25 Of The Most Jaw-Dropping Photographs Ever Taken By The Hubble Telescope

Wooohooo!! Not sure if you’re aware or not, but NASA’s Hubble space telescope turned 30 years old this year. And what better way to celebrate that than to release this incredible image of Westerlund 2, a cluster of nearly 3,000 stars.

Westerlund 2 is located in the Carina constellation, which is approximately 20,000 light-years away from Earth. So the chances of us ever visiting, well…. lets just say it probably won’t happen. Not in your or my lifetime anyway.

Since space is so awesome an all lets take a look at 25 of Hubble’s greatest images ever taken.

Westerlund 2

Source: NASA

1. The Cat’s Eye Nebula — September 2004

Source: Uncredited/AP

2. Messier 66, Largest of the Leo Triplet Galaxies — April 2010

Source: Uncredited/AP

3. The Crab Nebula — December 2005

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

4. Butterfly Nebula — August 2009

Source: Uncredited/AP

5. Carina Nebula — February 2010

Source: Uncredited/AP

6. IRAS 20324+4057, the “Cosmic Caterpillar” — August 2013

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

7. Eagle Nebula — January 2015

Source: Uncredited/AP

8. Supernova Remnant Bubble — October 2006

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

9. Overlapping Galaxies 2MASX J00482185-2507365 — September 2006

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

10. Lenticular Galaxy NGC 5866 — June 2006

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

11. Retina Nebula — June 2001

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

12. Hoag’s Object Galaxy — September 2002

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

13. Ant Nebula — July 1997

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

14. Sombrero Galaxy — May-June 2003

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

15. The “Black Eye” Galaxy — February 2004

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

17. Supernova Remnant LMC N 49 — July 2003

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

18. Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A — January 2002

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

19. Ring Galaxy AM 0644-741 — January 2004

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

20. Galaxy M82 — March 2006

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

21. Orion Nebula — 2004-2005

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

22. Eskimo Nebula — January 2000

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

23. Star Camelopardalis near the end of its life — July 2012

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

24. Jupiter — 2014

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

25. Horsehead Nebula — April 2013

Source: NASA/ESA/Flickr

Now to a ride through Westerlud 2

Now if you really want to be freaked out, check out what happened when NASA recorded sound in space! Let us know your thoughts below, and don’t forget to give this a share on Facebook before you go.

h/t Science.Mic