The 26th anniversary of the Hubble telescope launch might be coming up in less than a month, but age hasn't stopped this loyal telescope from snapping pictures of the universe for us. In order to celebrate the upcoming anniversary, here are some beautiful pictures of our galaxy, as well as others, taken by this telescope. Fair warning: they might make you question your existence in the universe.
1. Check out this galaxy made up of cotton candy.
This galaxy, NGC 3521, has a fluffy appearance to it because it is a flocculent spiral galaxy, which has discontinuous spiral arms.
2. Or this party in outer space.
No, this isn't something a graphic designer came up with when he was bored. Known as the Veil Nebula Supernova, this is the actual remnant of a star that exploded 8,000 years ago.
3. Or this star that gives us all hope.
This star is just trying to find its place in the galaxy, much like we all are. In the Perseus constellation, this star is still in its early stages and is slowly forming into a full-grown star.
4. Here's a mountain you can't climb.
This is a mountain of dust and gas in the Carina Nebula. Jets of gas are being emitted from the stars at the peaks, while the hydrogen is being worn away at the bases by nearby stars. The "mountain" is about three light years tall. Bet you haven't hiked quite that far up a mountain.
5. This happy little galaxy is bound to make you smile.
This is the galaxy cluster SDSS J1038+4849. Needless to say, this galaxy hopes you're having a good day.
6. Look at that majestic space wind.
Ever wondered what wind looked like in space? No? Well, here it is anyways because it's beautiful. The star LL Orionis produces wind that is much stronger than our own sun, and in this picture, the wind is interacting with the Orion Nebula (which is basically a cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium, and other gases).
7. The collision course between two stars is actually quite pretty.
These star clusters, located about 170,000 light years from Earth, are on the path to merge with one another.
8. Even Tarantulas look cool in space.
This is the Tarantula Nebula, and it is definitely more pleasing to look at than a tarantula on Earth.
9. Looks like Earth isn't the only place with fireworks.
This is a photo of young stars beginning to form and grow, and this photo was released last year in 2015 for the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Telescope.
10. Seriously, is this a painting?
This is the Orion Nebula. The gas and dust in the nebula and the wind from the stars combined with the ultraviolet light emitted by the stars all contribute to the different colors we see. This may not be a painting, but it is still quite the masterpiece.
11. This one will surely leave you starry-eyed.
This is just a small region of the star cluster Omega Centauri. This cluster is around 16,000 light years away from Earth, and it contains nearly 10 million stars. If you're looking to become a star, this star cluster seems to be a pretty good place to start. It seems to have a high success rate.
12. And this one will be sure to leave you feeling very small.
This picture depicts about 1,500 galaxies from deep space. The Earth is just a tiny speck in one of those galaxies. And you are just another tiny person standing on that Earth. Really puts things into perspective, doesn't it? So don't worry too much, because there is a much bigger universe out there just waiting to be explored.
