Hubble Space Telescope
A space-based observatory launched in 1990 by NASA and ESA, providing high-resolution images of astronomical objects in visible, ultraviolet, and near-infrared light.
Source: nasa.gov
APODs including "Hubble Space Telescope"
NGC 604: Giant Stellar Nursery in M33
16/08/1996
The nebula cataloged as NGC 604 is a giant star forming region, 1500 light years across, in the nearby spiral galaxy, M33. Seen here in a snapshot by the Hubble Space Telescope, over 200 newly formed, hot, massive, stars are scattered within a cavern-like, gaseous, interstellar cloud. The stars irradiate the gas with energetic ultraviolet light stripping electrons from atoms and exciting them - producing a characteristic nebular glow. The details of the nebula's structure hold clues to the mysteries of star formation and its effect on the evolution of galaxies.