Hubble’s Best: 6 Stunning Images of Galaxies and Space, The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has transformed our view of the cosmos, capturing breathtaking images of galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters far beyond Earth. With its sharp eye and incredible detail, Hubble reveals the stunning beauty and complexity of the universe. ​Sombrero Galaxy, The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured the stunning Sombrero Galaxy (M104), known for its bright central bulge and thick dust lanes forming its spiral structure. Viewed nearly edge-on from Earth, just six degrees above its equator, the galaxy resembles a wide-brimmed Mexican hat, inspiring its distinctive nickname. ​A Grazing Encounter Between Two Spiral Galaxies, In the constellation Canis Major, two spiral galaxies appear to glide past one another like majestic ships in the night. This striking near-collision was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope using its Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, showcasing a rare and graceful galactic interaction. , ​NGC 1805, This Hubble picture captures the compact globular cluster NGC 1805, positioned near the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Thousands of vibrant stars swarm like bees around a hive, orbiting in close proximity. In the cluster’s dense center, stars lie 100 to 1000 times closer than those near our Sun. ​Ring Nebula, This picture reveals the striking structure and colors of the Ring Nebula (Messier 57). Though it appears as an elliptical ring from Earth, new Hubble and ground-based data show it’s actually a distorted doughnut shape with a rugby-ball-like region of low-density gas extending through its central gap, toward and away from us. ​Galaxy M74, In galaxy M74, bright pink patches can be seen along the spiral arms. These are HII regions, vast clouds of ionized hydrogen glowing from the intense radiation of young, hot stars. These star-forming zones emit strongly in ultraviolet light and highlight areas where new stars are actively being born. , ​Mystic Mountain, Resembling a fantasy peak from Tolkien’s world, this Hubble image shows a towering, three-light-year-tall pillar of gas and dust cloaked in wispy clouds. Eroded by intense radiation from nearby stars, the structure is also under attack from within, as newborn stars shoot out jets of gas from its peaks.