The Hubble Space Telescope is a 2.4-meter observatory that has orbited Earth since 1990, above the atmosphere that blurs ground-based views. Five space shuttle servicing missions repaired and upgraded it, including the famous 1993 fix for its flawed mirror.
Hubble sees mostly visible and ultraviolet light, which makes it a partner to Webb's infrared view rather than a predecessor put out to pasture. Together they observe the same targets in different wavelengths.
Hubble measured the age of the universe, proved supermassive black holes exist, imaged the first confirmed exoplanet atmosphere, and produced the deep field images that showed thousands of galaxies in a speck of empty sky. Thirty-five years in, it still observes almost every day.
Key Facts
- Launched
- April 24, 1990, aboard shuttle Discovery
- Orbit
- About 320 miles above Earth
- Mirror
- 2.4 meters
- Servicing missions
- 5 (1993-2009)
- Sees in
- Ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared
Timeline
April 1990
Launch and deployment from shuttle Discovery
December 1993
First servicing mission corrects the mirror flaw
1995
Original Deep Field image reveals thousands of distant galaxies
May 2009
Final servicing mission extends its life
Next up
Continued joint observations with Webb
Latest Hubble Space Telescope News
Hubble Captures Star-Studded Cluster
This image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope showcases Messier 3 (M3), one of the Milky Way galaxy’s most massive globular clusters, or spherical collections of gravitationally bound stars. Globular clusters are made up
Hubble Space Telescope
NASA’s Hubble Spies Stellar Sparkler for July 4th
Red, white, and blue stars glitter like a sparkler being waved on a dark night in this new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
Hubble Space Telescope
NASA’s Hubble Captures Crimson Cloud Sparkling with White, Blue Stars
Blue and white stars shine brightly against crimson gas in this image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
Hubble Space Telescope
NASA’s Hubble Spots Star-Spangled Cosmic Scene
More than 500,000 stars blaze red, white, and blue in this NASA Hubble image of the globular cluster Messier 3 (M3).
Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Spies Starry Chandelier
The subject of today’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is an ancient inhabitant of our galaxy. This sparkling scene features a globular cluster: a collection of tens of thousands to millions of stars, all tightly b
Hubble Space Telescope
Millions of Stars in Cigar Galaxy
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently observed edge-on starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82), nicknamed the Cigar Galaxy. Webb’s new view of M82, added to archival data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, gives us a mor
James Webb Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Details Early Galaxy Transforming Neighborhood
Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have found something they never expected — ultraviolet light from a galaxy that existed just 1.4 billion years after the big bang.
Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Glimpses Merging Galaxy Clusters
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features a galaxy cluster, called CL0016+1609 or MACS J0018.5+1626, that is very bright at X-ray wavelengths and is one of the most extensively studied clusters at X-ray and radio w
Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Sees Swarm of Galaxies
Looking somewhat like a swarm of bees returning to their hive, this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image released on June 12, 2026, features the galaxy cluster MACS0329-0211. Galaxy clusters like MACS0329-0211 are important
Hubble Space Telescope
NASA Webb, Hubble Reveal History of Relic of Milky Way’s Formation
Researchers using two of humanity’s most powerful observatories — NASA’s James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes — have definitively shown that Terzan 5 is not a globular star cluster as it was once classified, offering n
James Webb Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
Webb & Hubble reveal relic of our galaxy’s formation
Researchers have confirmed a new class of objects within our Milky Way galaxy: survivors called 'bulge fossil fragments.' Terzan 5 is the prototype of these remnants of our galaxy's early formation. Using the NASA/ESA/CS
Hubble Space Telescope
Black Eye Galaxy
This March 20, 2026, image of Messier 64, or the Black Eye Galaxy, is a composite view from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope. It shows Messier 64 captured at near- and mid-infrared wavelengths
James Webb Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
Facts last reviewed 2026-07-11. Official mission page: science.nasa.gov