Hubble Space Telescope after release from Discovery, STS-31, 25 April 1990. (NASA)
25 April 1990: In orbit 380 miles (612 kilometers) above Earth, the crew of Discovery (STS-31) released the Hubble Space Telescope from the cargo bay.
This satellite was designed to study the universe in ultraviolet, visible and infrared light, with a clarity never before seen.
“The Mystic Mountain,” a dust cloud in the Carina Nebula, NGC 3372, approximately 7,500 light years from Earth. (NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)A recent Hubble image of the Bubble Nebula, NGC 7635, an emission nebula at a distance of 11,000 light years. (NASA)Dust shells illuminated by the star V838 Monocerotis, a red star approximately 20,000 light years away. (NASA, ESA and H.E. Bond (STScI)
