NASA Marking 25th Anniversary Of Launch Of Hubble Space Telescope
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Friday is the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Hubble rocketed into space on April 24, 1990, aboard space shuttle Discovery. It orbits about 350 miles above the Earth.
Scientists have used that vantage point to make groundbreaking observations about planets, stars and galaxies. Hubble has made more than 1.2 million observations of more than 38,000 celestial objects.
PHOTOS: Hubble 25th Anniversary
NASA celebrated the occasion Thursday by releasing an image taken by the space telescope showing a brilliant breeding ground for stars.
"Hubble has completely transformed our view of the universe, revealing the true beauty and richness of the cosmos" said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
The stellar nursery is 20,000 light-years from Earth in the Constellation Carina.
Times Square also celebrated the anniversary by broadcasting pictures of the space telescope and images taken by Hubble on the Toshiba screen, according to a report on Space.com.
NASA expects Hubble to keep producing first-class science for at least five more years.
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