Celebrate Hubble's 26th birthday with 26 of the telescope's most breathtaking photos

Since it launched into space on April 24, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has been an invaluable instrument to astronomers in unraveling the mysteries of the universe.

As it orbits the Earth 340 miles up, the telescope has imaged distant galaxies, black holes, and planets - making over 1.2 million observations in its lifetime so far.

Scientists have published more than 12,800 studies using its data.

NASA/ESA

The Hubble space telescope orbiting Earth in 2002.

And (almost) every year, the Hubble team chooses a celestial object for the telescope to spend a considerable amount of its time imaging that year, and releases a special photo to celebrate its birthday.

We tracked down these special images in Hubble's archives from all 26 years. Enjoy!