosphere and take clearer images of the Universe than ever before. In 1990 the idea finally became a reality and, despite a flaw in the main mirror which was quite swiftly corrected, Hubble has since far exceeded expectations.
It has delved deeper into the early years of the Universe than was ever thought possible, played a critical part in the discovery that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating and probed the atmospheres of planets around distant stars.
30 images of the Universe
Since the Hubble Space Telescope opened its eye to the universe 30 years ago, it has uncovered some of the most breathtaking astronomical wonders ever seen. Seeing in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared, the telescope uses imaging and spectroscopy to deliver its wide-ranging discoveries. These capabilities are represented in the 30 iconic images below, which are just a tiny sampling of Hubble’s vast catalog.