Unprecedented longevity, nonstop discoveries

Hubble’s varied instruments and the expansive range of light it collects – from ultraviolet to near-infrared – have helped researchers make ground-breaking discoveries for decades and supply new data daily that will inevitably lead to more.

In the last year, Hubble has enabled discoveries ranging from a relic of early galaxy formation, to a galaxy so faint it's nearly invisible, to unknown cosmic anomalies found with the help of AI. Researchers spotted asteroids colliding in another star system for the first time, while in our own Solar System Hubble serendipitously captured a comet breaking up. The long-held prediction that our Milky Way galaxy will collide with Andromeda in the distant future was challenged by a new study, using data from Hubble and ESA’s Gaia. Hubble also tracked the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS that unexpectedly appeared in the Solar System last year, contributing with a rapid estimation of its size.

Hubble’s 36th year of operations has also brought more impressive views of the cosmos. Among these were the star-forming region N11 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the shells of stardust that make up the Egg Nebula, the Cat’s Eye Nebula together with ESA’s Euclid, and a brand-new image of the famous Crab Nebula. Hubble also showcased the smouldering heart of M82, swirling spiral galaxies UGC 11397 and Arp 4, dust rings around galaxy NGC 7722, the glittering stars of globular cluster NGC 1786, and the immense galaxy cluster Abell 209.

The telescope has taken over 1.7 million observations to date. Almost 29 000 astronomers have published peer-reviewed science papers using Hubble data collected over the telescope’s 36-year lifetime, resulting in more than 23 000 publications, with almost 1100 in 2025 alone. Since 2022, researchers have regularly combined Hubble’s observations with those from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to push opportunities for discovery further.