The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on April 24, 1990 by astronauts on board the Space Shuttle Discovery. Each year a small portion of its observing time is dedicated to taking a special anniversary image. This year's image is of the
Southern Crab Nebula, which is about 7000 light years away in the southern constellation Centaurus.
In the center of the nebula is an interacting binary star system. There's a hot
white dwarf and a cooler red giant that one day will also become a white dwarf. The giant is shedding its outer layers and the dwarf's gravity pulls in some of this material. When enough of the material is pulled in, an eruption sends the material outwards, creating the amazing structures seen in the nebula.
What a picture to celebrate Hubble's 29th birthday!.
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI