NASA revealed this stunning new image captured by the Hubble Telescope to celebrate its 26th year in space Thursday.
This is the Bubble Nebula, a massive cloud of gas and dust that lies 8,000 light-years away and is illuminated by a star within, according to the space agency.
The Bubble Nebula was first discovered in 1787 by British astronomer William Herschel.
The star inside, SAO 20575, is thought to be 10 to 40 times the mass of the sun. Its strong winds create pressure that pushes the surrounding interstellar material outward — creating a bubble-like shape.
While the Hubble has captured images of the Bubble Nebula before, NASA said they were only able to view it in sections.
This four-photo mosaic, using the telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3, is the first glimpse of the cosmic cluster in its entirety.