As scientists and space enthusiasts celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 35th year orbiting Earth, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have released a collection of awe-inspiring images. These new snapshots showcase the telescope’s continued ability to capture the universe with unparalleled clarity, furthering our understanding of cosmic phenomena.

Launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990, the Hubble space Telescope was designed to observe “the universe” with clarity and detail, orbiting above Earth’s atmosphere, allowing it to eye celestial wonders “10 times better than the ground-based telescopes of the time.” This clarity has been instrumental in numerous astronomical discoveries and has reshaped our understanding of the cosmos.

Over the past three and a half decades, the observatory has made nearly 1.7 million observations, resulting in more than 22,000 scientific papers. It has amassed over 400 terabytes of archived data and continues to be highly sought after by astronomers, with observing time oversubscribed by a factor of six. This high demand underscores Hubble’s enduring scientific value and its unique capabilities.

“Hubble’s legacy is the bridge between our past and future knowledge of a universe that is unbelievably glorious, as well as rambunctious,” officials with the european Space Agency (ESA), which operates Hubble jointly with NASA, said in a recent statement. “Before Hubble, no generation ever had access to unimaginably vibrant views of space, stretching almost all the way back to almost the beginning of time.”

The newly released snapshots cover a variety of wonders, including seasonal changes on Mars and stars sculpting their environment into celestial art. According to the statement, they were chosen to commemorate the 35th anniversary.

A Frosty Portrait of Mars

Hubble’s observations of Mars reveal a “frosty Red planet,” its atmosphere veiled by thin water-ice clouds that stand out in ultraviolet light. These images provide valuable data for understanding Martian weather patterns and atmospheric composition.

Recent studies using Hubble data have focused on the seasonal variations in Mars’ atmosphere, particularly the formation and dissipation of these water-ice clouds. Such studies help constrain models used for planning future Mars missions, including those aimed at searching for evidence of past or present life.

Rosette Nebula‘s Stellar Nursery

this image provides a breathtaking close-up of a small but dynamic region within the Rosette nebula, a stellar nursery roughly 5,200 light-years from Earth. Silhouetted against the nebula’s luminous backdrop are “stark dark clouds made of hydrogen gas interwoven with dust.”

These dense clouds are not static but are actively being sculpted and eroded by the intense radiation blasted from the energetic cluster of large stars residing at the nebula’s heart, known to astronomers as NGC 2244. The nebula spans 100 light-years, but this view covers just four light-years, according to the statement.

American universities and research institutions frequently utilize Hubble data to study star formation within nebulae like the Rosette. These studies contribute to our understanding of the conditions necessary for stars to be born and the impact of young, massive stars on their surrounding environment.

Gorgeous Spiral Galaxy with Patchy Starbirth Swirls

This stunning face-on image showcases the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5335 swirling about 225 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. This galaxy exhibits what astronomers call a “flocculent” structure, with patchy bursts of star formation scattered across its disk, according to the statement.

Unlike many spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way, NGC 5335 doesn’t feature well-defined arms. The fainter structures that do exist in NGC 5335 spiral counterclockwise as they extend outward from the galactic center.A prominent bar of stars and gas cuts across the galaxy’s bright center, funneling material inward to fuel the birth of new stars. “These galactic bars are temporary features that form and dissolve over billions of years, and are found in about 30% of galaxies, according to the statement.”

American astrophysicists actively study barred spiral galaxies like NGC 5335 to understand the role of galactic bars in galaxy evolution. These structures are believed to play a crucial role in channeling gas and dust towards the central regions of galaxies, influencing the formation of supermassive black holes and the overall star formation rate.

While Hubble has been revolutionary, it is worth noting that some argue that the focus on stunning imagery overshadows the less visually appealing but equally important scientific data it provides. However, the visually stunning images often serve as a powerful outreach tool, inspiring public interest in science and astronomy, which, in turn, supports continued funding for space exploration and research.