James Webb Might Be The Rage But Hubble Telescope Isn’t Done Yet

NASA Hubble Space Telescope might not be equipped with the sophisticated technologies that the James Webb Space Telescope has, but the former has already earned a legendary status thanks to its contribution to astronomy. However, Hubble isn’t done yet. At least that’s what its latest image of the Orion Nebula indicates.

Hubble Space Telescope has chronicled a breathtaking image of the Orion Nebula. As the European Space Agency (ESA) refers to it as “celestial cloudspace,” the phenomenon is known as a “Herbig-Haro object.” They are the glowing clouds that surround a newly born star.

Most Studied Nebula In The Universe

These objects "are formed when stellar winds or jets of gas spewing from these newborn stars form shockwaves colliding with nearby gas and dust at high speeds," as per ESA. It goes without saying that the end result of Hubble’s observation is nothing short of epic.

The grand scale of the Orion Nebula is among the most studied objects in the universe because of its size which spans 24 light-years and also because it’s only 1,000 light years away from our planet, which is relatively close in astronomical terms. The nebula can even be seen by the naked eye from Earth.

Why does Hubble Space Telescope’s New Image Matter?

While the nebula has been imaged several times before, the latest observation by the Hubble Space Telescope is a composite of a massive 520 exposures, displaying a great amount of detail.

"The outflows themselves are visible as gracefully curving structures at the top and bottom of this image," ESA’s description reads. "Their interaction with the large-scale flow of gas and dust from the core of the nebula distorts them into sinuous curves."

James Webb Space Telescope Building Upon Hubble Data

James Webb Space Telescope has also managed to cause a stir among astronomers after it captured some never-seen-before images of different objects in the universe. The modern-day telescope recently beamed back an image of the most distant star called Earendel in the known universe, which is around 12.9 billion light-years away. Despite it being a tiny dot on a huge canvas, it is a sight to behold for space enthusiasts.

However, this image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope isn’t the first one. Earendel was first spotted by the legendary Hubble Space Telescope, back in March. NASA, at the time, said that the star existed within the first billion years following the events of the Big Bang.