NASA marks Hubble’s 200,000th orbit around Earth with a stunning image
After more than 36 years in space, NASA’s telescope continues exploring the universe while watching for a distant supernova to reappear.
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.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope released a stunning new image of a massive galaxy cluster, as the observatory celebrates an extraordinary milestone.
Captured on Sept. 19, the image features galaxy cluster MACS J0417, which can be seen just left of the center. The cluster functions as a gravitational lens as it bends and magnifies light from objects far behind it, the space agency explained.
On the same day the image was taken, Hubble completed its 200,000th orbit around Earth, which NASA described as "another new milestone for an observatory that continues to transform our understanding of the universe." The image also applies to one of the telescope's "defining scientific legacies": measuring the expansion rate of the universe, a function known as the Hubble Constant.
An image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of galaxy cluster MACS J0417 is part of repeated observations to monitor for the reappearance of supernova Athena, which can help astronomers measure the expansion rate of the universe. (Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, M. Pascale (UCLA); Image Processing: J. DePasquale (STScI))
The agency explained this image uses Hubble's ability to return to the same regions of the sky over time to look out for supernova Athena's reappearance. Athena, a star explosion discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2025, is predicted to reappear between now and early March of next year, an event that could help with further observations of this galaxy cluster.
"Measuring the timing of Athena’s reappearances can help researchers map the mass of MACS J0417, which acts as a magnifying, foreground lens for distant objects, and refine our understanding of the expansion rate of the universe," NASA wrote in a statement.
Hubble has been operating in space for more than 36 years and is still making discoveries. The space agency noted that the telescope has traveled over 5 billion miles around Earth during its lifetime and has made more than 1.7 million total observations.
"Its design, technology and serviceability have made it one of NASA's most transformative observatories," NASA explained on the Hubble page. "From determining the atmospheric composition of planets around other stars to discovering dark energy, Hubble has changed humanity's understanding of the universe."
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