NASA has released a new image of the Eagle Nebula in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Hubble telescope

In honor of the Hubble Space Telescope’s 35th anniversary, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have unveiled an updated image of one of the most famous objects captured by the telescope, the Eagle Nebula. The image shows a giant tower of gas and cosmic dust located in a region that Hubble last photographed nearly 20 years ago.

The tower shown in the image is about 9.5 light-years tall and is just part of the vast Eagle Nebula, a region where young stars are born. The characteristic palette of the image – a mixture of orange and dark blue hues – is due to the interaction of hydrogen gas and interstellar dust. The name “Eagle” nebula received thanks to its silhouette: if you scroll the image, the outlines of the clouds resemble the outspread wings of a giant bird of prey.

Although the public’s attention has been more focused on the James Webb telescope lately, Hubble continues to deliver impressive new images. This is thanks not only to its reliable optics, but also to the advanced data processing techniques that are applied to old and new images.