Exploring Some of the Best Hubble Telescope Photos

Edited By: Shai K.

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On April 24, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into space, orbiting at an altitude of about 540-570 km above Earth, capable of doing things that ground-based telescopes could not even aspire to; its resolution is higher, it avoids disturbances and distortions caused by the atmosphere, and it has imaging capabilities in ultraviolet and infrared light that are not possible from ground observations. Now, the Hubble Space Telescope is celebrating 35 years in space, and this is an excellent opportunity to introduce you to 10 of the greatest discoveries it has provided us over the years, along with some of the images that helped achieve them.

Click on the images to view them in full size

1. Identification of the First Elements from the Early Universe (End of the Dark Ages)

Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries: Galaxies

Until a few years ago, we had no evidence of the first generation of stars when the universe was only 5 billion years old. However, data from Hubble showed that the first stars and galaxies formed earlier than we thought. Today, experts estimate that the first stars formed about 100 million years after the Big Bang.

2. Proof That Supermassive Black Holes Indeed Exist

Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries: Supermassive Black Hole

This image may not be impressive in terms of quality, but it shows a black hole 800 light-years in size, located 100 million light-years away from us. Researchers calculated that the point at the center of the black hole has a mass 1.2 billion times greater than that of our Sun, concentrated in an area no larger than our solar system.

3. First Documented Collision Between Two Celestial Bodies

Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries: Collision of Two Asteroids Creating a Star Shape

In 2010, the Hubble Space Telescope documented the collision of two asteroids over five months, which broke apart upon impact, with their debris scattering in a star-shaped pattern. This was the first time researchers had the opportunity to document such a phenomenon.

4. Initial Detection of Oxygen in the Atmosphere of a Natural Satellite

Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries: Jupiter and Europa

The Hubble Space Telescope successfully detected oxygen in the atmosphere of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons (on the left in the image). Traces of oxygen were also found on the planets Mars and Venus, but this was the one of the first time oxygen was detected on a moon of a planet. Of the 61 identified moons in the solar system, only three other satellites are known to have atmospheres: Jupiter's volcanically active moon Io (sulfur dioxide), Saturn's largest moon Titan (nitrogen/methane) and Neptune's largest moon Triton (nitrogen/methane)."

5. The First Image of the Surface of a Star Other Than Our Sun

Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries: Betelgeuse

The image on the left is of the star Betelgeuse, located about 650 light-years from our solar system. This star is part of the Winter Hexagon and forms one of the vertices of the Winter Triangle.

6. First Documentation of the Building Blocks of Planets

Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries: Planet in Formation

The Hubble Space Telescope documented the formation and development of a planet among dozens of stars in the Orion Nebula – the closest "star factory" to Earth.

7. The First Image of an Asteroid with Tails

Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries: Asteroid with Tails

In September 2013, the Hubble Space Telescope revealed a phenomenon never seen before – an asteroid with three comet-like tails. Unlike other asteroids, which appear as small points of light, this asteroid behaves more like a sprinkler releasing dust into space.

8. The First Image Proving Supernovas Can be Predicted

Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries: Supernova in Different Locations

In professional terminology, a star explosion is called a supernova, and it appears multiple times at different intervals as its light reaches us. In the image, you can see how its motion can be predicted; the top circle shows the supernova as it could be seen from Earth in 1998. The bottom circle marks a galaxy whose gravitational force bends the light coming from the supernova, discovered in 2014. The central circle shows the supernova's last location, appearing there in 2015, when researchers predicted it would appear exactly at that time and place where they aimed the Hubble Space Telescope, and they were correct.

9. The Farthest Galaxy Ever Documented

Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries: GN-z11

GN-z11 – this is the name of the galaxy that was the farthest and oldest in the observable universe when it was discovered in 2022. It is located about 13.4 billion light-years away from us, and it is the one you see in the image. However, since then, an even more distant galaxy, HD1, has been discovered, with its light located about 13.4 billion light-years away from us, but due to the universe's expansion, researchers calculated its current "co moving" distance from us to be about 33.288 billion light-years.

10. Documentation of the Farthest Star from Us

Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries: Earendel

In March 2022, the Hubble Space Telescope documented the farthest star visible from Earth – Earendel. This star is located 12.9 billion light-years from our solar system (so its light took 12.9 billion years to reach Earth).

Image source: The Internet