Next week marks the 30th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope’s launch, and NASA’s celebrating its birthday with another launch: a new search feature to find out what out-of-this-world photo Hubble captured on your birthday.
Given that Hubble has been snapping pics 24 hours a day, seven days a week since 1990, it’s a fitting commemoration, which was first spotted by KDVR earlier this week. Over the last three decades, Hubble’s given humanity a literal glimpse into the universe, capturing critical discoveries such as the furthest known galaxy from our own and the first sighting of water vapor in a “habitable zone” beyond our solar system, according to NASA’s website.
You can see out what kind of astronomical wonders Hubble saw on your birthday by going here. After entering the month and day you were born, the image pops up along with options to share it on social media. NASA’s also promoting the hashtag #Hubble30 in honor of the anniversary.
As for my birthday, Hubble caught this shot of a galaxy cluster with a name you won’t be seeing in a sci-fi movie anytime soon: Cl 0024+17. Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, right? I assume all the cool galaxy names have already been taken.
What otherworldliness did Hubble capture on your birthday? Let us know in the comments below!