Circling the Earth above the distortion of the atmosphere has given the Hubble space telescope an unobstructed view of the universe.
Hubble flew into orbit on April 24, 1990, aboard Discovery. The first major optical telescope to be placed in space, Hubble is currently located about 340 miles above Earth’s surface where it completes 15 orbits per day — one approximately every 95 minutes. The satellite moves at the speed of about five miles per second, fast enough to travel across the United States in about 10 minutes.
To see some of the amazing photos, check out this NBC News story.