NASA and the ESA are celebrating the Hubble telescope's 25th anniversary and have released this stunning new image showing a giant cluster of about 3,000 stars called Westerlund 2.
“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. “This vista of starry fireworks and glowing gas is a fitting image for our celebration of 25 years of amazing Hubble science.”
The sparkling centrepiece of Hubble’s anniversary fireworks is a giant cluster of about 3,000 stars called Westerlund 2, named for Swedish astronomer Bengt Westerlund who discovered the grouping in the 1960s. The cluster resides in a raucous stellar breeding ground known as Gum 29, located 20,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Carina.
Named after the astronomer Edwin Hubble, this astronomical 7.9 ft mirror has not only been bringing us breathtaking images, but giving us an in-depth knowledge into our universe and leading to breakthroughs in astrophysics. Let's hope there are many more to come.