Hubble returns to 'old friends' for 25th anniversary

The Hubble Space Telescope, which in 2015 completes 25 years in orbit, has gathered dramatic new views of two well-known celestial objects.

Revisiting one of its earliest and most famous photos, a new view of the Eagle Nebula shows its "Pillars of Creation" in more detail than ever before.

And a composite of 13,000 shots of our neighbouring Andromeda Galaxy becomes the telescope's biggest ever image.

Both were unveiled in Seattle at an American Astronomical Society meeting.

Showing journalists the Eagle Nebula view, together with another image of infra-red light from the same region, Dr Paul Scowen from Arizona State University described them as "new pictures of an old friend".


The second impressive new release is known as the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury or PHAT.


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http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30699647

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2015/01

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2015/02/