Hubble telescope celebrates 30 years with portrait of a firestorm in a neighbouring galaxy

Hubble Space Telescope celebrated 30 years in space with a new portrait of a firestorm of a starbirth in a neighboring galaxy. The image is nicknamed the "Cosmic Reef," because NGC 2014 resembles part of a coral reef floating in a vast sea of stars. While some Twitter users had questions about the image and the telescope itself, others were mesmerized by the image.

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Hubble telescope celebrating 30 years

In the portrait, a giant red nebula and its smaller blue neighbour are part of a vast star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, located 163,000 light-years away.

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Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C said, "Hubble has given us stunning insights about the universe, from nearby planets to the farthest galaxies we have seen so far. It was revolutionary to launch such a large telescope 30 years ago, and this astronomy powerhouse is still delivering revolutionary science today. Its spectacular images have captured the imagination for decades, and will continue to inspire humanity for years to come."

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Hubble was launched on April 24, 1960 aboard the space shuttle Discovery, along with a five-astronaut crew. 

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(Image credits: NASA)