In 1990, outer space got a lot closer — or at least easier to see— when the Hubble Telescope launched by the Space Telescope Science Institute. For the past three decades, the institute has shared amazing photographs of outer space captured by the telescope, and in the process has explained a little bit more of the universe around us. The Hubble Telescope has helped us understand the age and expansion of the universe, black holes, and supernovas, as well as bringing us "local" knowledge of the solar system and the Milky Way.
These photographs, which seem almost too strange to be true, are some of the most beautiful from the Hubble Telescope. For more photographs from Earth and beyond, sign up for our weekly photo newsletter.
Correction: The Hubble Telescope was launched in 1990. A previous version of this post said the telescope was launched in 1981, which is when the Space Telescope Science Institute was founded.