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Hubble Space Telescope

This Hubble illustration shows the space telescope in shades of blue. A main cylindrical body has an opening with a flap at the top. The spacecraft's main body connects to two sets of two panels jutting out from either side horizontally and two circular objects attached vertically.
Credit: NASA
Published: December 20, 2022

An illustration of NASA's Hubble spacecraft. The colors depicted in this illustration are for artistic purposes only.

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An illustration of JAXA’s XRISM spacecraft.
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This illustration shows NASA's XRISM spacecraft in shades of blue. A multi-sided cylindrical body has solar array "wings" on either side and a smaller, rounded cylindrical front with small pieces of the instrument at the very front.
XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission)
An illustration of a blue star-forming nebula.
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A large, amorphous blob in a subtle tear drop shape has layers of transparent, hazy color overlapping. The different layers are a range of transparent blues, some greener shades than others. While white dots representing stars speckle the whole image, in the center of this shape is a bright white oval cloud with more pronounced and larger stars grouped together.
Star-forming Nebula (Version One, Blue)
An illustration of ESA’s INTEGRAL spacecraft.
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This INTEGRAL illustration shows the space telescope in shades of blue. The main body of the spacecraft is made of an octagonal base. A long rectangle extends from the base above a cylinder. Solar panels extend from either side of the base.
INTEGRAL (International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory)
An illustration of NASA's RXTE satellite.
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This illustration shows NASA's RXTE satellite in shades of blue. The satellite's main body is shaped like a rectangular box with two solar array "wings," one on either side.
RXTE (Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer)
An illustration of NASA's ASTHROS spacecraft.
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A graphic of ASTHROS is shown in light and dark shades of blue and has a main cage-like body with large, rectangular panels stemming from its sides, small square panels on its lower half, and a thin structure protruding from the top. (This structure will attach to a large balloon). A telescope protrudes from the back of the structure.
ASTHROS (Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolution)
An illustration of a planetary nebula.An illustration of a planetary nebula. The colors depicted in this illustration are for artistic purposes only.
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A transparent, colorful hourglass shape has a central point that is a white circle surrounded by bright, light haze. Extending out from the center in opposite directions are plumes of color that form the hourglass shape. Each starts as blue near the central circle, then fades into a purplish pink color. The outline of the hourglass shape is wavy and white dots representing stars speckle the image.
Planetary Nebula (Version Two, Pink)
An illustration of a quasar.
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A graphic shows a tilted disc in the center. A dark, diffuse purple ring lines its outer edge. The dark purple fades inward to a bright purple, light blue, and then lighter until it reaches the center where there is a black spot. From both the top and bottom of the disk's center, an icy light blue beam shoots out.
Quasar
An illustration of NASA's PIPER instrument.
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This illustration shows NASA's PIPER instrument in shades of blue. Piper has a cage-like structure with a large cylinder inside of it and smaller boxes attached around it. Long thin support pieces extend from the body upward, which will attach the payload to a large balloon.
PIPER (Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer)
An illustration of ESA's XMM Newton observatory.
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This illustration shows ESA's XMM-Newton observatory in shades of blue. Overall, the craft is dragonfly-shaped with a long, cylindrical body and an open "head" from which two solar array "wings" extend.
XMM Newton (X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission Newton)
An illustration of the EXCLAIM instrument.
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An illustration in multiple shades of blue depicting EXCLAIM. The instrument is made up of a hollow cylindrical object next to a rectangular object. The whole instrument sits within a framework that extends upwards to a point, where it will attach to a balloon.
EXCLAIM (Experiment for Cryogenic Large-Aperture Intensity Mapping)
An illustration showing an edge-on view of a black hole.
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A graphic shows a central black circle outlined in white. This circle is surrounded by a black ring which is surrounded by a light blue ring which then fades outward into bright and then dark and diffuse purple. Across the middle of the image is a light blue line that gives the appearance of a ring around the circular object.
Black Hole (Side View)
A vertical oval illustration of a supernova.
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A large vertically-oriented oval shape with rounded waves around the edge, this graphic has a flower-like appearance. Smaller transparent circles with the same wavy edge are layered inward to create an inner starburst shape. The outer rings are a very light green color and they move inward into different light blue colors and finally to a center starburst shape that is a dark blue. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Supernova (Green)
