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
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