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The first high-altitude piloted balloon observation missions were launched in the late-1950s as part of the U.S. Navy’s Strato-Lab program. Between 1958 and 1959, the U.S. Navy launched four separate missions for numerous celestial observations high up in the atmosphere. Before projects like the Hubble Space Telescope was even a concept, images which were once thought to be impossible to capture were taken via telescopes carried by balloons, such as those of Operation Stargazer.

The Hubble Space Telescope and its breathtaking views of the universe exist in part because of a practice called the Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics. The astronomy community anxiously awaits next Decadal Survey update the to see the latest recommendations from a 50-plus year process that has led to some of the most groundbreaking and iconic projects in modern astronomical history. Learn how will it direct the future of astronomical research.

Astronomers at Harvard’s central observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and its new observatory in Arequipa, Peru, ultimately produced over 500,000 glass plate images of the night sky. Directors of the Harvard College Observatory hired women to study, organize, and care for its immense glass plate collection in Cambridge.

The concept of black holes isn't new — scientists first theorized their existence in the early 20th century. But in the last few years, our knowledge of black holes has expanded exponentially — from the confirmation of supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies to the first ever image of a black hole captured by the Event Horizon Telescope. 

Initially called the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory was renamed to honor a pioneer in astronomy, particularly in the field of dark matter. The observatory is perched on Chile’s Cerro Pachón in the foothills of the Andes Mountains and stands as a doorway into exploring the women of Chilean astronomy.

The search for life is a pillar of Mars exploration. But our search isn’t only confined to the planets of our solar system. Radio telescopes search for signals of intelligent life from far away planets, orbiting other stars. In his story, “The Great Silence,” science fiction author Ted Chiang features the Arecibo telescope as he considers the significance of the animal life that surrounds it.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope, curator David DeVorkin takes you on a virtual tour of our Hubble artifacts.

In this guest blog, Dr. Elizabeth Kessler explores the contributions of the Hubble Space Telescope and how it has changed the way we envision our universe.

As the first Chief of Astronomy at NASA, Nancy Grace Roman opened the skies to humanity in new ways without ever leaving the ground.

The moment of humankind's first voyage to the Moon and back was captured in a series of photos taken by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observing Station in Maui, Hawaii. They show the trans-lunar injection rocket burn which sent Apollo 8 hurtling out of Earth orbit toward the Moon on December 21, 1968–perhaps the only such images that exist.