The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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A ring of blue star clusters wraps around the yellowish nucleus of what was once a normal spiral galaxy in this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST).
This image is being released to commemorate the 14th anniversary of Hubble's launch on 24 April 1990 and its deployment from the space shuttle Discovery on 25 April 1990.
The bright blue ring is 150 000 light years in diameter, making it larger than our galaxy, the Milky Way. The galaxy, known as AM 0644-741, is a member of the class of ‘ring galaxies’. It lies 300 million light years away in the direction of the southern constellation Dorado.