Hubble celebrates 36 years with new cosmic nursery image showing stars evolving in real time
To celebrate its 36th anniversary, scientists turned the observatory back toward a target it first imaged in 1997: the Trifid Nebula.
To celebrate its 36th birthday, the Hubble Space Telescope shares this stunning image it captured of the Trifid Nebula, a cosmic nursery where young stars are born located 5,000 light-years away.
The Hubble Space Telescope is marking 36 years in orbit with a fresh look at a familiar cosmic nursery, offering both a birthday treat for the eyes and a reminder that the universe is anything but static.
Launched in 1990, Hubble has spent more than three decades transforming astronomy, capturing everything from nearby planets to galaxies billions of light-years away. To celebrate its 36th anniversary, NASA and European Space Agency scientists turned the observatory back toward a target it first imaged in 1997: the Trifid Nebula, a turbulent star-forming region about 5,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius.
The newly released image focuses on a small portion of the nebula, revealing a dazzling landscape of young stars embedded within clouds of gas and dust. Bright stellar light carves through the surrounding material, illuminating intricate ridges and dark lanes that divide the nebula into its signature three-lobed structure.
The side-by-side image below combines the powers of a new telescope on Earth, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and in Chile, with Hubble's years of experience studying deep space.
At left is a complete view of the Trifid Nebula (Messier 20 or M20) captured by the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. A white box in the lower-left portion of the pink region shows the area the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope targeted, and Hubble’s new image is featured at right. (Image: NASA, ESA, STScI. Image processing: J. DePasquale (STScI))
But this isn’t just a prettier picture, it’s a time-lapse of the cosmos. By comparing the new view with observations from nearly three decades ago, astronomers can see subtle changes unfolding over what is, in cosmic terms, a remarkably short period. Gas and dust have shifted, and newborn stars continue to shape their surroundings, offering a rare glimpse of how stellar nurseries evolve in real time.
The anniversary image underscores Hubble’s enduring scientific value. Despite the launch of newer observatories like the James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble remains a critical tool for tracking long-term changes in the universe—something only a decades-long mission can provide.
