Happy Birthday, Hubble Space Telescope!

From Astronomy Picture of the Day, this celebration of Hubble's 16th birthday, M82: Galaxy with a Supergalactic Wind

I love the Hubble. There are others, but this is the one that caught our imagination and made astronomy and cosmology important and beloved to the nation, maybe the whole world. Remember when they said they weren't going to repair it? The outcries? We love the Hubble.

And there are many reasons ... the Hubble has made astronomy a bad target for the anti-science wingnuts. Look at M82, a cauldron of newborn stars, a galactic wind blowing dust for 10,000 light-years, 12 million light-years away. How can you say this is new? Or the handiwork of a small god trying to deceive his worshippers? Or of a demon, placing doubt?

M82 is quite simply gorgeous, and enough to send shivers down your spine. Think of it: millions of newborn stars, bright enough to see from Earth in a small telescope. And it's ours now, thanks to Hubble, ours to study and to marvel at.

Hubble brings us closer to the stars. I love that.

And look here at the Bad Astronomer's post on the day.