On this day in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope entered orbit in the cargo bay of the space shuttle Discovery. Shortly thereafter, it began its continuing mission to capture images of our universe from low Earth orbit, free of the obstructions of clouds and the distortions of the atmosphere. Like its namesake, the great astronomer Edwin Hubble, the Hubble Space Telescope has transformed our understanding of the cosmos. Some of the telescope"s greatest contributions include its Deep Fields images, which peer back billions of light-years and help astronomers measure the size and age of the universe and test theories about its origin. It"s also produced jaw-dropping images of objects closer to home, like the one on today"s homepage. Here we"re looking at a maelstrom of glowing gas and dark dust within one of the Milky Way"s satellite galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Celebrating 30 years of eye-opening images
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Let the games begin
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It’s Penguin Awareness Day
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Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, Washington
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A tree of many memories
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Lake Bled, Slovenia
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National Public Lands Day
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Mountain goats at Glacier National Park in Montana
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Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica
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World Laughter Day
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Saguaro cacti, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona
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Where do those colors come from?
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Jan van Eyckplein in Bruges, Belgium
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It’s NASA’s 60th birthday
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Barn owl, England
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Basking in the glow
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World Rivers Day
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Spotted Lake emerges
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World Lion Day
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Moai statues on Easter Island, Chile
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All hail the king of shrubs
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International Museum Day
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Happy Cinco de Mayo!
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Things are looking up
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It s Coffee Day
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There’s treasure in them thar hills
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Cinco de Mayo
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Go Fly a Kite Day
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Petrified Forest National Park
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Splashes of color for Watercolor Month
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World Whale Day