Hubble Space Telescope celebrates 30 years of discoveries and awe-inspiring images

By Ashley Strickland, CNN

Updated 1343 GMT (2143 HKT) April 24, 2020

Hubble captured an image of three galaxies in a tug-of-war millions of light-years from Earth. This system is known as Arp 195 and was included in the <a href="https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Arp/paper.pdf" target="_blank">Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies</a>.
Photos: 31 years of Hubble telescope images
Hubble captured an image of three galaxies in a tug-of-war millions of light-years from Earth. This system is known as Arp 195 and was included in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies.
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Hubble took this image of the rare blue variable star AG Carinae, located 20,000 light-years away from Earth in the Milky Way galaxy, to celebrate the 31st anniversary of its launch. The star has experienced several explosions that created its distinctive halo.
Photos: 31 years of Hubble telescope images
Hubble took this image of the rare blue variable star AG Carinae, located 20,000 light-years away from Earth in the Milky Way galaxy, to celebrate the 31st anniversary of its launch. The star has experienced several explosions that created its distinctive halo.
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The Orion Nebula is 1,500 light-years from Earth and is located in<strong> </strong>Orion's Belt in the constellation Orion. It's one of the brightest nebulae -- and on a clear, dark night it's visible to the naked eye. The nebula is Earth's nearest star-forming region.
Photos: 31 years of Hubble telescope images
The Orion Nebula is 1,500 light-years from Earth and is located in Orion's Belt in the constellation Orion. It's one of the brightest nebulae -- and on a clear, dark night it's visible to the naked eye. The nebula is Earth's nearest star-forming region.
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The Hubble Space Telescope was launched from the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990.
Photos: 31 years of Hubble telescope images
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched from the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990.
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Hubble has given us many images of our neighbor Mars. This image was taken in 2003 when Mars made its closest approach in nearly 60,000 years. On August 27, 2003, the two worlds were only 34.6 million miles apart from center to center. By contrast, Mars can be about 249 million miles away from Earth.