Sweet Sixteen

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on this date in 1990. To commemorate the anniversary of this day, joint HST partners, NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) just released an image of the galaxy M82, the so-called "cigar galaxy."

Hubble has been truly one of the great scientific instruments and after sixteen years, continues to deliver incredible images of the highest scientific quality. From the most amazing images of the near and far reaches of the universe to astounding discoveries about the very nature of the universe itself, the telescope's value to science will only increase with time, as more people continue to scour the archives and analyse data that, to date, has only been scratched at.

Cheers, HST!