San Diego, CA—Join the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center on Friday, April 24, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of NASA’s most famous telescope and one of the most important tools for discovery the world has ever known, the Hubble Space Telescope.

On April 24, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope launched into orbit with the space shuttle Discovery. It was deployed into action the next day. In the 25 years since, Hubble has sent thousands of breathtaking images back to Earth and over a million recorded observations of outer space. Astronomers using Hubble data have published more than 12,800 scientific papers, making it one of the most productive scientific instruments ever built.

“The scientific contributions from the Hubble Space Telescope are astounding,” said Steve Snyder, CEO of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. “Our understanding of space and the universe has grown exponentially since Hubble launched and began sending data back to Earth. We continue to learn new things every day based on the findings from this important tool of discovery..”

Among some of the most important discoveries, Hubble has helped scientists better understand the age of the universe, has provided evidence that the universe is expanding, has given insight into the vastness of stars out there, established the prevalence of black holes in the nuclei of nearby galaxies, discovered evidence of planets outside our solar system and has peered into the very distant past, to locations more than 13.4 billion light years from Earth.

Some of the images from the Hubble Space Telescope are among the most iconic images of outer space known today, such as the Pillars of Creation, the Crab Nebula, the Hourglass Nebula, and the distant Abell 1689 galaxy cluster.

Pillars of Creation: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1995/44/image/a/

Crab Nebula: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2005/37/image/a/

Hourglass Nebula: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1996/07/image/b/

Abell 1689 Galaxy cluster: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2003/01/image/a/

Carina Galaxy: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2009/25/image/i/

To celebrate the anniversary, the Fleet will host two special showings of the IMAX film, Hubble, on the Giant Dome screen.

Through the power of IMAX, Hubble enables movie-goers to journey through distant galaxies to explore the grandeur and mysteries of our celestial surroundings and to accompany space-walking astronauts as they attempt the most difficult and important tasks in NASA’s history. The 2010 film offers stunning imagery of distant galaxies and the birth of stars and planets. Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, Hubble offers an inspiring and unique look into the Hubble Space Telescope’s legacy and highlights its profound impact on the way we view the universe and ourselves.

Hubble is showing one day only, Friday, April 24, in celebration of the space telescope's 25th anniversary. See it at 2 p.m. or 4 p.m. only at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.

Happy anniversary, Hubble!

# # #

The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center has representatives available to talk about the Hubble Space Telescope and the impact it’s had on our understanding of outer space. Interview representatives include Dr. Steve Snyder, CEO of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, and Dr. Lisa Will, resident astronomer at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.

To schedule an interview or a media appearance, please contact Reuben H. Fleet Science Center Public Relations Manager Nathan Young at 619-685-5743 or nyoung@rhfleet.org.

Additional Links and Information

Film Trailer for Hubble: https://youtu.be/AWqFmOQ0Tdw

NASA Hubble Main page: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

NASA Hubble Fact Sheet: http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-refresher-on-hubble-facts-for-the-25th-anniversary

Gallery of Hubble’s Most Famous Images: http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/

NASA Blog post on the Hubble anniversary: http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-one-word-says-it-all

Official Website of the Hubble 25th Anniversary: http://hubble25th.org/

Full Gallery of Hubble Images: http://hubblesource.stsci.edu/sources/illustrations/