Image zoom Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Lee (California Institute of Technology)
Leaving this planet for vacation may not be in the cards just yet (don’t worry, the option is coming), but you can at least mentally escape for a moment, thanks to a few stunning images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope over the last 30 years.
In 2020, the Hubble telescope turned 30. To mark the milestone, NASA released dozens of unseen images taken by the instrument over the years, including galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae.
However, as NASA noted, there’s something extra special about these images, and that is the fact that all the space objects can also be seen through backyard telescopes. Some, NASA added, can even be seen through binoculars or even the naked eye. “All of these celestial objects belong to a collection known to amateur astronomers as the Caldwell catalog,” NASA explained in a blog post
Hubble Space Telescope is a gift of science that keeps giving
Designed to last 15 years, Hubble is still operating more than 30 years later
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NASA is celebrating more than 30 years of Hubble Space Telescope in orbit and recently released a set of images of the universe that include star clusters, nebulae and galaxies some of which you can spot from your backyard.
NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center Assistant Director for Science Communications Dr. Michelle Thaller joined News 6 to talk about these newly released images from the Caldwell catalog and the history of Hubble.
Thaller has had the opportunity to be among the scientists to use Hubble to study the universe.
NASA has released more than 50 new Hubble images featuring 30 galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae. All of these objects belong to a collection known to astronomers as the Caldwell catalog.
This Hubble images shows Caldwell 45, a spiral galaxy located 59 million light-years away in the constellation Boötes. Also known as NGC 5248, this galaxy is notable for the ring structure around its nucleus. These nuclear rings are characterized by hot spots of starburst activity. Caldwell 45 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1784. The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 10 and can be spotted using a small telescope, though it won’t appear very bright. A larger telescope is needed to make out the galaxy’s spiral arms. The best time of year to observe Caldwell 45 is during the northern hemisphere’s spring and the southern hemisphere’s autumn. This stunning image of Caldwell 45 is a composite of observations made by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Wide Field and P
For 30th Anniversary, Hubble Releases Images of 30 Celestial Gems spaceref.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from spaceref.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
This Hubble image captures Caldwell 78 (or NGC 6541), a globular star cluster roughly 22,000 light-years from Earth. The cluster is bright enough that backyard stargazers in the Southern Hemisphere can easily spot it with binoculars. (NASA, ESA, and G. Piotto (Università degli Studi di Padova); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America))
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The Hubble Space Telescope turned 30 this year, and for the occasion, it’s sharing a present with you. NASA has just released dozens of newly processed Hubble images featuring 30 dazzling galaxies, sparkling star clusters, and ethereal nebulae.
And there’s something extra special about these 30 celestial gems: All of them can be seen through backyard telescopes. Some of them can also be spotted with binoculars or even the naked eye.