This Hubble image captures globular star cluster (NGC 6541) that is roughly 22,000 light-years from Earth.  A globular cluster is a spherical collection of stars that orbits a galactic core. They are very tightly bound by gravity, which gives them their spherical shapes,and relatively high density of stars toward their centers.  The cluster is bright enough that backyard stargazers in the Southern Hemisphere can spot it with binoculars, though certainly not in this detail. (NASA, ESA, and G. Piotto (Università degli Studi di Padova)

For almost 30 years now, the Hubble Space Telescope has transformed how we see the cosmos.  In terms of scientific output as well as making visible the splendors of the sky above us, the Hubble has been arguably the most consequential telescope ever to peer into space.

To commemorate 30 years of Hubble science and images, NASA and the European Space Agency have released 30 previously unpublished images of galaxies, star clusters and nebula from what is known as the Caldwell catalogue,  a collection compiled by British amateur astronomer and science communicator Sir Patrick Caldwell-Moore.

These images have been taken by Hubble throughout its time in space and used for scientific research or for engineering tests, but NASA had not fully processed the images for public release until now.

At the end of a difficult year, they offer the glitter, the grandeur and the cosmic marvel  that the Hubble provides so well and that perhaps people could use right now.

This Hubble image captures a small region on the edge of the inky Coalsack Nebula.  A nebula is an enormous cloud of dust and gas occupying the space between stars and acting as a nursery for new stars.  Coalsack is a “dark nebula” which completely blocks out visible wavelengths of light from objects behind it. The image was made  using Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys in both visible and infrared wavelengths.  (NASA, ESA, and R. Sahai of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

The Hubble famously entered into Earth orbit and began its mission with the calamitous discovery of a near-fatal mistake — the main mirror had been ground incorrectly and could not accomplish much viewing.  The telescope was about 340 miles from Earth and never before had NASA undertaken a mission to repair a spacecraft that far away.

But in 1993 seven astronauts flew to the Hubble on the space shuttle Endeavour, spent five days repairing it and the rest is history. … Read more