An illustration of JAXA's Suzaku spacecraft.
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This illustration shows the Suzaku spacecraft in shades of blue. The long body of the spacecraft is narrower at the top than at the bottom, which has a hollow area underneath. Solar panels extend to either side of the widest part of the body. Round circles representing the telescopes extend from the top of the narrowest part of the body.
Suzaku
An illustration of a planetary nebula.
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In the background is a hazy pink and purple circle, with dark, transparent dark purple around the edge and lighter/brighter pinks leading inward. In front of the big circle is a purple object, shaped like a minimal, twisty lemon. Inside of this shape is a central, light yellow, cloudy circle with a bright white spot in the middle. All within the lemon-shaped object, the white spot is surrounded by a pink oblong oval shape which is overlapped by two large, pink circular shapes and two small, pink circular shapes. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Planetary Nebula (Version One, Pink)
An angled oval illustration of a supernova.
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A large oval shape on an angled tilt with rounded waves around the edge, this graphic has a flower-like appearance. Smaller transparent circles with the same wavy edge are layered inward to create an inner starburst shape. The outer rings are a very yellow green color and they move inward into different light orange colors and finally to a center oval shape that is a dark blue and appears like a starburst because of the waved outlines that lay on top. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Supernova (Yellow)
An illustration showing an irregular galaxy.
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An amorphous, bean-shaped diffuse purple blob that's darker around the rim with a light, whitish center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Irregular Galaxy (Version Three)
An illustration of one of NASA's OAO spacecraft.
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This illustration shows one of NASA's OAO spacecraft in shades of blue. The body of the satellite is an octagon. The telescope opening is embedded at the top of the octagon, which also has a flap that is open. Two-layered solar panels are attached on both sides. Antennae extend from the top and bottom.
OAO (Orbiting Astronomical Observatory)
An illustration of a long gamma-ray burst caused by a collapsing star.
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At the center of a series of nested blue circles is a black dot representing a black hole. A pair of cone-shaped, white jets emerge from either side of the black hole, tilted 45 degrees from vertical. The outermost blue circle has layered scalloped edges.
Long Gamma-Ray Burst From a Collapsing Star
An illustration of NASA's COBE spacecraft.
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COBE is illustrated in light and dark blues. With two wings made up of three rectangular solar arrays each, the spacecraft's main body is made up of a striped, multi-sided cylinder with an attached cone-shaped structure on top.
COBE (Cosmic Background Explorer)
An illustration of NASA's SuperTIGER instrument.
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This illustration shows NASA's SuperTIGER instrument in shades of blue. This balloon-borne instrument has a main, box-shaped body on top of a structure that has panels attached to the bottom and a piece of the structure that extends outward on one side of the box-shaped instrument body.
SuperTIGER (Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder)
An illustration of NASA's Chandra spacecraft.
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A graphic of Chandra is shown in light and dark blue with a long, cylindrical main body. At the front of this cylinder is a darker circle. Jutting off of the front of the main body are two "wings" of solar arrays.
Chandra X-ray Observatory
An illustration of the ASCA spacecraft, developed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Japan.
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A graphic of ASCA is shown in light and dark shades of blue. The body of the spacecraft is bottle shaped, and an array of solar panels crosses on top of the widest part.
ASCA (Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics)
An illustration showing a purple, front view of a barred spiral galaxy.
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A background of medium, bright purple shows a bright, white, thin line that creates an oblong, elongated swirl that connects in the middle with a yellowish, diffuse cloud. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Barred Spiral Galaxy (Front View, Purple)
An illustration of NASA’s WMAP spacecraft.
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This illustration shows NASA’s WMAP spacecraft in shades of blues. The bottom of the satellite is a round circle, like a ballerina’s tutu. Rising from the circle is a bulky, vaguely cylindrical shape topped by two circles facing opposite directions.
WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe)
An illustration of a planetary nebula.
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In the background is a hazy blue circle, with dark, transparent blue around the edge and lighter/brighter blues leading inward. In front of the blue circle is a blueish-gray object, shaped like a minimal, twisty lemon. Inside of this shape is a central, light yellow, cloudy circle with a bright white spot in the middle. All within the lemon-shaped object, the white spot is surrounded by an oblong oval shape which is overlapped by two large circular shapes and two small circular shapes. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Planetary Nebula (Version One, Blue)

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