DEATH TO LIFE The filaments in this portrait, assembled from images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1999 and 2000, are the tattered remains of the Crab Nebula supernova. Since its launch 20 years ago this month, Hubble has been capturing images like this one that awe and inspire scientists and the public alike. NASA, ESA
When NASA announced in 2004 that it was canceling a final mission to repair the then-ailing Hubble Space Telescope — effectively a death sentence — the agency received a letter from a 9-year-old girl who wanted to donate her lunch money to save Hubble. That letter, among countless others, exemplifies the public’s love affair with the observatory, which turns 20 years old this month.
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